Client-server mobile app. Where to begin for the server side? - objective-c

I have to create an iPhone app which displays some sentences.
I would to download these sentences from a server and save them in a local db (for example using JSON).
The user can flag a sentence as favorite and do some other stuff.
I would to give the possibility to download other sentences, updating the corresponding table in the local db.
I don't know where to begin to build the server side.

Try to use Node.js its quite easy to use but do it in combination of ExpressJS... This is necessary to create the server side. You can even use some PHP framework if you prefer this...
Next you can choose between HTML5 or native programming for client side... It's up to you with which one you are more familiar... I think in your case you can create an HTML5 app to get the result as you need it... But of course its even possible native on the phone it just may take longer depending on your experience
So to sum up:
NODEJS + ExpressJS plugin
Phonegap (if you want to use html5 to create your app) or Native SDK (like iOS sdk or Android SDK or Windows mobile SDK)

Related

Is there any proteus (runtime layout engine) version of react-native?

proteus is basically a runtime layout engine for Android developed by Indian e-commerce Flipkart.
Basically, I want to be able to control my home screen & Support Screen of the app from a backend server, so that I don't have to push every for every small change and also I don't want to use web views (we all know the limitations)
I don't think such a tool exists but you should look into Firebase, specifically the remote config module. It allows you to set parameters from your backend which can then be read on your mobile app, at every launch for example. This would allow you to set custom values for any variable you might need on these screens.
You could also look into AppCenter by Microsoft. It is a service which lets you deploy app updates over the air instantly, without going through the App Store and Play Store review processes. The only downside is that you can't push updates containing native code as your app needs to be re-bundled.

Is there a way to we customize directupdate check version on mobilefirst?

Today we have an app in applestore with a version labeled as 7.6.2 and internal build number as 1.0.0. We are using mobilefirst 7.1 to develop. Problem is that now we have a new app, that is 7.6.2.1, but we would like to know if is possible continue to use 7.6.2 app from applestore onto 7.6.2.1 mobilefirst app (asking it because we would like to keep our customers using just a single app from applestore). We also have an app on google play and would like to apply same idea.
Maybe this is an edge case, so do we have a way to control this directupdate by ourselves?
Customization of direct update is limited to the UI and options when you receive a direct update push.
As for version management, if both versions 7.6.2 and 7.6.2.1 are deployed in the MFP server, end users can have these versions deployed on their devices. Direct update or other configurations can be separately configured for these different versions.
However, if an end user is on v 7.6.2 and they take an update from AppStore or Playstore, and the version on the device becomes v7.6.2.1, this updated application on the device will start connecting to only v7.6.2.1 in the server. And only direct updates this version on the device ( 7.6.2.1) will receive are the ones uploaded to 7.6.2.1 in the server.
Direct update feature is meant only to push small web resources changes into your application. If the MFP Application Version numbers for both app versions(i.e 7.6.2 and 7.6.2.1) are different, you can continue to use both the versions and push direct update indvidually based on version number.

Get the version of windows phone app in store

I'm developing a windows phone application. I have a version of my app in windows store. I know how to find the version of package I'm developing, but i want to find programmatically the version of my app in windows store,so i can compare and if the version store is bigger than the version of app user has, i want to make a notification and tell him that a newer version is available.
Thanks in advance!
Beginning with WP8 you can query the Store using windows.applicationmodel.store.listinginformation but sadly this does not include the version.
There is no public Windows Store API that provides this info. So you'd have to either scrape the info yourself or connect to a 3rd party API that provides alreasy scraped data. Solutions outlined here: windows store api to access metro and phone apps information
Wait but why?
If you only need to provide your app the latest version code, just store it in a JSON file hosted on your backend, or alternatively, if you're feeling fancy, create a dedicated webapp that checks for updates.

React native, do I need to send updates through app store?

Title pretty much explains it. Does it render JS from an external codebase so I can simply push new updates through git, or do I need to actually push the changes through App Store?
This is my previous answer, which is getting downvoted into oblivion because it didn't predict something cool like CodePush coming to React Native :)
React Native compiles to an iOS binary. Updates need to be sent to the
App Store, unless you're simply using React Native for its WebView
and rendering an existing webpage on the client.
Updated 6/2/16
It looks like Microsoft has a sweet plugin for CodePush found here that lets you push changes remotely to your React Native app without having to send the update through the App Store.
Here's a quote from the README docs:
NOTE: While Apple's developer agreement fully allows performing
over-the-air updates of JavaScript and assets (which is what enables
CodePush!), it is against their policy for an app to display an update
prompt. Because of this, we recommend that App Store-distributed apps
don't enable the updateDialog option when calling sync, whereas Google
Play and internally distributed apps (e.g. Enterprise, Fabric,
HockeyApp) can choose to enable/customize it.
I'm actually working on a project (with the React Native Playground team - https://rnplay.org/about) that will allow you do live update your apps JS on the fly without submitting an update to the App Store. It's called Reploy, http://reploy.io
We will be open-sourcing the first portion of it very soon (the updater module). There will also be a service that will help you to manage your updates and even deploy your app to TestFlight and the App Store when needed (App Store updates are still needed when adding a new native module or static assets).
Also, just so you know, Apple has allowed this type of auto-updating via item 3.3.2 in the "iOS Developer Program Requirements" document, it says:
3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted
code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are
packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the
foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple's built-in WebKit
framework or JavascriptCore, provided that such scripts and code do not change
the primary purpose of the Application by providing features or functionality that are
inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application as
submitted to the App Store.
https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/information/iOS_Program_Information_4_3_15.pdf
You could push an update to a remote user if you had linked to an external bundle and had the IP / correct ports forwarded, however Apple do not allow this for released AppStore apps.
For beta testing remote apps you might want to try exponent http://exp.host/
Update---
For completeness, it should be noted that if you are part of the Apple Enterprise program you do not need to publish Apps to the AppStore at all, you can post them to end users via a download link.
I work on a project called AppHub that lets you update JavaScript and images without re-submitting to the App Store. The iOS SDK will be open source, but for now you can use the hosted service to manage new builds of your app.

How to create windows phone app of my existing responsive website?

I have responsive website and wanted to create app for windows phone. So is there any way to make the same? online or by using any other technology (like phone gap or something else). It means my website URL load on click of app icon.
There are different ways to do that. Basically you have three ways (but there are more!) to consider:
Native universal HTML5/JS app: Create a native app using HTML5 and Javascript directly. There is a nice jumpstart available in the Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA): http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/developing-universal-windows-apps-with-html-and-javascript-jump-start
WebView in a C# app: You can also add a WebView to a C# app and run your code inside a browser. This is done quite often - especially if developers want to port a web app very quickly to Windows Phone since all you have to do is to adjust your paths and you're good to go. There's a video on Channel9 by Bob Tabor: http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Phone-8-1-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners/Part-13-Working-with-the-Web-View-App-Template (This video is part of another MVA course: WP 8.1 app development for absolute beginners)
3rd party frameworks: You can use third party libraries like PhoneGap / Cordova to run your code. This is very much like 2. as your code is also executed in a browser. The advantage is that you can easily deploy your code on other platforms but you might run into performance issues under certain circumstances.
So if you want to load your page if you click on your app icon (2) might be your best shot.
For Windows 10 Universal Apps you can do that very easily using the Microsoft project Westminster:
https://dev.windows.com/en-us/uwp-bridges/web-apps
Step by step guide is here:
http://microsoftedge.github.io/WebAppsDocs/en-US/win10/CreateHWA.htm
It takes about five minutes to make the app, and then maybe a few hours to polish it, make the right icons from the Windows store etc.