iphone app- is it possible to invoke a local app after user visits a website or a web app

Question

I have a scenario where a local app is used to take snaps using the iphone camera and the local app can send the photo to a web server...

Now when the user visits a website or another web app using his iphone, then the website/webapp invokes the local app to do its work.

Do security/other restrictions on iphone prevent such a scenario from being implemented? Can I create a local app with the above scenario in mind? Is there something I should be aware of, before I start creating such an app? And should the user visit a web app or a website, so that the local app is correctly invoked to do its job?

Answer 1

You can not automate it (that would be a security problem).

But you can provide a link on the website with a specific format myapp://<resource>. When the user clicks the link the browser will then start your application and pass it <resource>.

To make this work as part of you iApp you need to register your application as being interested in URI with a schema of myapp://. (No you can not use http:// or https as these are already taken by the browser etc).

see: http://iphonedevelopertips.com/cocoa/launching-your-own-application-via-a-custom-url-scheme.html