iPhone connecting XML with NSDictionary's key - iphone

I have table with data taken from NSDictionary. For example Each row of table contains Currency Name and rate which are linked using NSDictionary. Now i want to take rate value from XML file over the network.
I have made XML file and web server.
Is it possible?
How can i accomplish this.
Is it secure.
Thanks in advance

After you parse your xml file, use the reference to your dictionary and do the following:
Assuming the xml will have <Currency> conversionrate </currency> format. In your didendelement you can change the value of dictionary items as below:
- (void) parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didEndElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName
{
[dictionary setValue:parseditem forKey:elementName];
}
parsedItem can be got from the method :
- (void) parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser foundCharacters:(NSString *)string
Here you have to take care that the element name has to be unique. You can also use attributes to do the same and add a if condition before adding it to the dictionary.

Related

Get date when a xml was created NSXMLParser

I am having a pretty big xml file (17 MB) on a webserver, which is constantly updated (once or twice a month). I take the XML and parse it to Core data, when the user triggers an update. Now I want to check during my Apps wake/start up if the locally parsed database is up to date or if there is a newer xml on the server.
The xml is created by a non-IT-company via MS Office, so I can't really expect them to do many changes to the xml. right now i only have the
<dataroot xmlns:od="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:officedata" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="someXML.xsd" generated="2012-06-28T12:53:12">
generated Attribute of dataroot.
Any tips on how to get the date the file was created in a fast and neat way?
I have am giving you the important code. I am taking a string variable in .h file and initializing the string in parse didstartelement method of parsing. Check the below code.
#interface TestViewController: UIViewController <NSXMLParserDelegate> {
NSString *generatedDate;
}
#end
#import "TestViewController.h"
#implementation TestViewController
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict {
if ( [elementName isEqualToString:#"dataroot"] ) {
generatedDate = [[NSString alloc]initWithFormat:#"%#",[[attributeDict objectForKey:#"generated"] retain]];
}
}
#end
Can you not just store and check the created or modified date on the server and compare it to a value you have stored? That way if it is the same you don't even need to bother to read the XML.
You could get a false positive (date changed but data hasn't), but you wouldn't get a false negative (data changed but date hasn't), so it would cut down a lot of processing.
Once you have decided it has changed you can either pass the XML to check for the date, of if it is in a specific place of the file (ie, the beginning), just read that much of the file and search for the string
you can get your generated time using NSXMPParser. use following
NSXMLParser *parser = [[NSXMLParser alloc] initWithData:yourXMLData];
[parser setDelegate:self];
[parser parse];
This will call your delegate methods. You need to handle following delegate method to get your date
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qualifiedName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict {
NSString *generatedDate = [attributeDict objectForKey:#"generated"];
}
Hope this helps

How to get the attributes inside a tag in an html file on iOS?

Here is my link i want to extract the youtube videos out from the html at this URL
http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/mizzoushape/uploads?orderby=updated
$<link rel ='alternate' href='somelink.html'/>$
Can any one help me out how to fetch the attributes inside the tag..
Thanks in advance for your valuable time
If you are parsing XML File Then:
In the parser:didStartElement method, the attributes are stored in the attributeDict dictionary. The values are then stores with the attribute name as the key
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qualifiedName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict{
// Here you can get value from "attributeDict" by key for example
NSString *strHref = [attributeDict objectForKey:#"href"];
}

How to get a part of tag in XML (iOS)

How can I get some data from the tag of a xml file?
I have a tag like this:
`<link href="http://127.0.0.1:8580/directory/playlists/" rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml;type=feed" />`
I would like to save the http link: http://127.0.0.1:8580/directory/playlists/
Can I use the NSXMLParser?
Thanks a lot!
You need to implement a delegate for the NSXMLParser that conforms to the NSXMLParserDelegate protocol. In this implementation implement at least this method:
-(void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName
namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI
qualifiedName:(NSString *)qualifiedName
attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict
{
if ([elementName isEqualToString:#"link"]) {
NSString* href = [attributeDict objectForKey:#"href"];
// Do you stuff with the href
}
}
The value you are after "http://127.0.0.1:8580/directory/playlists/" is called an attribute. It is the attribute of the element "link".
Check out the Apple documentation relating to XML processing and elements and attributes. For example, http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/XMLParsing/Articles/HandlingElements.html

Is there a way to get NSXMLParser to ignore the "&amp" and similar symbols while parsing XML?

I'm currently parsing an xml file that has a string like this between two elements:
Hello & bye
When the foundCharacters delegate gets called it parses the information like this....
it parses:
Hello
&
bye
It makes 3 calls to parse that element and I end up with 3 strings as opposed to 1 string. Is there some way to detect this with out having to append a string together and keep a counter of how many times the delegate was called?
Any help is very appreciated...
Short answer : No. It's only chance that it's returning three strings, it might return 11 strings all one character long if it wanted to. It's up to you to join the strings together.
Long answer : You need to append a string. There's nothing you can do about it. however, I don't understand why you need to keep a count of the number of times the delegate has been called - I think that this code should do what you want :
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qualifiedName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict {
// Make a new string to hold the data
[currentString release];
currentString = [NSMutableString alloc] init];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser foundCharacters:(NSString *)string {
// Add the string to our current string
[currentString appendString:string];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didEndElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName {
// In here, current string should be it's entire contents,
NSLog(#"%#", currentString);
}
You will need a member in your class to hold the data - a mutable string is easiest one:
#interface MyClass : NSObject {
NSMutableString *currentString;
}
#end
(It doesn't need to be a property but you do need to remember to release it in your dealloc method)

How do I parse an NSString containing XML in Objective-C?

In my iPhone application, I have the following NSString:
NSString *myxml=#"<students>
<student><name>Raju</name><age>25</age><address>abcd</address>
</student></students>";
How would I parse the XML content of this string?
Download:
https://github.com/bcaccinolo/XML-to-NSDictionary
Then you simply do :
NSDictionary *dic = [XMLReader dictionaryForXMLString:myxml error:nil];
Result is a NSDictionary *dic with dictionaries, arrays and strings inside, depending of the XML:
{
students = {
student = {
address = abcd;
age = 25;
name = Raju;
};
};
}
You should use the NSXMLParser class
Here's a link to the documentation for that class:
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSXMLParser_Class/Reference/Reference.html
Your code should look something like this:
#implementation MyClass
- (void)startParsing {
NSData *xmlData = (Get XML as NSData)
NSXMLParser *parser = [[[NSXMLParser alloc] initWithData:xmlData] autorelease];
[parser setDelegate:self];
[parser parse];
}
- (void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI qualifiedName:(NSString *)qualifiedName attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict {
NSLog(#"Started %#", elementName);
}
Another answer is: Don't use XML. Use a plist instead, which is written using XML but more easily parsable in Objective-C into distinct data types (NSArray for example has a method to convert a file or NSData plist into an NSArray).
Like #Jon Hess mentioned, just create a wrapping class for the "optional" methods of the NSXMLParserDelegate. These methods help you separate the tasks that you might find useful when you parse your xml.
One really good online journal file I found is Elegant XML parsing with Objective-C. Phil Nash really took his time to show the basics of the parsing options at your reach. It can take a new programmer and guide him/her through the whole setup.
Loading the xml can be a modification of #Jon Hess method.
You can setup the:
-(void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser
didStartElement:(NSString *)elementName
namespaceURI:(NSString *)namespaceURI
qualifiedName:(NSString *)qName
attributes:(NSDictionary *)attributeDict{
}
to handle events on certain elements.
Also implement the:
-(void)parser:(NSXMLParser *)parser
foundCharacters:(NSString *)string {
}
to place the strings found into a collection of objects.
I think the best equivalent to XMLDocument is AbacigilXQ Library. You should look at it. I'm using it.
http://code.google.com/p/abacigilxq-library/