Professional iOS Network Programming: Connecting the Enterprise to the iPhone and iPad

Chapter 13

Ad-Hoc Networking with Bonjour

WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Using zero configuration networking
• Resolving and connecting to Bonjour services
• Implementing Bonjour to provide an excellent user experience

WROX.COM DOWNLOADS FOR THIS CHAPTER

You can find the wrox.com code downloads for this chapter at www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-iOS-Network-Programming-Connecting-the-Enterprise-to-the-iPhone-and-iPad.productCd-1118362403.html on the Download Code tab. The code for this chapter is in the Chapter 13 download and is divided into two example apps, which both contain a shared Bonjour library:

• The Associate Help application publishes a Bonjour service and acts as a host in communication with a single client.
• The Consumer Help application browses for available Bonjour services, acts as the client, and requests a connection with the host.
• A shared library containing Bonjour, a Bonjour Service, and BonjourBrowser, a Bonjour Browser class, can be customized and dropped into your project to abstract the publication, discovery, resolution, and communication aspects from your front end.

Consumers using iOS devices have a lot of choices for applications, and those apps must provide an excellent user experience to gain recognition in a crowded marketplace. With the extensive penetration of networked devices and Wi-Fi networks, this presents an opportunity for companies to, quite literally, connect with their customers, engage them, and deliver an experience that exceeds ...