Question

50

Is it possible to rename a key in the Firebase Realtime Database?

rated 0 times [ 52] [ 2] / answers: 1 / hits: 30494 / 8 Years ago, tue, august 23, 2016, 12:00:00

I was wondering, is there a way to update the key value?

Let´s use the following data:

I am using set() to write the data.
Now, I want the user to edit their bookTitle and it needs to change on both places. I tried using update() but I can´t seem to make it work. I can only edit the bookTitle in bookInfo NOT on books.

Moving is not an option because it will erase the bookData.
I also tried writing using push() but then, I can´t search properly because I don´t have the pushID (I need the search because users can't have two books with the same name)

So, is there a way to update the key value?
or, is there a better approach to this? I accept suggestions. Thank you!

Update: This is what I´m currently using to update the book title inside bookInfo

var bookName = document.getElementById('bookName').value;



firebase.database().ref('books/' + bookName + '/bookInfo').update({

    bookTitle : bookName

});

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jaden

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2 Years ago

answered 8 Years ago cristinadomoniquel · Accepted Answer

I think I see what you're trying to do. Firebase doesn't have the concept of renaming a part of the path via update. Instead you will have to completely remove the existing node and recreate it. You can do that like so:

var booksRef = firebase.database().ref('books');

booksRef.child(oldTitle).once('value').then(function(snap) {

  var data = snap.val();

  data.bookInfo.bookTitle = newTitle;

  var update = {};

  update[oldTitle] = null;

  update[newTitle] = data;

  return booksRef.update(update);

});

This will remove the info from books/oldTitle and re-populate it with a new title in books/newTitle.

Caveat: This relies on reading the data and then performing a second async update. If you are likely to have multiple users operating on the same data at the same time this could cause issues. You could use a transaction to do this atomically but if /books is a top-level resource with many nodes that may cause performance problems.

If one person is likely to edit the data at a time, the above solution is fine. If not, you may want to consider using a non-user-controlled identifier such as a push id.