I need to communicate my app with 2 devices. A restriction is that I can't use a server but all iOS devices will be in one Wi-Fi network. What options do I have? How I can send a message to another copy of my app running on another device?
I dont know whether its a correct approach or not but as you cannot use server,so the approach i can think of is we can create a socket connection using TCP/IP or UDP(based on reliability) for data exchange.
I dont think you can communicate between 2 devices running the same application without having some kind of server application in-between.
Even if you could find the other device over the WIFI I dont think you can tell if the other device is running the app or not.
I think you may be referring to MultipeerConnectivity
The Multipeer Connectivity framework provides support for discovering
services provided by nearby iOS devices using infrastructure Wi-Fi
networks, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth personal area networks and
subsequently communicating with those services by sending
message-based data, streaming data, and resources (such as files).
Source: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/MultipeerConnectivity/Reference/MultipeerConnectivityFramework/
Apple Sample:
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/samplecode/MultipeerGroupChat/Introduction/Intro.html
Related
I am trying to prototype a solution to a problem and am currently exploring multiple routes I could try. Is it possible for one iOS device, running a certain app, to communicate directly with another iOS device, running the same application - without the need to be on the same LAN?
Solutions I am currently investigating are using Bluetooth and ad-hoc wireless connections.
Ideally, the application when installed would ask the user for the required permissions, and then would accept and/or send data to/from another client after a handshake had happened.
My concern with Bluetooth is that 'pairing' would need to happen with every device, rather than happen in the background once the user has installed the app. I have a feeling what I am talking about isn't possible from what I've been reading elsewhere on Stackoverflow.
Take a look at Bluetooth Low Energy.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#samplecode/BTLE_Transfer/Introduction/Intro.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40012927
Here is another example,
https://github.com/KhaosT/CBPeripheralManager-Demo
You might also want to look into GameKit and peer-to-peer connectivity there.
I can't tell you anything about it, but you might try looking at iOS 7. If that's an option, I'd take a look. Can't talk about what it is because of NDA though.
Depending on what you need to communicate, you could try checking out this project, which lets you share arrays of strings between iOS devices over Bluetooth LE.
You don't need to "pair" the devices and it can still communicate while the app is in the background. SimpleShare
Hope it helps!
From the documentation of MultipeerGroupChat:
MultipeerGroupChat sample application utilizes the Multipeer Connectivity framework to enable nearby users to discover, connected, and send data between each other. This sample simulates a simple chat interface where up to 8 devices can connect with each other and send text messages or images to each other. Here you will learn how to bring up framework UI for discovery and connections and also how to monitor session state, listen for incoming data and resources, and send data and resources.
This is an excellent example at developer.apple.com here is the link
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/samplecode/MultipeerGroupChat/Introduction/Intro.html
Also this tutorial from Ralf Ebert demonstrates how to use Multipeer Connectivity framework for peer communication should help you.
https://www.ralfebert.de/tutorials/ios-swift-multipeer-connectivity/
I would like to create a server/client application where one iphone is running a server, and all other devices on the same wifi network can connect to the server device and send and receive information. Are there any examples of running a server on a device and letting other devices on the network search for it?
I looked into using GameKit, but the 16 person max limit is unfortunate. cocoaasyncsocket seems like a good option, but how do I set up one device as the server, and search for it on other devices?
The WiTap sample code may be what you're looking for (or at least a good place to start):
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#samplecode/WiTap/Introduction/Intro.html
First and foremost,
I am looking for a resource to use Private API's.
this is an enterprise application and will never go to the app store
I need to take as much configuration out of the users hands as possible.
That being said, I have a device that an ipad will be connected to and communicate with via an adhoc wifi network supplied by the device. the ipad connects to this device and sends raw data to it via socket connections. I also need to connect to the internet for data syncing.
80% of the time, the ipad will be connected to this adhoc wifi device. Management software on the ipad does not allow the user to adjust wifi settings so I am trying to make sure I am connected to my device without limiting my server syncing. I know I can determine the connection using apples Reachability class, this is not what i am looking for. I need to use BOTH 3g AND wifi.
Is there a way to enforce this in code? Or is there a resource for the private API's that I can look at to find a way?
This will be in iOS 5 and the most preferable method would be to just route my http requests via some private api method to use 3G and let the socket requests use wifi to the adhoc device.
code samples would be awesome, links / class names to research would be very much appreciated.
and once again this is not going into the app store, it is an enterprise app
the resolution i found was to assign an ip in the privately assigned ip range the ipad uses (169.254.x.x) to the adhoc device then let the ipad determine an ip. Then see if i can open a socket connection to the device (to determine if its available) and then issue a print.
Going this route, i am still able to use 3g data as well as communicate with the device via wifi.
Is it possible to communicate two instances of an app:
In nearby devices (Android or iPhone)
Without user intervention (aside from starting the app once)
Without internet (but not network) connection?
How?
Android to Android?
iPhone to iPhone?
Android to iPhone and vice-versa?
Let us ignore the issues associated with implementing the network communication at the application level and focus on the system design problem your question raises.
You want an application on one device to connect to another associated application on another device without any user intervention/interaction beyond launching the device. In order for this to work your system is going to need a 3rd party separate from the two devices/applications that provides a lookup service.
What will need to happen is each application will need to communicate with this service, ask for the data regarding other device it should connect to, if it exists, and then attempt that connection. This is basically how a bittorrent tracker works.
Keep in mind that there's quite a bit more involved in the implementation than that simple scenario suggests. For example, the proper registering/unregistering of devices, registration timeouts, security, etc.
Unless I misunderstand your question, you should be able to just use standard sockets (TCP or UDP depending on your needs) for communication between any/all devices. For iPhone, you could probably use the NSStream classes and for Android you'd use the Socket classes.
Can the new NFC feature be an answer to this?
I am looking to develop an iPhone application that will require point-to-point WiFi communications on an iPhone. I would like to use the WiFi interface and have the application stream between the phone and a WiFi device. Does anyone have some experience with this? Is it even possible? I know there is a discovery application but I am looking for something a little more robust.
As far as I know (as the SDK stands now), the only thing available is communication over the existing network connection. The SDK doesn't allow for setting up wireless network connections, or creating ad-hoc networks. I believe the only way to join or create wifi networks is through the settings app.