iOS Storing Data (Database or Local)

[oo7ml]

Hi, i am in the process of building a small app for a charity swim.

It is a very simple app that allows the participants to enter in their training records each day, in the build up to the race day. They will be training for 12 weeks in total, and the app will allow them to enter in the following each day.

01 - DISTANCE
02 - TIME


I am trying to decide if i should get the users to sign up and store their information in a database, OR if i should just allow them to use the app straight away, and then store all of their info within the app.

If i didn't add the Sign Up and database feature, the app data would load quicker etc, however if the person loses their phone, they will have no way to recall the data that they built up within the app.

Can anyone offer any advice on this, should i store to a database or internally? Is there any other pros / cons to either option? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Dookieman]

Why not both?

I made a quick app for work that stores data locally using Core Data. Then, I added the ability to upload the data stored locally to a server. There are some free/cheap options for easy to use web backends. Look into parse.com, firebase.com, or using Apple's CloudKit. Their frameworks are really nice and simple to you use. (Not sure about CloudKit, never used it).

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

The first question I would ask is: will users be comparing their data with other user's data? Or will they only be viewing their own data?

If they are only viewing their own data, then I see no reason to make the user create an account. Nor would there be a reason for you to implement such a system. You can keep your database local and back it up to iCloud.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Hi, i am in the process of building a small app for a charity swim.

It is a very simple app that allows the participants to enter in their training records each day, in the build up to the race day. They will be training for 12 weeks in total, and the app will allow them to enter in the following each day.

01 - DISTANCE
02 - TIME


I am trying to decide if i should get the users to sign up and store their information in a database, OR if i should just allow them to use the app straight away, and then store all of their info within the app.

If i didn't add the Sign Up and database feature, the app data would load quicker etc, however if the person loses their phone, they will have no way to recall the data that they built up within the app.

Can anyone offer any advice on this, should i store to a database or internally? Is there any other pros / cons to either option? Thanks in advance for your help.

Learn how to use Parse, it is absolutely perfect for your case. It's completely free, very easy to integrate in to your apps. You can send them push notifications, create a database of Users with their distance & time, and create an account system so that if they sign in to their account on their iPad and phone it will show the same data on both.

And as of 4 days ago, Parse now allows you to have an offline data-store, so that if the user opens the app but isn't connected to the internet, it will still have their data.

Or you could learn Core Data.

I've learned both Parse and Core Data, and Parse was definitely easier to learn.

 

[oo7ml]

Ok great, thanks guys.

I was thinking of using Parse.

The only problem with Parse, is connecting Parse to a web based system too.

For example, how would you handle a Forgot / Reset Password feature using Parse.

01 - click, forgot password (email sent to you)
02 - open link in email (this would need to load a web page, so how would you connect it to Parse)

 

[Dookieman]

Ok great, thanks guys.

I was thinking of using Parse.

The only problem with Parse, is connecting Parse to a web based system too.

For example, how would you handle a Forgot / Reset Password feature using Parse.

01 - click, forgot password (email sent to you)
02 - open link in email (this would need to load a web page, so how would you connect it to Parse)

Here is a link that documents how to reset a users password.

https://parse.com/docs/ios_guide#users-resetting/iOS

 

[oo7ml]

Excellent, thank you.