I have some basic knowledge of iOS development and I want to now start connecting my apps to databases hosted on the internet, so that users will have access to remote / public data that pertains to my app.
My problem is that after searching the internet for some advice, I realised I don't even know what this type of programming is called? From my perusing it doesn't even appear to have a common moniker, and this is making it really difficult for me to find any advice on how to even begin learning to connect my apps to a web database.
So my questions are, what on earth is this discipline called? And, how can I get started in learning it?
Best Answer
There are several options.
A current popular one is your server having a REST API that gives back JSON data.
Then in your app, you can make URL requests that will give back the JSON data (XML is another option). Parse the data and use as needed.
It is not nearly as simple as it sounds to set up the first time, but the key points are:
1) You will need to create a REST API
2) You will need to parse the data in the iphone app