How to increase applicationDidEnterBackground in iPhone? - iphone

I call one api in applicationDidEnterBackground, but applicationDidEnterBackground method returns after 5 seconds so how could I increase timer or after api finish then only applicationDidEnterBackground will return all of us suggest use beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler
But I don't know how to use it can anyone guide me?
Here is my code
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application
{
NSString *link=[NSString stringWithFormat:#"http://www.askpundit.com/dev/js_chat/getNewRequest.php?updateStatus=%#&clientid=%#",UpdateStatus,[self getSetting:#"Clientid"]];
NSURLRequest *request=[[NSURLRequest alloc]initWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:link]];
NSURLConnection *connaction=[[NSURLConnection alloc] initWithRequest:request delegate:self];
if (connaction)
{
responsedata=[NSMutableData data];
NSLog( #"Data Saved");
}
}
Can any one guide me how return applicationDidEnterBackground after my call finish.

As you surmise, beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler is what you should use. It's very straightforward. This snippet is minimally proofread, and incomplete - but demonstrates the approach.
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application {
_completionTask = [application beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{
[application endBackgroundTask:_completionTask];
_completionTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}];
// begin your NSURLConnection, etc.
}
- (void)connectionDidFinishLoading:(NSURLConnection *)connection {
if( _completionTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid ) {
[application endBackgroundTask:_completionTask];
_completionTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}

Related

iOS background Location not sending http request

My app needs to track the users location in the background but it is failing to send a 'get' request. The http request gets sent immediately when the app comes to the foreground. I am using RestKit for all my network requests and I followed this tutorial to setup my background locations service.
In my applicationDidEnterBackground
-(void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application
{
self.bgLocationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
self.bgLocationManager.delegate = self;
[self.bgLocationManager startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges];
NSLog(#"Entered Background");
}
and I stopMonitoringSignificantLocationChange in my applicationDidBecomeActive delegate
This is my locationManager delegate where I accept the new updated location and send to my server
-(void) locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager
didUpdateToLocation:(CLLocation *)newLocation
fromLocation:(CLLocation *)oldLocation
{
NSLog(#"I am in the background");
bgTask = [[UIApplication sharedApplication]
beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:
^{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:bgTask];
}];
// ANY CODE WE PUT HERE IS OUR BACKGROUND TASK
NSString *currentLatitude = [[NSString alloc]
initWithFormat:#"%g",
newLocation.coordinate.latitude];
NSString *currentLongitude = [[NSString alloc]
initWithFormat:#"%g",
newLocation.coordinate.longitude];
NSString *webToken = [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] stringForKey:#"userWebToken"];
NSLog(#"I am in the bgTask, my lat %#", currentLatitude);
NSDictionary *queryParams;
queryParams = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:webToken, #"auth_token", currentLongitude, #"lng", currentLatitude, #"lat", nil];
RKRequest* request = [[RKClient sharedClient] post:#"/api/locations/background_update" params:queryParams delegate:self];
//default is RKRequestBackgroundPolicyNone
request.backgroundPolicy = RKRequestBackgroundPolicyContinue;
// AFTER ALL THE UPDATES, close the task
if (bgTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid)
{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:bgTask];
bgTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}
}
The network requests works as planned but it will not get called in the background. Is there any additional steps I need? In my info.plist I have the Required Background modes key and location-services as the value.
EDIT
I also referred to this past SO answer. I ran some tests with putting logs throughout the didUpdateToLocation call and they were all called but the 'get' request was not sent. Instead when I finally launch the app to the foreground it sent all the built of network requests (over 10).
EDIT (2)
I added RKRequestBackgroundPolicyContinue to my request but it did not change my results. (As you can see here in the background upload/download for restkit). I see Restkit initialize the host but fails to send the request until the app becomes active.
ANSWER
RestKit must be doing something that is prohibited in the background. Using an NSURLRequest works perfectly.
NSMutableURLRequest * urlRequest = [NSMutableURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:#"http://www.example.com/api/locations/background_update"]];
[urlRequest setValue:#"application/json" forHTTPHeaderField:#"Accept"];
[urlRequest setValue:#"application/json" forHTTPHeaderField:#"Content-Type"];
[urlRequest setHTTPMethod:#"POST"];
[urlRequest setHTTPBody:jsonData];
NSHTTPURLResponse *response = nil;
[NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:urlRequest
returningResponse:&response
error:&error];
It is fine to use a synchronous request since there is no UI to disrupt with background tasks
Re-creating original suggestion as an answer
Have your try replacing your restKit calls with a stock synchronous NSURLConnection? – dklt Sep 20
I'm using exactly the same code as you and it works for me in RestKit. The only way I could make it work is ny creating a synchronous request (it doesn't make a lot of sense to do it asynchronously in this context anyway!). Please check this code and let us know if it works:
// REMEMBER. We are running in the background if this is being executed.
// We can't assume normal network access.
// bgTask is defined as an instance variable of type UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier
// Note that the expiration handler block simply ends the task. It is important that we always
// end tasks that we have started.
_bgTask = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:
^{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:_bgTask];
}];
// ANY CODE WE PUT HERE IS OUR BACKGROUND TASK
// For example, I can do a series of SYNCHRONOUS network methods (we're in the background, there is
// no UI to block so synchronous is the correct approach here).
NSNumber *latNumber = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:location.coordinate.latitude];
NSNumber *lngNumber = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:location.coordinate.longitude];
NSNumber *accuracyNumber = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:location.horizontalAccuracy];
NSDictionary *params = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithKeysAndObjects:#"lat",latNumber,#"lng",lngNumber,#"accuracy",accuracyNumber, nil];
RKURL *URL = [RKURL URLWithBaseURL:[NSURL URLWithString:SERVER_URL] resourcePath:#"/user/location/update" queryParameters:params];
RKRequest *request = [RKRequest requestWithURL:URL];
request.method = RKRequestMethodGET;
NSLog(#"Sending location to the server");
RKResponse *response = [request sendSynchronously];
if (response.isFailure)
NSLog(#"Unable to send background location, failure: %#", response.failureErrorDescription);
else {
NSError *error = nil;
NSDictionary *parsedBody = [response parsedBody:&error];
if (YES == [[parsedBody objectForKey:#"result"] boolValue]){
NSLog(#"Background location sent to server");
}
else {
//Something went bad
NSLog(#"Failed to send background location");
}
}
// AFTER ALL THE UPDATES, close the task
if (_bgTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid)
{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:_bgTask];
_bgTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}
I'm almost sure the new thread spawned for your RKClient request is automatically killed after invoking it.
When you're application is running in the background you can finish a HTTP request you started before you entered the background but you cannot initiate a new request. You can only initiate certain network operations while in the background (voip, newsstand).

iOS HTTP request while in background

It is possible to make HTTP async requests to PHP server while the app being in background?
The app is a location based one, and should gather current location and send the coordinates to server every 5(or other value) minutes. Can I make the http posts to the server even the app is in background? I read lot of thoughts about this, but some of them told that can be done, others that can't be done.
Thanks,
Alex.
It can be done but it is unreliable because you ask the OS for time to send something and it can accept or deny your request. This is what I have (stolen from somewhere on SO):
[...] //we get the new location from CLLocationManager somewhere here
BOOL isInBackground = NO;
if ([UIApplication sharedApplication].applicationState == UIApplicationStateBackground)
{
isInBackground = YES;
}
if (isInBackground)
{
[self sendBackgroundLocationToServer:newLocation];
}
- (void) sendBackgroundLocationToServer: (CLLocation *) lc
{
UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier bgTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
bgTask = [[UIApplication sharedApplication]
beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:bgTask];
}];
NSMutableDictionary *dictionary = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithCapacity:2];
[dictionary setObject:[NSNumber numberWithDouble:lc.coordinate.latitude] forKey:#"floLatitude"];
[dictionary setObject:[NSNumber numberWithDouble:lc.coordinate.longitude] forKey:#"floLongitude"];
// send to server with a synchronous request
// AFTER ALL THE UPDATES, close the task
if (bgTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid)
{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:bgTask];
}
}
These links will help you out...
iphone - Connecting to server in background

Using multiple beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler calls

I am trying to follow this previous post here: Best practice to send a lot of data in background on iOS4 device?
And basically, I have a method called getRequest that grabs information from the web server. There are about 50 pieces of data I need from the web server. So at the same time, I have 50 delegate calls to connectionDidFinishLoading. Currently my getRequest looks like:
-(void) getRequestWithURL:(NSString *) requestURL
{
static int getRequest = 0;
NSLog(#"getRequest: %i", getRequest);
getRequest++;
UIApplication *app = [UIApplication sharedApplication];
__block UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier taskID;
taskID = [app beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{
NSLog(#"Time remaining: %f", app.backgroundTimeRemaining);
NSLog(#"Background task not completed");
[app endBackgroundTask:taskID];
}];
NSURLRequest *req = [[NSURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:requestURL]];
NSURLConnection *con = [[NSURLConnection alloc] initWithRequest:req delegate:self] ;
[self startRequestWithConnection:con];
[req release];
if (taskID == UIBackgroundTaskInvalid) {
NSLog(#"Failed to create background task identifier");
}
}
Then in my connectionDidFinishLoading:
- (void)connectionDidFinishLoading:(NSURLConnection *)connection {
// process data from server
// endBackgroundTask:someTaskID???
}
I know you are allowed to have multiple calls of beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler, but I don't know if what I'm doing in my getRequest method is doing that since I only have one variable __block UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier taskID each time the method is called. And I'm also not sure if I need to call endBackgroundTask in the connectionDidFinishLoading method for each call to getRequest since you are supposed to balance the beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler with an endBackgroundTask: call. If so, how do I do that since my getRequest doesn't currently have that infrastructure? Do I need 50 ivars in order for the connectionDidFinishLoading method to see the 50 initial calls to getRequest? Thanks.
As you said, you need to balance beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler call with an endBackgroundTask call.
One solution I have in mind looks like this:
Create a new instance variable
UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier backgroundTaskID;
You are counting the requests anyway so you could also decrement getRequest in connectionDidFinishLoading:
- (void)connectionDidFinishLoading:(NSURLConnection *)connection {
// process data from server
getRequest--;
if (getRequest == 0 && backgroundTaskID != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid)
{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:backgroundTaskID];
backgroundTaskID = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}
}
Now the background task gets ended after the last request has been completed. To start only one background task you start it in a method that gets called when the app goes to the background.
You need to listen for the UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
selector:#selector(applicationDidEnterBackground)
name:UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification
object:nil];
and implement the method
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(NSNotification *)notification
{
if (getRequest > 0) {
backgroundTaskID = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler:^{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] endBackgroundTask:backgroundTaskID];
backgroundTaskID = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid;
}];
}
}
Now you only have one running background task that starts automatically when your app goes to the background and you have running requests that gets ended when all your requests are done.
Another improvement would be to add your network requests to an NSOperationQueue to avoid the manual counting and limit the number of concurrent requests.
The work being done is simple whatever code comes next. The work isn't wrapped up into the Background task. The background task is just an id and a status that tells the iOS framework if you are finished doing your task or not. It's up to

NSThread is blocking my GUI

I use a NSThread in order to download videos and images from a server side.It work looks and works great except the fact that when the downloading is done my GUI gets blocked until the download is complete.When the download is finished it takes a few seconds to work again.
this is how the server request is done:
- (void) repeatRequest{
NSLog(#"repeatRequest");
[NSThread detachNewThreadSelector:#selector(backgroundRequest) toTarget:self withObject:nil];
}
- (void) backgroundRequest{
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:myURLStr];
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setDelegate:self];
[request startAsynchronous];
[pool drain];
}
- (void)requestFinished:(ASIHTTPRequest *)request
{
//do things
}
IMPORTANTAnd I also tried to start the ASIHTTPRequest from the GUI thread but with the same behaviour.
Any idea about what could be wrong?
EDIT:
- (void) viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated{
[super viewWillAppear:animated];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] setStatusBarHidden:YES];
//internetReachable = [[Reachability reachabilityForInternetConnection] retain];
if(timer1 == nil)
{
timer1 = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:60.0 target:self selector: #selector(repeatRequest) userInfo: nil repeats: YES];
}
}
Try to run synchronous ASIHTTPRequest in your background thread, and handle results not in delegate method (requestFinished), but after [request startSynchronous];
I don't know anything about ASIHTTPRequest but i would assume its -startAsynchronous method already handles the background downloading for you. It all likelihood, it is returning immediately and your new thread is exiting. Also, you should just use [pool release] at the end of a thread method instead of [pool drain], it will be drained upon release, and you won't be leaking an NSAutoReleasePool. Does ASIHTTPRequest have a -startSynchronous (or just plain -start) method? Try using that within -backgroundRequest, as it should block the premature exit of that thread.

Is it me or xcode... Somethings wrong with my braces and it just causes errors! Please help! iPhone SDK + Urban Push

Help!
I cant find whats wrong. My code is up and mostly running and i needed to incorporate Urban Air push notification and there is something wrong with my code. If there is a better or different way to incorporate this that works without my errors I would appreciate that.
I took this code from a tut of Urban Airmail. I wasnt sure what to inlude and what not to from the sample app.
Now for my code. Ill notate where I get errors They are stray / errors and expected ; b4 :
errors
If you could fix the code that would be awesome!
//
// SuperSlickAppDelegate.m
// SuperSlick
//
// Created by on 8/2/10.
// Copyright __MyCompanyName__ 2010. All rights reserved.
//
#import <SystemConfiguration/SCNetworkReachability.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#import "SuperSlickAppDelegate.h"
#import "SuperSlickViewController.h"
#import "Reachability.h"
#implementation SuperSlickAppDelegate
#synthesize window;
#synthesize viewController;
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Application lifecycle
#define kApplicationKey #"rnftzaemRp2HJMsNjwZvGQ"
#define kApplicationSecret #"X1XdTjdWQIaL72e-gXew5A"
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
// Override point for customization after application launch.
Reachability *r = [Reachability reachabilityWithHostName:#"google.com"];
NetworkStatus internetStatus = [r currentReachabilityStatus];
if ((internetStatus != ReachableViaWiFi) && (internetStatus != ReachableViaWWAN))
{
UIAlertView *myAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:#"No Internet Connection" message:#"You require an internet connection via WiFi or cellular network to use this! Try the settings app for WiFi Connectivity." delegate:self cancelButtonTitle:#"Ok" otherButtonTitles:nil];
[myAlert show];
[myAlert release];
}
//Register for notifications
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] registerForRemoteNotificationTypes:(UIRemoteNotificationTypeBadge |UIRemoteNotificationTypeSound |UIRemoteNotificationTypeAlert)];
//ERROR HERE in line above Stray 357
-(void)application:(UIApplication *)application didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken:(NSData *)_deviceToken {
//ERROR HERE Wrong type argument to unary minus + stray
// Get a hex string from the device token with no spaces or < >
self.deviceToken = [[[[_deviceToken description] stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString:#"<"withString:#""]
stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString:#">" withString:#""]
stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString: #" " withString: #""];
NSLog(#"Device Token: %#", self.deviceToken);
if ([application enabledRemoteNotificationTypes] == 0) {
NSLog(#"Notifications are disabled for this application. Not registering with Urban Airship");
return;
}
// this is straight out of the UA sample code
NSOperationQueue *queue = [[[NSOperationQueue alloc] init] autorelease];
NSString *UAServer = #"https://go.urbanairship.com";
NSString *urlString = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#%#%#/", UAServer, #"/api/device_tokens/", self.deviceToken];
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString: urlString];
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [[[ASIHTTPRequest alloc] initWithURL:url] autorelease];
request.requestMethod = #"PUT";
// Authenticate to the server
request.username = kApplicationKey;
request.password = kApplicationSecret;
[request setDelegate:self];
[request setDidFinishSelector: #selector(registrationSuccessMethod:)]; // if you want to do something with the token
[request setDidFailSelector: #selector(requestWentWrong:)];
[queue addOperation:request];
}
- (void)application:(UIApplication *)application didFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithError:(NSError *) error {
NSLog(#"Failed to register with error: %#", error);
}
- (void)requestWentWrong: (ASIHTTPRequest *)request {
[UIApplication sharedApplication].networkActivityIndicatorVisible = NO;
NSError *_error = [request error];
NSLog(#"ERROR: NSError query result: %#", _error);
UIAlertView *someError = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:
#"Network error" message: NSLocalizedString( #"Error registering with notifiction server",
#"Error registering with notifiction server")
delegate: self
cancelButtonTitle: #"OK"
otherButtonTitles: nil];
[someError show];
[someError release];
}
// Add the view controller's view to the window and display.
[window addSubview:viewController.view];
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
return YES;
}
}
- (void)applicationWillResignActive:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Sent when the application is about to move from active to inactive state. This can occur for certain types of temporary interruptions (such as an incoming phone call or SMS message) or when the user quits the application and it begins the transition to the background state.
Use this method to pause ongoing tasks, disable timers, and throttle down OpenGL ES frame rates. Games should use this method to pause the game.
*/
}
- (void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Use this method to release shared resources, save user data, invalidate timers, and store enough application state information to restore your application to its current state in case it is terminated later.
If your application supports background execution, called instead of applicationWillTerminate: when the user quits.
*/
}
- (void)applicationWillEnterForeground:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Called as part of transition from the background to the inactive state: here you can undo many of the changes made on entering the background.
*/
}
- (void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Restart any tasks that were paused (or not yet started) while the application was inactive. If the application was previously in the background, optionally refresh the user interface.
*/
}
- (void)applicationWillTerminate:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Called when the application is about to terminate.
See also applicationDidEnterBackground:.
*/
}
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Memory management
- (void)applicationDidReceiveMemoryWarning:(UIApplication *)application {
/*
Free up as much memory as possible by purging cached data objects that can be recreated (or reloaded from disk) later.
*/
}
- (void)dealloc {
[viewController release];
[window release];
[super dealloc];
}
#end
New Code that has troubles:
//Register for notifications
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] registerForRemoteNotificationTypes:(UIRemoteNotificationTypeBadge |UIRemoteNotificationTypeSound |UIRemoteNotificationTypeAlert)];
;}}
-(void)application:(UIApplication *)application didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken:(NSData *)_deviceToken {
//ERROR HERE Wrong type argument to unary minus and semi colon b4
Doesn't look like you ever ended your application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: method - you should have an end brace after this line:
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] registerForRemoteNotificationTypes...
So it should look like this:
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
...
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] registerForRemoteNotificationTypes:(UIRemoteNotificationTypeBadge |UIRemoteNotificationTypeSound |UIRemoteNotificationTypeAlert)];
//ERROR HERE in line above Stray 357
}
-(void)application:(UIApplication *)application didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken:(NSData *)_deviceToken {
...
}
That should do it.
For your second code block - without seeing the surrounding code it's difficult to see what you're trying to do...you likely shouldn't have:
;}}
It should probably just be:
}
If you are looking for unbalanced parentheses, then this is probably the part that is giving you troubles:
[window addSubview:viewController.view];
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
return YES;
}
}