SimpleSocketConnection is an iPhone app that allows you to connect to a simple TCP/IP server and send/receive messages.
Its purpose is to demonstrate a couple of things:
- A good way to separate your networking code from the rest of your application.
- How to use NSStreams to work with TCP/IP connections.
- How to use Objective-C blocks to handle high-level network events.
Running a server using netcat
In order to fully use the app, you will need a server to connect to. The easiest way to create a TCP/IP server is by using a command-line utility called 'nc' (or netcat) that comes with OS X:
-
Open your OS X terminal and run the following command:
nc -k -l 45678
('-k' means "Keep running even after client disconnects", and '-l' means "listen on the specified port")
Running the app in Simulator
Launch SimpleSocketConnection in iPhone Simulator on the same Mac that 'nc' is running on and tap 'Connect'.
Running the app on iPhone
Connection information is specified in the code. Address is "localhost" and port is 45678 ("localhost" generally means "same computer/device").
Since you'll be running the server piece on your Mac and SimpleSocketConnection app on your iPhone, you will need to change "localhost" to another value:
- Connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi (same network as the Mac that's running 'nc') and find out IP address of your iPhone.
- In Xcode, open NetworkController.m, search for "host =" and replace the word 'localhost' with the IP address of your iPhone.
- Build and deploy SimpleSocketConnection, launch it on the iPhone and tap 'Connect'.