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I have an application with a configuration file that is stored in the application bundle. This config file stores the names of images on a remote server. Whenever the application is started, I download the configuration file from the server and see if there are any changes or updates. If there are changes, I iterate over the array of configuration settings and download the changed images to the user's iPhone

I think that I will first list all of the name changes in an array, and after that start loading that changed images. However, I'm wondering if there is a better approach to solving this problem.

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  • Are you asking if there is a better way to communicate image changes to the phone, or if there is a better choice to reading the config file than loading the changes into an array?
    – Joshua Drake
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 21:02
  • @JoshuaDrake first one
    – hib
    Commented Apr 6, 2012 at 6:01
  • Are you checking that the config file itself has been updated before downloading it?
    – Joshua Drake
    Commented Apr 6, 2012 at 13:00
  • @JoshuaDrake No I have to download it first an then check the version of the config file with the one on the device
    – hib
    Commented Apr 6, 2012 at 13:41
  • No way to check the timestamp on it beforehand? Such as having an update service you call to check if an update is needed.
    – Joshua Drake
    Commented Apr 6, 2012 at 13:44

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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One simple way to save bandwidth without much modification, would be to use the If-Modified-Since header in your download request. Then continue to check the version number inside the file anytime it is downloaded, just in case the modified date on the file gets changed accidentally.

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  • I can not try your answer now .. but as per my knowledge your suggestion looks the perfect.
    – hib
    Commented Oct 11, 2012 at 13:49
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You may want to use a simple version number attached to/near the file. Compare the server and client number (very low bandwidth usage) and work with it.

Version numbers can help you apply incremental upgrades to your config file to add/change/remove entries.

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