Objective: backing up my Notekeeping app data such that I can sync it back if I lost my data.
May I know how am I able to do it? I have tried searching for answers online, but unfortunately I am unable to find a clear approach to it.
I have seen some apps that uses googldrive, or zip file approach. May I know what is the best approach? And also how am I able to do it. Thanks! All help is deeply appreciated!
Yes , its possible to upload your users data to their respective google drive account and retrive back when again user installed your app.
You can follow this link to know more
https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/google-drive-integration-in-flutter-upload-download-list-files
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I'm creating an app which generates a random question from a list (currently stored as a Numbers doc). Once that question is answered by the user, the unique question ID, the question itself and their answer is stored in core data.
When the user requests a new question one will be generated randomly from the original document and it will then be cross referenced with core data to find out if the user has previous answered that question.
I haven't included the code of my app at the moment as I'm not really looking for specific coding help. As someone who is new to the world of code I'm just looking for a nudge in the right direction for me to go and do more studying.
JSON looks like a possible, but the more I read about that the more it seems that it is about an app communicating with a website. I don't really want the questions to be accessed by just anyone, so putting them on my website might not work? Could I do it with a file local in the app? maybe a CSV?
I'm anticipating the file may become quite big as I add more questions - so I'm not sure if that changes things?
Thanks so much in advance, and apologies if this isn't quite the right way to ask questions on here.
I'm just looking for a nudge in the right direction for me to go and
do more studying.
There are many options to solve your problem. Each option depends on your skill, time and if the solution is even necessary for the app you want to make. In the end it's you who decides on which solution solves your problem. There are a few options:
creating your own backend
have a local file in your app
or use a third party service like Firebase.
Each option has its own benefits. Just to list a few:
Local file:
You could have a local file in nearly any format (XML, JSON, .plist) etc. The downside is that your app isn't dynamic - you have to manually keep adding text to this file and update your app trough the App Store for your users to see these changes. If you're going with this approach, I'd recommend using a .plist or a JSON file which is saved in your project. How to implement this correctly is beyond the scope of the question, but there are plenty tutorials out there to help you getting started.
You could put your data in a .plist file. This is nothing more than a dictionary with key-value data (same principle as JSON where each key has a value). An example:
question1 is the key, of type String, containing the value "How are you today". It's easy to read from this .plist since it's the same principle as JSON.
Also, JSON is just a format, it's used often to communicate with websites, but it's not limited to sites only.
Custom backend
This means that you make a backend on which your app can communicate with. You'd have to host your backend, write logic / code on your backend and so on. This can be very time consuming, especially if your app isn't that big/demanding. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have the experience, time, patience and need for this solution.
Third party
This can be a nice solution. Using a third party service like Firebase means that you have your data online. The Firebase library has been well tested and has great documentation to get you started. It's secure, fast, simple but .. it does take a little bit of time to learn how it works - but the end result is that you have a dynamic app where you can add, delete, edit questions and so on. This data can be protected if you wish - which means only authenticated users can access this data (Nobody else will be spying on your data :))
I don't really want the questions to be accessed by just anyone, so
putting them on my website might not work?
Read custom backend and Third Party.
Could I do it with a file local in the app?
Yes. Read Local file.
maybe a CSV?
That's possible but I wouldn't recommend it, but that's a personal opinion. I find it outdated and it's more difficult to work with than JSON.
I'm anticipating the file may become quite big as I add more questions
- so I'm not sure if that changes things?
What is a big file? Nowadays reading a "big" JSON file is probably nothing more than a few MB at most. Your phone reads this in no time. This won't be an issue for your phone or app.
Does anyone know if Facebook Connect can be set up where the pass variable can be set up so users can be segmented into different groups in advance so that insights from the app can be pulled in a way that also reflects those segmentations?
It's essentially similar to running multiple apps off of a single app ID.
If not, does anyone know if app IDs can be dynamically created? I know as of a couple years ago, this wasn't possible, but was curious if anyone knows if this has changed in recent time.
As an aside, we have a self service platform and are looking for a way to automate, but also to segment the Facebook connect insights data. So if anyone has any other ideas, have done it on the software side, or know of any plugins that may to help, that'd be really helpful.
Thanks!
I've tried to google this for a couple of days and I am still pretty confused, so I thought I would try here.
I have an iPhone app that uses Core Data with an sqlite database. I am trying to implement a simple backup/restore of the database with Dropbox.
I downloaded the Dropbox SDK, and I have everything running fine as far as linking, uploading and downloading my .sqlite file.
However, I don't want users to have access to the actual .sqlite file for security purposes. I have been seeing JSON on these boards for some time now so I decided to look into it. I think it is exactly what I need.
Easier said than done. I have never worked with Java and have never implemented anything like JSON before, so I have had to try to figure out where to start.
I understand basically what is going on, but I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to do it. I think I found a way to get the Core Data model into JSON format (and I do use the term 'think' loosely here). But then what - what exactly do I upload to dropbox? Do I somehow combine the model (in JSON format) and the database? What gets uploaded to Dropbox? I'm sorry if this seems obvious to most, it really is not obvious to me, and I have looked.
I am willing to do the work, but it just seems like I could go in 90 directions without some basic guidance and a start. I am not trying to do anything fancy as far as determining data that has been changed, etc. - just want to backup/restore the whole database. I just need some basic explanation and to be pointed in the right direction. A simple core-data sample project would be tremendous.
I'm not an experienced programmer, but I am a fast learner. Just break it down easy...
Thanks in advance.
JPK
Thanks Andrew. I didn't want to 'give away' the database structure of my app, but i can now see that the json string wouldn't be much better than the sqlite file in that area. I am a teach-myself programmer (stay at home mom) so this is all pretty new to me. Maybe I want encryption? But is that allowed for iPhone apps anyway? I recall them asking about encryption when I have uploaded binaries.... I know that iCloud is coming out soon, and I do plan to implement that as well, but with the limited amount of data that can be synced for free, I want to be able to do a simple backup as well. Many of my users have asked for it - a backup in addition to that of iTunes, which really is not a great backup since you can't restore data for just one app (you would have to restore for all apps on the iDevice). Hmmm... Any suggestions as to how to upload the file in such a way that it is not easily readable? Is encryption the way to go in this situation?
JPK,
I think you're crossing multiple streams here.
JSON is a data transfer format. IOW, it has almost nothing to do with the architecture of what you are attempting. You will almost certainly use JSON to communicate with Dropbox.
I have a question: why do you think that the user won't have access to any data you send to Dropbox? I suspect that you are probably wrong. The user will have access to everything.
You are doing to an awful lot of work. You already have the .sqlite file being persisted on Dropbox. If you are doing this to make a backup, that data is being backed up in many other venues. In other words, your task is likely moot and unworthy of your time.
I use JSON, REST networks and Core Data daily. If you have a specific question, I am happy to answer it.
Andrew
Instead of saving the whole database, save out a plist file to Dropbox that you can rebuild a database from. That's assuming you have a lot of extra stuff in your database you do not want the user to see, otherwise just back up the DB as-is if it's all user generated data.
You could also encrypt it but why? Adding encryption only means you have to answer "yes" that you use encryption and may not be able to sell to specific companies, should you choose to encrypt - it's not forbidden.
I'm trying to plan out an application on the iPhone/Android that could be used to track dates/locations of events and update them as necessarily but I really have no idea what kind of method I should take.
Currently, there's two ideas for methods in my head:
1) Make a mobile webpage/website that could be updated with the necessarily information, then display this particular webpage/website on the App for users to view.
2) Make an app in iOS/Android to do the above without displaying the webpage at all.
The first idea is the easiest for me to grasp, since I roughly know the procedures of setting this method up. Displaying the webpages on a iPhone/Android screen should be relatively easy and this also allows me to only update the webpage with the latest information and all without (hopefully) building some kind of update system for the app itself.
The second idea is probably the better of the two, since I can make use of all the nifty features in the iOS/Android to make some pretty cool (what are the cool things, i don't know yet) things. I'm not exactly experienced in the field of creating apps, and I really have no idea how to start some kind of self-update functionality on an app, seeing all the apps I've done thus far are offline-based apps that does not communicate with anything save for local files. Should I get the App upon startup to download a file (XML or whichever?) to "read" the contents then update as necessarily?
Or should I just go for the first method, since it can be more efficient than the second one?
I'm really lost here, can anyone offer some tips and advice?
I believe that the first approach is a good one but I would suggest the following:
1- Create the website that will do all the business in your mind then
2- Port out the application in an easy way to be a mobile application how? Please have a look into this http://www.appcelerator.com/
3- Another idea that would save you the pain of going into all the above is to create a facebook application, this way you can make use of the facebook infrastructure and you will have the viral effect as I guess thats what you are looking for.
I hope I've introduced a good tips for you.
Hi I'm doing an RSS reader application but I want the information that shows the iphone on a table can be saved in a DB or a file. Please can someone help me?
Your wording is... challenging, but I think you're looking to store data from your app persistently in a database, yes?
If that's the case, let me introduce you to Google.
If not, then I've just been a minor jackass for no reason, but regardless, please clarify the wording of your question.
There a plenty of tutorials available for SQLite and the iPhone. Please search before asking a question here. Don't think to easy and just ask, try yourself and discover possibilities of the iPhone SDK, SQLite and all other stuff related to it.
We'll only be able to help you if you provide pages/links of all the sources you've consulted.
For what I can do now: please read (and understand/try/adjust it) one of the many tutorials
Navigate over to the Apple site and check out the documentation called "Getting Started With Data Management".
The problem with giving you an exact, step by step answer is that you haven't provided enough information. You might be able to leverage any of the following technologies:
User Preferences
.plist files
Core Data
sqlite database
(these are listed in order of easiest to implement, but least featured at the top to the most robust solution at the bottom)
Based on the comments, I moved Core Data above sqlite