How to create a view, that can be updated remotely without app store update

Question

I need to create one View or ImageView, which can be remotely updated from a computer without major App Store Update. So basically, it needs to be able to be changeable through the internet browser or command line tool. So for example today I can have one picture, and in some days i can remotely change it. Is there code I need to implement or is there a service that can help me in that? Thanks a lot folks!

That's the code so far:

#import "ViewController.h"

 @interface ViewController ()
 @property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIImageView *imageView;

 @end

 @implementation ViewController



 - (void) viewDidLoad
 {
     [super viewDidLoad];
     //do stuff here
     if(&UIApplicationWillEnterForegroundNotification) { //needed to run on older devices,  otherwise you'll get EXC_BAD_ACCESS
         NSNotificationCenter *notificationCenter = [NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter];
         [notificationCenter addObserver:self selector:@selector(enteredForeground:)  name:UIApplicationWillEnterForegroundNotification object:nil];
     }


 }
 - (void)enteredForeground:(NSNotification*) not
{
    UIImageView *imageView; // Assumed to already be setup in a view controller
    PFQuery *query = [PFQuery queryWithClassName:@"Image"];
    [query getObjectInBackgroundWithId:@"nMW24stvhT" block:^(PFObject *imageObject, NSError *error) {

        if (!error) {
            PFFile *imageFile = imageObject[@"image"];
            [imageFile getDataInBackgroundWithBlock:^(NSData *data, NSError *error) {
                if (!error && data) {
                    UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
                    if (image) {
                        imageView.image = image;
                    }
                }
            }];
        }
    }];}

    - (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
 {
 [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
 }

 @end

Answer 1

I'd use something like Parse, and have a record with an image in it. Then in the application you can just use the Parse SDK to fetch that image each time that screen is shown. You could also use Parses push notifications to tell the the user that a new image exists, and if you want to be really fancy use iOS 7 new slient pushes to fetch the new image in the background so the user doesn't even see it loading!

The other option would be to host an image somewhere, and then use a image fetching category (AFNetworking or SDWebImage both have one) to again update the image when the screen is shown.

As its just one image, you might be better off hosting it somewhere - I suppose it depends on the amount of effort you want to put in to it :)

Some example code if you host it yourself and use AFNetworking:

UIImageView *imageView; // Assumed to already be setup in a view controller
[imageView setImageWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://hostname.com/path/to/your/image.png"]];

And with Parse

UIImageView *imageView; // Assumed to already be setup in a view controller
PFQuery *query = [PFQuery queryWithClassName:@"Image"];
[query getObjectInBackgroundWithId:@"OBJECT ID HERE" block:^(PFObject *imageObject, NSError *error) {

     if (imageObject) {
          PFFile *imageFile = imageObject[@"image"];
          [imageFile getDataInBackgroundWithBlock:^(NSData *data, NSError *error) {
              if (data) {
                  UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
                  if (image) {
                      imageView.image = image;
                  }
              } else {
                  NSLog(@"Error fetching image file: %@", error);
              }
          }];
     } else {
          NSLog(@"Error fetching object: %@", error);
     }
 }];

Then in the Parse data browser you want to add this sort of thing:

Which is basically, create a new custom class called Image. Add another column to this class called image of type File.

Then add a file and you'll automatically get a objectId created for you (which you'd need for the above code example):

Updated with your code:

#import "ViewController.h"

 @interface ViewController ()
 @property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIImageView *imageView;

 @end

 @implementation ViewController

 -(void)dealloc
 {
     [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:self];
 }

 - (void) viewDidLoad
 {
     [super viewDidLoad];
     //do stuff here
     NSNotificationCenter *notificationCenter = [NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter];
     [notificationCenter addObserver:self selector:@selector(enteredForeground:)  name:UIApplicationWillEnterForegroundNotification object:nil];   
 }

 -(void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated
 {
     [super viewWillAppear:animated];

     [self updateImage];
 }

 - (void)enteredForeground:(NSNotification*) not
 {
     [self updateImage];
 }

 -(void)updateImage
 {

    PFQuery *query = [PFQuery queryWithClassName:@"Image"];
    [query getObjectInBackgroundWithId:@"nMW24stvhT" block:^(PFObject *imageObject, NSError *error) {

        if (imageObject) {
            PFFile *imageFile = imageObject[@"image"];
            [imageFile getDataInBackgroundWithBlock:^(NSData *data, NSError *error) {
                if (data) {
                    UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
                    if (image) {
                        self.imageView.image = image;
                    }
                } else {
                    NSLog(@"Error fetching image file: %@", error);
                }
            }];
        } else {
          NSLog(@"Error fetching object: %@", error);
        }
    }];
}


@end

Answer 2

You could have your app check in with a server at regular intervals (or respond to a push notification, depending on your needs and resources). Then it could download an image based on a URL file that you update on a server somewhere.

Alternatively, you could make your app respond to special URL schemes (myApp://), and make links on Web pages that, when tapped, will cause your app to open and perform some action. You can learn more about custom URL schemes here.