Learning Core Data for iOS

Get Started Fast with iOS 7 Core Data App Development, Covers iOS 7 and Xcode 5

This is the first Core Data book to fully reflect Apple’s latest platform innovations, including its dramatic  recent improvements to iCloud support. Hands-on from start to finish, it teaches you step-by-step as you create a modern data-driven iOS app using Storyboards, ARC, iOS 7, and Xcode 5.

Tim Roadley introduces new patterns and best practices designed to overcome the frustrations of Core Data development. One step at a time, you’ll build and extend your skills–even mastering advanced techniques such as complex model migration, deep copy, background processing, and integration with Dropbox, StackMob, and iCloud.

Downloadable versions of this book’s main project are provided with each chapter, so you can see exactly what your app project should look like–and get cookbook-style code for your own projects. Chapter exercises help you explore even further, whether you’re a self-learner or a student in an iOS development course.

If you’re an experienced iOS developer, this guide brings together all the skills, tools, code, and patterns you need to add powerful data management capabilities to any app–quickly, easily, and painlessly.

Coverage includes the following:

• Understanding Core Data
• Adding Core Data to an existing project
• Designing, upgrading, and migrating data models (automatically and manually with progress indication)
• Populating views with data, including table-views and picker-views
• Preloading a “default data” persistent store from XML
• Deep-copying from one persistent store to another
• Performance tuning with Instruments, using large photos as the example
• Background processing, using thumbnail generation as the example
• Efficient search
• Seamlessly backing up and restoring with Dropbox
• Stable integration with iCloud–with full support for multiple accounts, seeding, and de-duplication
• Web service integration with StackMob

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Your First Core Data Application
Chapter 2. Managed Object Model Basics
Chapter 3. Managed Object Model Migration
Chapter 4. Managed Object Model Expansion
Chapter 5. Table Views
Chapter 6. Views
Chapter 7. Picker Views
Chapter 8. Preloading Data
Chapter 9. Deep Copy
Chapter 10. Performance
Chapter 11. Background Processing
Chapter 12. Search
Chapter 13. Back Up and Restore with Dropbox
Chapter 14. iCloud
Chapter 15. Taming iCloud
Chapter 16. Web Service Integration

Appendix A. Preparing Grocery Dude for Chapter 1
Appendix B. Preparing Grocery Cloud for Chapter 16