What is the best way to load static objects in an iOS app?

Question

I have a list of about 100 address. I want to use the CLGeocoder Class and the geocodeAddressDictionary or geocodeAddressString methods to get a list of CLPlacemarks for each address. I don't want the app to do this every time it starts up (as the addresses never change and it requires internet). How can I statically store a list of 100 CLPlacemark objects to be loaded each time the app launches?

Answer 1

I suggest:

Store the list in your app bundle as a .plist file or a JSON file which can then be parsed on launch into a static NSDictionary or as an instance variable of a Singleton object.

First serialise your 100 addresses into a JSON file. You can try use some online tools like: http://www.objgen.com/json

Once you have a text JSON file drag the file into your project in Xcode. You can then parse it using:

NSError *error;
NSString *filePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Addresses" ofType:@"json"];  
NSURL *localFileURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:filePath];
NSData *contentOfLocalFile = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:localFileURL];
NSDictionary *addresses = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:contentOfLocalFile 
                                            options: NSJSONReadingMutableContainers 
                                              error:&error];

You can use same method to deserialise PLIST file.