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Mark Wilkie
7,427 PointsThe Treehouse app for the iPad...
Full marks to the design of the app as it is a hundred times better than using the website on my iPad, which is slow and laggy.
However, whenever I need to use the forum, I have to use the website. Is there a chance that the forum may be added to the app in future? Or is this even possible?
Also...I may have shot myself in the foot with my next question as it could be painfully obvious...but why are the Android topics not on the app? Is it because of iOS?
2 Answers
Mike Baxter
4,442 PointsAs far as I know, apps submitted to the Apple App Store get rejected if they have any mention of "Android" or similar things.
It's curious that they had to do so with the Treehouse app, as the content is locked down (to members only). I guess it also depends on whether they're using a RESTful architecture, if you really want to get technical with it. (We're here to learn technical stuff, right?) Basically, a RESTful app would not have the videos or anything inside of the app (making the app size very small=good), just a reference to some place on teamtreehouse.com where it can grab a list of pieces of content to load in and make a content menu out of. When the user loads the app, it generates a list based off what it sees on the server—meaning you could make it so the server doesn't show "Android" videos while the app is in review by Apple. Then, once the app has been approved, you just switch the "Android" topics on. My guess is, though, it's not good to play games like that with Apple. They're pretty serious, and Team Treehouse is high-profile enough that they might catch it.
So that's all a lesson in the design paradigm and how it plays in with iOS apps. Think about it (for the sake of learning), if you had the whole list of "Tracks" and "Deep Dives" and so on hard-coded into the app, you'd have to submit an update to the app for each new piece of content you add. It's MUCH better to use a RESTful design. If you decide to try this on iOS, definitely look into the JSON parser, as JSON is a great way to serve up data, and it's RIDICULOUSLY simple to parse JSON with Objective-C.
Marshall Huss
3,504 PointsWe're glad you like the design, Griffin Moore did an amazing job.
We actually have started native forum support but have postponed it. Rendering a lot of HTML content can be really sluggish and the quality wasn't something we'd be proud to release. It's been put on the back burner in favor for other features.
We originally submitted the App with Android content, but were rejected by Apple.
Mike Baxter is correct, we use a RESTful API to retrieve information when we need it, but we do ship the App with a seed database. The database is about 3MB worth of meta information about our library. This allows users who launch the App for the first time and feel like all the information is already there. Most of the actual syncing is done in the background and updated in place so the student has a seamless experience.
Mike Baxter
4,442 PointsInteresting! Thanks for sharing that, Marshall! (By the way, how do I mention another user in a post/comment? I've been trying to figure that out.)
Marshall Huss
3,504 PointsType @ and then the user's name.
Mike Baxter
4,442 PointsThanks Marshall Huss!
Mark Wilkie
7,427 PointsMark Wilkie
7,427 PointsAh that's cleared things up nicely. Thanks!