Why does the activity indicator never finish when using ASIHTTPRequest? - iphone

I use ASIHTTPRequest to do http requests in my iPhone app. ASIHTTPRequet comes with that feature that starts the activity indicator when issuing a request and stops it when finished. The problem is, once I started a request the indicator never stops and keeps spinning as long as my app runs.
Here is my code, a little utility method that fetches some content from the web synchroniously (since it gets started in a different thread):
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL: [NSURL URLWithString: url]];
[request startSynchronous];
NSError *error = [request error];
NSString *response = nil;
if (error) {
NSLog(#"error %#", error);
return nil;
}
int statusCode = [request responseStatusCode];
response = [NSString stringWithString: [request responseString]];
NSLog(#"status code: %d response: %#", statusCode, response);
if (statusCode != 200) {
return nil;
}
return response;
The above code works just fine, I get the contents of the given URL as a NSString only the indicator keeps spinning. My question is: Why does the indicator never stop and how to fix it? Do I have to release some resources here?

This is a bug that was fixed very recently in the development version of ASIHTTPRequest:
http://github.com/pokeb/asi-http-request/commit/35ea592084145b3332861344f36b52dbcaafa351
(It only affects synchronous requests started on a secondary thread)

Can you try the same thing with an asynchronous request and see if that changes it? I use ASIHTTPRequest and I've never noticed this behavior, but I also never use synchronous requests.

Related

how to compress request using ASIFormDataRequest?

I'm trying to to send some post data to a Apache server from iPad application using the ASIHttp library.
actually I need to send huge data to the server and that means I need to compress the request body so I write some code to send the data and compress the request BUT there are no parameters received on the server !!!
the iOS code is :
NSURL * URL = [NSURL URLWithString:myURL];
ASIFormDataRequest *ASIRequest = [ASIFormDataRequest requestWithURL:URL];
ASIRequest.shouldCompressRequestBody=YES;
ASIRequest setPostValue:data forKey:#"data"];
[ASIRequest startSynchronous];
NSError *error = [ASIRequest error];
if (!error) {
NSString *response = [ASIRequest responseString];
NSLog(#"response %#" , response);
}
PS: if I removed the ASIRequest.shouldCompressRequestBody=YES; everything works fine and I can see the data but when use it I see nothing on the server
the request can be seen on the server but with no parameter
noway to send such data over GET method.
the server configuration are fine.
any solution ? any comment or idea can help ?
By default, most web servers do not support compression on POSTs. The accepted answer here does a really good job explainining it: Why can't browser send gzip request?
According to official documentation, this feature has only been tested with Apache servers.
EDIT:
Here is a code snipt that compresses the actual post data:
if ([self shouldCompressRequestBody]) {
NSError *err = nil;
NSData *compressedBody = [ASIDataCompressor compressData:[self postBody] error:&err];
if (err) {
[self failWithError:err];
return;
}
[self setCompressedPostBody:compressedBody];
[self setPostLength:[[self compressedPostBody] length]];
}
Source: http://forums.three20.info/discussion/77/tturlrequest-vs-asihttprequest/p1

ASIHTTPRequest synchronous request crashing app

I am currently working on an application I need to receive the data in order its very important so instead of going with asynchronous I am using synchronous. However this introduces a very unfortunate side effect, the synchronous request locks up the UI thread.
What I am doing to combat this issue is introduce Multithreading into my app with the use of the life saving "Grand Central Dispatch" services, which seems to be very easy to get my head around so far.
So with all this in mind I am having an issue with what I am doing, Previously I was using asynchronous and everything worked sweet, changing that to synchronous gives me this error
Error Domain=ASIHTTPRequestErrorDomain Code=1 "A connection failure occurred" UserInfo=0x68052a0 {NSUnderlyingError=0x683d250 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Connection refused", NSLocalizedDescription=A connection failure occurred}
Heres my code so far.
- (IBAction)setRequestString:(NSString *)string
{
//Set database address
NSMutableString *databaseURL = [[NSMutableString alloc] initWithString:#"http://192.168.1.1:8778/Data/"]; // iphone development
//PHP file name is being set from the parent view
[databaseURL appendString:string];
//call ASIHTTP delegates (Used to connect to database)
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:databaseURL];
//Used to Check which ASI cache to use (also used in requestFinished
xmlFileName = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:string];
//Set up multithread with GCD
dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0ul);
//Create If statments here to set up the different caches to be passed down to the next view
if ([string isEqualToString:#"high.xml"]){
//Cache stuff goes in here
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setDownloadCache:[ASIDownloadCache sharedCache]];
[request setCacheStoragePolicy:ASICachePermanentlyCacheStoragePolicy];
[request setCachePolicy:ASIOnlyLoadIfNotCachedCachePolicy];
[request setSecondsToCache:60*60*24*30]; // Cache for 30 days - this will change to cache until DBVersion changes
[request setDelegate:self]; // this calls the delegate function requestFinished
dispatch_sync(queue, ^ {
[request startSynchronous];
});
}else if ([string isEqualToString:#"low.xml"]){
//Cache stuff goes in here
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setDownloadCache:[ASIDownloadCache sharedCache]];
[request setCacheStoragePolicy:ASICachePermanentlyCacheStoragePolicy];
[request setCachePolicy:ASIOnlyLoadIfNotCachedCachePolicy];
[request setSecondsToCache:60*60*24*30]; // Cache for 30 days - this will change to cache until DBVersion changes
[request setDelegate:self]; // this calls the delegate function requestFinished
dispatch_sync(queue, ^ {
[request startSynchronous];
});
}
}
- (void)requestFinished:(ASIHTTPRequest *)request
{
//.... etc
hopefully that gives you a better idea of what im trying to do, I think maybe I am missing something with the way I am declaring my syncronious start.. as in the asihttprequest help file they say to declare it like this
- (IBAction)grabURL:(id)sender
{
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:#"http://allseeing-i.com"];
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request startSynchronous];
NSError *error = [request error];
if (!error) {
NSString *response = [request responseString];
}
}
however Im working with data.. so this line
NSString *response = [request responseString];
will not work? dose it need to be NSData.. etc I dunno if someone could help me out that would be great.
You can use nsoperationqueue...
you can create one NSoperationInvoke and add those to NSoperationQueue in order(after reciving data sending another request)...You can add observer to NSOperationQueue to ensure that how many request will process at a time...in your case it will be just one...after receiving the notification in the observer that the synchronous process is completed it will call a selector by performonMainThread for starting another request in the observer itself...
on NSString *response = [request responseString];
issue you can check the request object by [request iskindofClass:[ClassName class]];
or nslog("%#",[request describe]);
it will tell what kind of object request is
Have you considered just adding a serial queue to your code?
dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_queue_create("com.myapp", NULL);
You are using a concurrent thread and it's causing multiple operations to occur at the same time. Also, wrap properly your ASIHttpRequest code within the queue blocks.
Give that a try and let us know

iPhone objective c Asyncron HTTPS request in NSThread

I need a good solution for my little issue.
What I have at the moment:
My App works with asyncron https request very well. At the moment the app uploads an JSON object, so far so good. After that I save the object in an sqlite database.
Now I have to change to determine what the received server response code is.
I will get an response code like 000 if the uploaded data was valid, and a code like 151 if not. For that I have to wait for the server response to save the response code in the database as well.
I experimented with NSThread, too. But that didn't work out as well as I expected.
Somebody any suggestions? I mean, it should be one of the most common things ;) I just don't see it.
thx, dominik
I usually use an NSOperationQueue to manage my communication. This lets you use a synchronous request instead of asynchronous, and handle the whole shebang in one method.
Example:
-(void)doIt {
NSInvocationOperation *op = [[[NSInvocationOperation alloc] initWithTarget:self selector:#selector(doIt_) object:nil] autorelease];
[opQueue addOperation:op];
}
-(void)doIt_ {
NSData *data;
NSMutableURLRequest *request;
NSURLResponse *response = nil;
NSError *error = nil;
// Build request to spec
data = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:error];
// do something with data
[self performSelectorOnMainThread:#selector(yadda) withObject:yaddayadda waitUntilDone:NO];
}
If you do use the asynchronous loading methods, you have to implement a delegate to catch the response data as it comes down, and do something with it when finished.
I recommend that you take a look at ASIHTTPRequest which is a wrapper for the CFNetwork API. Particularly look into the mechanism it offers for asynchronous HTTP requests, where you can define blocks to be executed once the request has completed or failed and can you can inspect the response data easily. Your code would be something like this:
__block ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setRequestMethod:#"POST"];
// add your json object to the request
[request setCompletionBlock:^{
int responseCode = [request responseStatusCode];
NSData *responseData = [request responseData];
// do whatever you want with this info
}];
[request setFailedBlock:^{
NSError *error = [request error];
// handle the error
}];
[request startAsynchronous];

NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest - background to foreground

I m using sendSynchronousRequest to get the data from the server. I know that synchronous will wait until the data received for that request.
But the problem comes when user by mistake enters some non-existing url and than tries to get response. In this case, if user goes in to background and than comes into foreground it shows only black screen. It only shows status bar. Also its not showing any background application. I have to press Home button to come out of my application.
On simulator, After 1+ minute it shows me the message that "Request time out" (No crash).
On Device, within 1 min application get crashes.
Any suggestion. Any Help. This is really a serious issue in my app.
Thanks.
Just like Julien said, the watchdog is killing your app. To answer some questions:
why does this happen only on the simulator?
Because when you're debugging the watchdog leaves your app alone, it can take time.
why does this happen only when the user enters a wrong url?
Because of the system timeout, the system will keep trying for 60 secs if it can't find a server.
so the problem is synchronous vs asynchronous?
No, the problem is the thread, you can do the same operation in a background thread, just don't do it on the main thread and the watchdog will leave you alone.
why is the screen black when the app comes up?
Remember, you are making blocking stuff on the main thread, the thread that draws...
Hope that was all. Let me know if I missed something.
Why not setting a timeout for your connection?
NSString *urlString = TEST_CONNECTION;
NSError *error = nil;
NSHTTPURLResponse *response = nil;
NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest
requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]
cachePolicy:NSURLRequestReloadIgnoringCacheData
timeoutInterval:5.0];
NSData *conn = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:&error];
This should release the synchronous waiting after a number of seconds, which should solve your problem without going with an asynchronous call (which sometimes isn't the proper solution)
I know this works properly because this is how I check if I am connected to a certain VPN (where reachability flags totally fail).
you should take a look to this article: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/qa1693/_index.html
iOs contains a watchdog, if your application is blocked to much time on an operation on the main thread, this one will be killed. (for more details about Watchdog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchdog_timer)
So if you want to download something, don't download it on the main thread.
RELATE
UIImage *image = [self.imgCache objectForKey:urlString];
if(!image){
NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString] cachePolicy:NSURLRequestReturnCacheDataElseLoad timeoutInterval:60.0];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), ^{
NSURLResponse *response = nil;
NSData *data = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:nil];
NSLog(#"%#",response);
UIImage *img = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
//
if(img)
{
dispatch_sync(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
[self.imgCache setObject:img forKey:urlString];
completionBlock(img);
});
}
});
}
else{
completionBlock(image);
}
use ASIHttpRequest class instead of NSURLConnection , its nothing but wrapper around NSURLConnection and has very simple callbacks , you can also set time to complete a request. Please go through this link for more info http://allseeing-i.com/ASIHTTPRequest/
I think you first have to test user data whether it is correct or not and than only if it is correct, sends the request otherwise prompt user that "please enter correct data"...
or
when your parsing of data in response failed. You can also make protocol delegate method i.e FinishWithError so that you come up with your last UI.
Try this one:
#import "ASIHTTPRequest.h"
//In a method
[self performSelectorInBackground:#selector(DownLoadImageInBackground:) withObject:imgUrlArr];
-(void) DownLoadImageInBackground:(NSArray *)imgUrlArr1
{
NSURL * url = [Image URL];
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setDelegate:self];
[request startAsynchronous];
}
-(void)requestFailed:(ASIHTTPRequest *)request
{
NSLog(#"URL Fail : %#",request.url);
NSError *error = [request error];
// you can give here alert too..
}
-(void)requestFinished:(ASIHTTPRequest *)request
{
NSData *responseData = [request responseData];
UIImage *imgInBackground = [[UIImage alloc]
initWithData:responseData];
[imageView setImage: imgInBackground];
}
This might help you: I am also loading a number of images at one time, so images that have no proper data show a black screen. To avoid this, try to resize your imageview.
You could check the reachability of the URL before starting the request.
Apple has Reachability Methods to do so. But its easier to use a wrapper. E.g. ASIReachability.
I think the application crashing because you does not get any data when user enters wrong URL and you are using this 'returned' nil NSData to do stuffs.
I think this will fix your problem
NSData *data=[NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request
returningResponse:&response
error:&error];
if(data!=nil){
///
} else {
NSLog(#"NO DATA");
}

ASIHTTPRequest with UIWebView

I need to connect to a protected site and try to use ASIHTTPRequest
Here is my code:
url = [NSURL URLWithString:#"http://myurl/page.aspx"];
ASIHTTPRequest *request = [ASIHTTPRequest requestWithURL:url];
[request setUsername:username];
[request setPassword:password];
[request setDomain:domain];
[request startSynchronous];
NSError *error = [request error];
if (!error) {
[webView loadHTMLString:[request responseString] baseURL:[request url]];
}
When I use NSLog to see [request responseString], I get the correct HTML, but the result is a blank white webview.
From the outgoing request warnings that little snitch displays, I see the initial request and one going to an external resource.
My guess so far is that the inital request correctly uses the authentication from ASIHTTPRequest and fetches the page, but the uiwebview will try to load the included .js files and since uiwebview is not authenticating, it will not render the page at all ...
Anybody knows how to fix my problem?
Have you tried ASIWebPageRequest? My guess is you have resources in that page that are not downloaded, like http://myurl/image.jpg
ASIHttpRequest runs asynchronously. You need to put your webview loading code into the ASIHTTPRequest callbacks. (requestFinished).
Add a method to your class as follows:
- (void)requestFinished:(ASIHTTPRequest *)request
{
NSError *error = [request error];
if (!error) {
[webView loadHTMLString:[request responseString] baseURL:[request url]];
}
}
There is also a requestFailed method that you can use to trap additional errors, you should implement this as well. One or the other of these methods will be called once ASIHttpRequest completes.
Note you will probably also need to set the delegate on the request before making the asynch call. (so same place you set the auth stuff).
request.delegate = self;