Fire Pdf | Native Android Pdf EBook App with Firebase Back-end

Introduction

Welcome to the tutorial on using Fire PDF, a native Android PDF eBook app with Firebase backend. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps to create a complete application that allows users to browse and read PDF eBooks. We will also integrate Firebase backend to manage user accounts, store PDF eBooks, and track user interactions.

Fire PDF is a highly customizable and scalable PDF viewer app that supports various formats such as PDF, ePub, and mobi. With Firebase, we can create a robust backend to handle user data, analytics, and other features that require server-side processing.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully functional Android app with a robust backend infrastructure that can be easily expanded and customized to meet your needs.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have:

1. Android Studio installed on your computer
2. Firebase account set up
3. Basic knowledge of Java or Kotlin programming language
4. Basic understanding of Android development

Step 1: Setting up Firebase Backend

To start, create a new Firebase project in the Firebase console. Click on "Create a project" and enter a project name. Once the project is created, click on the "Create a new Android app" button and follow the instructions to create an Android app.

Step 2: Configuring Firebase Firebase Realtime Database

In the Firebase console, navigate to the Realtime Database section. Create a new node by clicking on the "New node" button. Name the node "ebooks".

Inside the "ebooks" node, create new child nodes to store information about each PDF eBook, such as:

• title
• author
• content (the actual PDF content)
• cover image
• download URL

Step 3: Creating the Fire PDF Android App

Create a new Android project in Android Studio. Add the Fire PDF library to your project by adding the following dependency to your build.gradle file:

implementation 'com.firesquared.firespdf:library:1.0.0'

In the app's main activity, create a layout that will hold the Fire PDF viewer:

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical">

    <com.firesquared.firespdf.FPD Viewer
        android:id="@+id/pdf_viewer"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:fpd_enable_swipe_gesture="true" />

</LinearLayout>

In the activity's onCreate method, initialize the Fire PDF viewer:

import com.firesquared.firespdf.FPD Viewer

...

private lateinit var pdfViewer: FPDViewer

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

    pdfViewer = findViewById(R.id.pdf_viewer)

    // Initialize the PDF viewer
    pdfViewer.initialize(this)
}

Step 4: Loading PDF eBooks

To load PDF eBooks into the Fire PDF viewer, use the loadFile method and pass in the URL of the PDF eBook:

pdfViewer.loadFile(Uri.parse("https://example.com/ebook1.pdf"))

You can also use the loadBytes method to load a PDF eBook from a byte array:

val bytes = ByteArray()
// Load the PDF eBook bytes
pdfViewer.loadBytes(bytes)

Step 5: Integrating Firebase Realtime Database

To integrate the Fire PDF app with the Firebase Realtime Database, use the Firebase Realtime Database Java or Kotlin SDK to retrieve PDF eBooks from the "ebooks" node:

firebaseRealtimeDatabase = FirebaseDatabase.getInstance().getReference("ebooks")

firebaseRealtimeDatabase.addValueEventListener(object : ValueEventListener {
    override fun onDataChange(dataSnapshot: DataSnapshot) {
        val ebooks = mutableListOf<Ebook>()

        dataSnapshot.children.forEach { ebook ->
            ebooks.add(Ebook(ebook.child("title").getValue().toString(), ebook.child("author").getValue().toString(), ebook.child("content").getValue().toString(), ebook.child("coverImage").getValue().toString()))
        }

        // Load the PDF eBooks into the Fire PDF viewer
        for (ebook in ebooks) {
            pdfViewer.loadFile(Uri.parse(ebook.downloadUrl))
        }
    }

    override fun onCancelled(error: DatabaseError) {
        Log.w(TAG, "Error getting eBooks", error.toException())
    }
})

Step 6: Tracking User Interactions

To track user interactions such as page turns, bookmarking, and annotation, use the Firebase Analytics SDK:

firebaseAnalytics = FirebaseAnalytics.getInstance(this)

// Track page turn event
firebaseAnalytics.logEvent("page_turn", bundle)

// Track bookmark event
firebaseAnalytics.logEvent("bookmark", bundle)

// Track annotation event
firebaseAnalytics.logEvent("annotation", bundle)

Conclusion

That's it! You now have a complete Fire PDF Android app with a Firebase backend that allows users to browse and read PDF eBooks. You can customize the app further by adding features such as search, favorites, and social sharing. Additionally, you can use Firebase Authentication to allow users to login and synchronize their reading progress across devices.