What is the best way to access my data?

The most important step while creating a new application is to guarantee the security of your database and you probably want to know how Parse Server ensures the correct method to manage your data. In this guide, you will learn how Parse SDK works and our main recommendations for having your application hosted on us.

If you have had the experience of developing with any other DBMS (DataBase Management System), you will probably know that most parts of developers handle the data directly via the database. With Parse Server, this is different.

The easiest way to manage your collections (class) and its data are by the Parse Dashboard, which can be accessed by going to My Apps > Choose your app > Click on the Dashboard button. As described below:

Why is the Parse SDK recommended? The Parse Server community already provides an SDK that has checks to verify the all data structure which is being added to your app, for example, when you expect a column to be the Number type, the Parse Server will ensure that the type of the data is the same compared to the one which is expected.

There is no vendor lock-in on Back4App if you want to access your database, your connection string will be available going to Server Settings > Core Settings > Settings > Database URI. It is highly recommended not to connect directly to our servers using a client because without the layer of SDK, it is a very dangerous zone and your app might stop working correctly if any wrong operation is manually done, and it will affect your users.

Once you have learned it, you will be able to connect your app to one of the available SDKs as described at the following link: https://www.back4app.com/docs/get-started/parse-sdk

Would you like to send an HTTP Request to our servers? It is possible with REST API (https://docs.parseplatform.org/rest/guide/#getting-started) and you can use the API console or Postman to manage your data!

If our team identifies that you are doing something that is not allowed in your database, the team will take action and your direct connection to the database may be lost.

What can I do connecting directly to my database? As mentioned earlier, we recommend that all connections to your app be made through the Parse SDK which handles all methods that can be done without adversely affecting your app.

If you face any issues or have any questions, please contact us and we will help you.