changing ABRecordRef property - iphone

Question

I have the following cpde:
ABRecordRef person = ABAddressBookGetPersonWithRecordID(addressBook, ABRecordGetRecordID(self.recordRef_));
CFErrorRef error = NULL;
if ([self.nameTextField_.text isNotNull]){
NSArray *nameStringArray = [self.nameTextField_.text componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet:[NSCharacterSet whitespaceCharacterSet]];
ABRecordSetValue(person, kABPersonFirstNameProperty, (__bridge CFTypeRef)([nameStringArray objectAtIndex:0]), NULL);
if ([nameStringArray count] > 1){
ABRecordSetValue(person, kABPersonLastNameProperty, (__bridge CFTypeRef)([nameStringArray lastObject]), &error);
}
}
However, after this code it gives me this error:
Error Domain=ABAddressBookErrorDomain Code=0 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (ABAddressBookErrorDomain error 0.)"
Any idea why this is?

Answer 1

The error message seems to be pretty useless, but as the rest of your code looks to be valid, my guess is that your application hasn't been authorized by the user to access the Address Book database. Use code like the following to check your authorization status before attempting to access the Adress Book:
if (ABAddressBookGetAuthorizationStatus() == kABAuthorizationStatusAuthorized) {
// We're good to go
} else {
// Hasn't been authorized by the user
// You can check the exact authorization status for more information on the
// exact reason why you can't access the Address Book (e.g. denied, restricted, etc.)
}

Answer 2

This happens when the Contact backend that you are using doesn't handle the field you are trying to add to the contact. In your case, I suspect your backend doesn't handle write operations at all.. which is quite the surprise.
See Apple documentation on the subject:
enum {
kABOperationNotPermittedByStoreError = 0,
kABOperationNotPermittedByUserError
};
kABOperationNotPermittedByStoreError
The operation is not allowed by the Address Book database, because the contact’s source does not support it.
Available in iOS 2.0 and later.
kABOperationNotPermittedByUserError
The operation is not allowed because the user denied access to the Address Book database.
Available in iOS 6.0 and later.