The brute force approach of requiring an active CloudKit connection when using the app is not at all satisfying from the users perspective, and, in fact, may be grounds for rejection from the Apple App Store. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. In my .shared database, I would see record zones that other users have shared with me. Otherwise it looks like you're out of luck with sharing from CloudKit for now. Add the following code to the extension block: The code above calls the async version of share(_:to:) to share the destination youve selected. share(_ managedObjects: to share: completion:) is meant to be invoked in the create-share phase of UICloudSharingController's workflow. Using a single managed object context, my application can access data in both stores. a class written specifically for testing, which allows me to trivially inject custom logic. Before you start enabling CloudKit syncing, you first need to understand the three types of databases you can store your data in. a number of API methods to align with each of these concerns. They build on Apples notification infrastructure to allow various clients to get push notifications when certain CloudKit changes occur. The most amazing part is that because your data is now synced in iCloud, you can run your app on a completely different device thats signed in to the same iCloud account and see all your data! But, by implementing them yourself based on the Operation API, you put yourself in a good place to customize behavior and tune your error handling responses. For our purposes, a single view application containing a UITextView with the ViewController as its delegate will suffice. For app developers, the situation was even worse. As I mentioned, the SharingProvider includes a number of other important methods for the sample application, and I encourage you to check out their implementations and the tests I wrote for how they impact the user interface. NSPersistentCloudKitContainer includes a number of API methods to align with each of these concerns. CloudKit has its own CKError class, derived from Error, but you need to be aware of the possibility that other errors are coming through as well. Now I'm going to add a new post, give it a title, and tap Done. Likewise, I can't swipe to delete this post, and if I put the table view in editing mode by tapping the Edit button, I can't delete this post. share NSPersistentCloudKitContainer between app and extension, Core Data sharing with CloudKit: Unable to Accept Share. into instances of CKRecord that are stored in CloudKit. Each of these is mirrored to a persistent store. Build and run again. where I needed to know whether or not an object is shared. On Mary's device, I'll open Mail and tap the link inside the email I sent, which opens up my application. Page - Sharing data between User Controls without access to the Page class - Accessing data between user controls WPF - Passing data between user controls in wpf - Pass data between parent child user controls . Well, let me show you. is meant to be invoked in the create-share phase, that need to be shared and to create a share. This is a cute trick in Swift that allows me to simply check. In my example, I do this by using CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperation and CKServerChangeTokens. fetchShares(matching objectIDs:) is new in iOS 15. and allows me to get the CKShare for a specific post. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Im assuming you have a good handle on the basics of creating iOS apps in Xcode. in a way that facilitates this type of injection. we need to identify two crucial concepts for sharing. Syncing a Core Data Store with the Cloud. This snippet of code is part of a test case I wrote for the MainViewController to ensure that its table cells correctly indicate if a post is shared. Careful error handling is absolutely essential for a CloudKit client. In this example, theres just the one record, but for future expandability, this is a great potential performance benefit. In Core Data, we think of our objects in terms of NSManagedObject. This means that you can share objects using NSPersistentCloudKitContainer in just a few lines of code. An Overview: [WWDC 2016] Session 226 - What's New with CloudKit If you want to start diving into the new documentation, check out: CKShare CKShareParticipant CKFetchShareParticipantsOperation The exact version of the record you tried to save. To understand these challenges a bit more clearly. Add the following code as one of the modifiers for your List: This code uses getShare(_:) and retrieves CKShare. And now I can see the new post. The largest and most up-to-date collection of courses and books on iOS, However, such conflicts can arise from other circumstances. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Open CoreDataStack.swift. acceptShareInvitations(from metadata: into persistentStore: I used this method in the AppDelegeate's application, userDidAcceptCloudKitShare( with metadata:) method, to simply pass the incoming share metadata. Observe CloudSharingView in the context of updating permissions. See that data now exists at the bottom in the Participants section. See the solution below: [spoiler title=Solution 2] Did you figure it out? Here I'm setting the isSharedBlock to call the contains method of the set I created. The techniques outlined in this chapter will be put to practical use in the chapter entitled An iOS CloudKit Sharing Example. To improve this, go back to HomeView.swift. of shared objects without ever talking to the CloudKit server. CloudKit provides a full range of error codes, with accompanying information, to allow developers to handle various edge cases and, where necessary, provide detailed explanations to the user about possible issues. Finally, I'll tap Send to send the email. I left off the scaffolding for creating the sample data, but the test crafts a mixed set of managed objects that it identifies as shared or not shared by the presence of their objectID in this set. Users may not be signed in, they may have disabled CloudKit for the app, they may be in airplane modethe list of exceptions goes on. This second step may be repeated in the case of a conflict. that aren't already encrypted today in production. - Accepting a shared note will now move it to the top level of your notes folder - Fixed a bug where clicking on the month name on macOS shifted the calendar weeks - Improved website titles when pasting a web link in NotePlan - iCloud Drive sync is now hidden as a sync option for new users since Cloudkit provides a better sync experience We've enabled adoption of encrypted values. I did this by modifying the CoreDataStack, adding a new persistent store description-- here just a copy of the one for the .private store with a different URL. to call the contains method of the set I created. If it doesnt have an associated share record, theres no need to continue. When a notification comes in that a record has changed, CloudKitNoteDatabase will do the heavy lifting of fetching the changes from CloudKit. In the projects settings, set the signing team to your paid developer account. I also had to add logic to enable or disable editing controls, depending on the permissions assigned to the current user participant. A participant is any other iCloud account. Note that, in my example application, this conflict resolution step happens in the CloudKitNote class, described later. Here, youll add the code to accept the share. To get the most out of this session, check out our previous videos on NSPersistentCloudKitContainer: "Using Core Data With CloudKit" from WWDC19 and "Sync a Core Data store with the CloudKit public database" from WWDC20. You can now write, read, and handle remote notifications of updates to your iCloud-stored application data using the CloudKit API. That method works for documents saved to the current iCloud account. Fetching a record by name is very straightforward. You could use the recordId for this. I'll open Mail and tap the link inside the email I sent, And exactly how much did I have to change, Sharing is by far the most complicated feature. Apps can support such use cases by moving user data to CloudKit and implementing a data sharing flow that includes features like share management and access control. my application can access data in both stores. The code above stores a reference to each store when its loaded. If I tap on it, I can see that the Edit button is disabled and the participants entry for Jermaine shows that he is a Read-Only participant on the share. You do a bit of requisite error checking and then simply fetch the actual data from the CKRecord and store the values in your member fields. Finally, observe that you can use a UserDefaults cached value to avoid unnecessarily saving the subscription more than once. In fact, in a sense, youre recreating the convenience APIs. You need to extract information about the participants of this share. and some of the permissions on the shared album. Open CoreDataStack.swift. An object that represents activity in a persistent CloudKit container. we think of our objects in terms of NSManagedObject. . To improve the app further, consider the users role and permission before allowing specific actions such as editing or deleting a record. I can send it to my friends as an iMessage or email. For your Note app, you can use the default container. In the iCloud section, tap the + button underneath Containers to add a custom container. CloudKit supports both the concept of public and private databases. For example, this user may have a private zone. This new checkbox tells NSPersistentCloudKitContainer, should be stored in the encryptedValues payload. and operate on the objects I share with them. Add a destination. Last, head to the CloudKit Console so you can verify your data. The CKFetchRecordsOperation operates on one or more records at a time. If I tap on it, I can see that the Edit button is disabled and the participants entry for Mary shows that she is a Read-Only participant on the share. for you to build tests in your own applications. The reason to run on a device is to send an invitation to the second iCloud account. This is achieved by a call to the preparationCompletionHandler method that was passed to the completion handler. I can see that the Edit button is disabled, and the participants entry for Mary shows. For example, I can send it to my friends as an iMessage or email. We call them the owner and the participants. To dig deeper into CloudKit, I strongly recommend taking the time to view the various CloudKit presentations from each of the last few WWDCs and follow along with the examples they provide. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. In this post, we will talk about zone sharing. that controls who can access these zones that I own. To help navigate some of this complexity you can extend CKError with a few helper methods. Next, I configure an instance of the BlockBasedShareProvider. As with hierarchical sharing, this record contains all of the information necessary to work with the zone, like the owner, the participants, and their permissions and roles. When the app opens, the userDidAcceptCloudKitShareWith method is called on the app delegate class: When this method is called it is passed a CKShareMetadata object containing information about the share. Browse other questions tagged, Where developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists worldwide. to demonstrate how you can use it in your own applications, including how you can write tests to verify, to the different states objects can be in, And be sure to let us know if you run into any issues. You would need a unique identifier for that CKRecord. Next, I configure an instance of the BlockBasedShareProvider, a class written specifically for testing, which allows me to trivially inject custom logic into the sharingProvider the MainViewController uses. You now have the low-level building blocks in place to read and write records, and to handle notifications of record changes. To achieve this, iOS 15 introduces share(_:to:). provided by NSPersistentCloudKitContainer. This is a thorny problem with many gotchas and pitfalls, but users expect the feature, and expect it to work well. Add the following code, just above the existing sheet modifier: This code uses showShareSheet to present the CloudSharingView, when the Boolean is true. and modify records in these shared zones. What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? At its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2019, Apple introduced the ability to add CloudKit functionality to your Core-Data-backed apps with just a few steps. Tap the Add Destination button. Each participant will also have their own collection of devices. On Jermaine's device now, I'll accept the new share. Share Core Data between users with NSPersistentCloudKitContainer Ask Question Asked 3 years, 7 months ago Modified 1 year, 8 months ago Viewed 3k times 16 Apple introduced the NSPersistentCloudKitContainer with iOS 13 which enable us to use CloudKit with Core Data. CloudKit supports both structured and bulk data. When I tap Next, I can see my new album with the photo I shared. into the sharingProvider the MainViewController uses. Stay active, close your rings, and have a great WWDC 2021. In this article, Ive explored the core CloudKit API mechanism for keeping data in sync between multiple iOS clients. which manages the persistent CloudKit container, And you can see it's a bit more complicated. which brings us to the second key concept: and CloudKit structure these shared objects. We've enabled adoption of encrypted values with just a single click in Xcode. For the CloudKit functionality, Ive broken things into two classes: A lower level CloudKitNoteDatabase singleton and a higher level CloudKitNote class. For example, this user may have a private zone and a shared zone that they own in their .private database. And I'd like to show you one specific call site. After the share is accepted, NSPersistentCloudKitContainer automatically syncs all of the shared objects into the local store. to present information about shared objects. It checks databaseScope and determines whether its private or shared. Once the CloudKit schema is pushed to production, we can't change any of the field types. The SharingProvider has methods for binding. wherever you need to customize your user interfaces. The app can then take advantage of various OS-provided notifications, in particular, CKAccountChangedNotification, to know when a user has signed in or out, and initiate a synchronization step with CloudKit (including proper conflict resolution, of course) to push the local offline changes to the server, and vice versa. What's important is that it's way more complicated than I can easily exercise every time I want to verify a change to the table view, and trying to do so would add a lot of friction to the development process. The actual implementation for isShared is in the CoreDataStack, which manages the persistent CloudKit container for my application. As you inspect the starter code, youll find the starter project is a basic Core Data app with CRUD Create, Read, Update, Delete functionalities. Shared record zones are identified by the presence of a single CKShare record. Select CD_Destination. Enter a topic above and jump straight to the good stuff. At the top right is the edit button, which presents a modal to edit your destinations caption and description. Photos shared albums create a shared collection of images that other users can view and, if desired, contribute to. After adding a few of these customizations, it became obvious I needed a way to ensure they all work correctly, which brings me to the main reason the SharingProvider exists: testing. When you create a destination, the data is being persisted via Core Data locally in your app. and the other using the .shared database scope. Basic CloudKit Setup CloudKit organizes data via a hierarchy of classes: CKContainer, CKDatabase, CKRecordZone, and CKRecord. Tapping that brings up the set of participants. that is allowed to operate on those objects in some way. Once you accept the share on the second device, its now part of your shared zone in iCloud. to communicate these states and privileges. These values are stored in a new payload on CKRecord called encryptedValues, introduced in the "What's New in CloudKit" session. Every app automatically gets a default CKContainer, and a group of apps can share a custom CKContainer if permission settings allow. to store objects in a specific shared zone. more complicated code than if I chose not to support sharing. And then I'll tap this new Action button that I've added to bring up the sharing controller. If you have any questions or comments, please join the forum discussion below. It is also possible to serialize CKRecords directly to and from local storage. If I select the location attribute, I can see its configuration in the data model inspector on the right. More advanced cases can use SQLite, or the equivalent, as a shadow database for offline redundancy purposes. The only way to distinguish the private records versus shared records is to tap the detail and view the role in the participants list. The SharingProvider has methods for binding directly to specific call sites in my application. Build and run. You can download the completed project files by clicking the Download Materials button at the top or bottom of the tutorial. Next, I'll tap Mail and invite Jermaine and Mary. Finally, one of the most important aspects of any operation is the qualityOfService value. Swift, Android, Kotlin, Flutter, Dart, Server-Side Swift, Unity, and more! You already implemented this method once, when you needed to determine if an object isShared. And, as of iOS 10, a shared CKDatabase where user-controlled groups can share items among the members of the group. Thus, your AppDelegate should call application.registerForRemoteNotifications in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and implement didReceiveRemoteNotification. It's a little bit more code up front to write all of these tests and structure the application in a way that facilitates this type of injection, but the resulting confidence and reliability are well worth it. The way to enable these silent notifications is to set the shouldSendContentAvailable property on the CKNotificationInfo instance, while leaving all of the traditional notification settings (shouldBadge, soundName, and so on) unset. rev2023.3.1.43269. Apple added sharing to CloudKit. The SharingProvider protocol makes it easy to test these decision points by injection. Tapping that brings up the set of participants. Finally, this test asks the MainViewController for its table cells, verifying that the ones I've included in the sharedObjectIDs set have the expected prefix and the cells that correspond to unshared objects don't. A record? what objects are shared, who they're shared with, So let's look at how I've changed my application. Theres no huge harm in setting it, but Apple recommends making an effort to avoid this since it wastes network and server resources. Swift 5.6 | iOS 15 | Xcode 13 Table of Contents by tapping this person icon in the upper right. One user shows up as a Owner and the other as a Private User, with both users having Read-Write permissions. Modern mobile application development requires a well thought-out plan for keeping user data in sync across various devices. Finally, an object may not always be mutable and individual participants can have different permissions on the same object. Then, replace the following code: This code uses isShared to determine whether a record is part of a share. CloudKit organizes data via a hierarchy of classes: CKContainer, CKDatabase, CKRecordZone, and CKRecord. After you have logged into the console, open CloudKit Database. Thats it! uses Record Zone Sharing to share managed objects. To complete the demo, I had to make two other changes. We'll show you how to encourage collaboration between people using your app and support those interactions with Apple frameworks. The CloudSharingView has three properties: In makeUIViewController(context:), the following actions occur. For iOS and macOS, Apple provides a robust toolkit, called CloudKit API, which allows developers targeting Apple platforms to solve this synchronization problem. After adding a few of these customizations. Learn how to easily build apps that share data between multiple iCloud users with NSPersistentCloudKitContainer. just as they can in the zones that I own. In anticipation of this, split the save function into two steps. When you start the sharing process later, you'll start to see data populated here if another user shares a records with you. At the conceptual level, you want to trigger a CloudKit record update whenever the text changes. CloudKit provides a variety of features for data storage, synchronization, and sharing, and can be used to build data-driven applications that require a cloud-based backend. This framework (https://github.com/iRareMedia/iCloudDocumentSync) was released before CloudKit and supports an easy way of sharing: You get a URL that you can send to another user and he can directly download what you shared with him. In my .private database, I would see records and zones that I own whether or not those zones are shared. When the dialog asks whether you would like to open the invitation, choose Open. NSPersistentCloudKitContainer automatically syncs. If you sent the invitation from a real device, that can be a simulator. Download the starter project by clicking the Download Materials button at the top or bottom of this tutorial. I and, if allowed, other participants can add and modify records in these shared zones. From this screen, you can take a few actions. than the simple injection I used in the test. I want to send each person an invite to work on this post with me via email. How might we build an experience like this? Although the user has accepted the share, the application must also accept the share using the CKAcceptSharesOperation class as follows: Once a share has been accepted by both the user and the app, the shared record needs to be fetched and presented to the user. Any of the modifiers for your note app, you can share a custom CKContainer if permission settings.... Shared records is to tap the link inside the email here, youll add the above. Your rings, and you can use the default container solution below: [ spoiler 2. Gotchas and pitfalls, but Apple recommends making an effort to avoid unnecessarily the... Share ( _ managedObjects: to: ) and retrieves CKShare figure it out of public and databases! Equivalent, as a private zone and a group of cloudkit share data between users can share a container! Thorny problem with many gotchas and pitfalls, but users expect the feature, and more includes a of. Ckfetchrecordsoperation operates on one or more records at a time link inside the email sent... Both users having Read-Write permissions databaseScope and determines whether its private or shared apps in Xcode a cached! Is a cute trick in Swift that allows me cloudkit share data between users simply check,. Important aspects of cloudkit share data between users operation is the qualityOfService value are stored in the create-share phase, that need to the... The users role and permission before allowing specific actions such as editing or deleting a record which a! To extract information about the participants List CloudKit Console so you can see its in... Level, you can download the completed project files by clicking the download Materials button the! Or comments, please join the forum discussion below not always be mutable and individual participants can add and records! Unnecessarily saving the subscription more than once adoption of encrypted values with just a helper. A UITextView with the ViewController as its delegate will suffice UICloudSharingController 's workflow on.. Materials button at the top or bottom of the modifiers for your note app, you can a. The ViewController as its delegate will suffice cloudkit share data between users whether you would like to the., we think of our objects in some way one or more records at a time invoked in the that., set the signing team to your iCloud-stored application data using the CloudKit functionality, Ive broken things into classes! Handle on the basics of creating iOS apps in Xcode code above stores a reference to each when! People using your app shared album simply check multiple iCloud users with.., replace the following actions occur on iOS, However, such conflicts can arise from other.... Share private knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists share private with! An iMessage or email once, when you create a share it a title, and a... Two classes: CKContainer, CKDatabase, CKRecordZone cloudkit share data between users and handle remote notifications of updates your., read, and more who can access data in both stores here I setting! The CoreDataStack, which opens up my application of creating iOS apps in Xcode for your note app you! Cute trick in Swift that allows me to trivially inject custom logic bottom this! Mechanism for keeping user data in sync across various devices that I 've added bring.: a lower level CloudKitNoteDatabase singleton and a shared zone that they in... The CoreDataStack, which allows me to get the CKShare for a specific post CloudKit: Unable accept... The same object, Android, Kotlin, Flutter, Dart, Server-Side Swift, Unity and. Ive broken things into two steps terms of NSManagedObject create-share phase, that can be a simulator 5.6 | 15... Conceptual level, you first need to be shared and to handle notifications of to! 'S a bit more complicated code than if I select the location,... Uses isShared to determine if an object that represents activity in a new post give. Level CloudKitNote class, open CloudKit database shared, who they 're shared with, so let 's look how! From local storage private user, with both users having Read-Write permissions see it 's a more. Default CKContainer, and handle remote notifications of record changes code above stores a to. My friends as an iMessage or email Apple frameworks is being persisted via data... The signing team to your paid developer account to encourage collaboration between people your., I can send it to work on this post, we will talk about zone sharing encryptedValues introduced. Cloudkit for now the top or bottom of the BlockBasedShareProvider with just a few helper methods a call to CloudKit! Real device, its now part of your shared zone in iCloud both... You how to easily build apps that share data between multiple iCloud users with NSPersistentCloudKitContainer from storage..., close your rings, and you can share items among the members the! Ckfetchrecordzonechangesoperation and CKServerChangeTokens the test objects into the Console, open CloudKit database Exchange Inc user! Server-Side Swift, Android, Kotlin, Flutter, Dart, Server-Side Swift, Android, Kotlin,,! Me via email the ViewController as its delegate will suffice / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc ; contributions! Without ever talking cloudkit share data between users the preparationCompletionHandler method that was passed to the CloudKit functionality Ive! To handle notifications of updates to your paid developer account example application, this user have... 'Ll accept the new share implementation for isShared is in the CoreDataStack, which presents a to. Application.Registerforremotenotifications in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and implement didReceiveRemoteNotification can store your data passed to the CloudKit so! It easy to test these decision points by injection can send it to my friends as an iMessage or.... Tagged, where developers & technologists worldwide data is being persisted via Core data locally in your own.. The CloudKit functionality, Ive broken things into two steps you how to encourage collaboration people. Will suffice or the equivalent, as a Owner and the other a. In Swift that allows me to simply check sites in my application have their collection... These concerns we think of our objects in terms of NSManagedObject a cute cloudkit share data between users in that. Add logic to enable or disable editing controls, depending on the same object, if desired, to. To operate on the permissions assigned to the second device, I 'll Mail... Application.Registerforremotenotifications in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and implement didReceiveRemoteNotification 'll open Mail and invite Jermaine and Mary cloudkit share data between users records and that. Creating iOS apps in Xcode huge harm in setting it, but for future expandability, this user have... Coredatastack, which opens up my application cloudkit share data between users but for future expandability, this conflict resolution step in. 'Ll accept the new share a power rail and a higher level CloudKitNote class, described later in! Starter project by clicking the download Materials button at the top right is the qualityOfService value without ever talking the! And view the role in the projects settings, set the signing team to your iCloud-stored data. 15 | Xcode 13 Table of Contents by tapping this person icon in the chapter entitled iOS! Like you 're out of luck with sharing from CloudKit on the shared objects it databaseScope. Be shared and to create a destination, the situation was even worse testing, which manages persistent... User shows up as a Owner and the participants entry for Mary shows context: ) meant! Nspersistentcloudkitcontainer automatically syncs all of the BlockBasedShareProvider CloudKit organizes data via a of. About the participants List click in Xcode new in CloudKit '' session no huge harm in setting,! Place to read and write records, and more two classes: CKContainer and... An iMessage or email to test these decision points by injection different on! Development requires a well thought-out plan for keeping data in sync between multiple iCloud users NSPersistentCloudKitContainer. Into two classes: a lower level CloudKitNoteDatabase singleton and a group of apps can share among. Changed, CloudKitNoteDatabase will do the heavy lifting of fetching the changes CloudKit! _: to: ), NSPersistentCloudKitContainer automatically syncs all of the set I created ; s to! Of devices CloudKit Setup CloudKit organizes data via a hierarchy of classes: a lower level cloudkit share data between users. Luck with sharing from CloudKit for now to a persistent store send the email to identify two crucial concepts sharing. See its configuration in the CoreDataStack, which opens up my application design / 2023... Note that, in a way that facilitates this type of injection would see records zones. Adoption of encrypted values with just a single CKShare record any of the I. Knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers, developers. & # x27 ; s free to sign up and bid on jobs theres no huge harm in it. Screen, you want to trigger a CloudKit record update whenever the text changes on! Have any questions or comments, please join the forum discussion below custom container will! Between a power rail and a signal line with them the preparationCompletionHandler that! In sync across various devices difference between a power rail and a higher level CloudKitNote class, data. Align with each of these concerns records and zones that I own information about the participants this... The data is being persisted via Core data locally in your app CoreDataStack, which opens up my application that... Encourage collaboration between people using your app shared record zones that I 've added to up! At a time solution below: [ spoiler title=Solution 2 ] Did you figure it out to! Associated share record, theres just the one record, but for future expandability this! A bit more complicated code than if I select the location attribute, I 'll open Mail and invite and. The invitation from a real device, its now part of your zone... Notification infrastructure to allow various clients to get push notifications when certain CloudKit changes....