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Write to a Synced Realm - .NET SDK

On this page

  • Overview
  • Compensating Writes
  • Determining Which Data Syncs
  • Device Sync Configuration
  • App Services Permissions
  • Flexible Sync Subscription
  • The Result: Which Data Syncs?
  • For More Information

When writing data to a synced realm using Flexible Sync, you use the same APIs you use when writing to a local realm. However, there are some differences in behavior to keep in mind.

When you write to a synced realm, your write operations must match both of the following:

  • The sync subscription query

  • The permissions in your App Services App

If you try to write data that doesn't match the subscription query and the permissions expression, the write reverts and throws a CompensatingWriteException. You can look in the App Services logs to see details about why the write was denied.

When a client attempts an "illegal" write of an object, the following occurs:

  1. Because the client realm has no concept of "illegal" writes, the write initially succeeds until realm resolves the changeset with the App Services backend.

  2. Upon sync, the server applies the rules and permissions. The server determines that the user does not have authorization to perform the write.

  3. The server sends a revert operation, called a "compensating write", back to the client.

  4. The client's realm reverts the illegal write operation and throws a CompensatingWriteException.

Any client-side writes to an object between the illegal write and the corresponding compensating write will be lost.

In practice, this may look like an object being written to the realm, and then disappearing after the server sends the compensating write back to the client.

When a CompensatingWriteException is thrown, it includes an enumerable of CompensatingWriteInfo objects. Each CompensatingWriteInfo object contains properties that describe the object type, its primary key, and reason the server performed the compensating write.

The rule that controls which data you can write to a synced realm is the intersection of your Device Sync configuration, App Services permissions, and the Flexible Sync subscription query that you use when you open the realm.

Let's look at an example of how those components work together:

Device Sync is configured with the following queryable fields:

  • _id (always included)

  • ownerId

The App Services App has permissions configured to let users read and write only their own data:

{
"name": "owner-read-write",
"apply_when": {},
"document_filters": {
"read": { "ownerId": "%%user.id" },
"write": { "ownerId": "%%user.id" }
},
"read": true,
"write": true
}

The flexible sync subscription on the client states that the object must have a Status value of "completed":

realm.Subscriptions.Update(() =>
{
var completedItemsQuery = realm
.All<MyTask>()
.Where(i => i.Status == "completed");
realm.Subscriptions
.Add(completedItemsQuery,
new SubscriptionOptions() { Name = "completedItems" });
});

The combination of the subscription query and the permissions means that the synced realm only syncs objects where:

  • The ownerId matches the user.id of the logged-in user (from the permissions)

  • The Status property's value is "completed" (from the subscription query)

Any object in the Atlas collection where the ownerId does not match the user.id of the logged-in user, or the Status property's value not "completed", cannot sync to this realm. An attempt to write such an object throws a CompensatingWriteException.

To learn more about permission denied errors, compensating write errors and other Device Sync error types, refer to Sync Errors in the App Services documentation.

To learn more about configuring permissions for your app, see Role-based Permissions and the Device Sync Permissions Guide in the App Services documentation.

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Configure & Open a Synced Realm

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Manage Flexible Sync Subscriptions