ASJPlistHelper

Property lists, or plists are everywhere in iOS and Mac platforms. They are used to store small amounts of data like default settings/preferences. This library attempts to simplify working with them. It encapsulates the functionality needed to save and retrieve data from them.

Plists generally have two kinds of root objects; NSArray or NSDictionary. For instance, the Info.plist in every Xcode project holds an NSDictionary. When using this library, if the current plist you're working with is empty and does not have a root object type, it will be set when you save any data in it.

Suppose you save an NSDictionary, that becomes the root object. But if you save any other kind of valid plist object, it will fall back to NSArray so that any updatation of the plist in future would mean adding objects to that array.

When trying to update an existing plist with root object type NSDictionary, note that you can only update it with another dictionary. Attempting to update with any other object will fail. On the other hand, an existing NSArray type plist will be able to update itself with any kind of valid plist object.

Installation

CocoaPods is the preferred way to install this library. Add this command to your Podfile:

pod 'ASJPlistHelper'

Usage

- (instancetype)initWithPlistNamed:(NSString *)name NS_DESIGNATED_INITIALIZER;

Use the designated initializer to create an instance. You will also need to provide a valid name for your plist file.

- (BOOL)save:(id)data;

Saves data provided to plist file. This method will overwrite any previous data present in the plist. Returns YES if saving is successful.

- (BOOL)update:(id)data;

Similar to save, although this method will not overwrite previous data present in the plist file and append new data after it. Returns YES if saving is successful.

@property (readonly, copy, nonatomic) id plistContents;

Returns the data saved in the plist file.

- (BOOL)deletePlistWithError:(NSError * _Nullable *)error;

You can delete the plist if you're done with it. To recreate, you must initialize another instance of ASJPlistHelper.

Credits

• iOS Developer Library - Serializing a Property List

To-do

• Add UI to example project.
• Refactor code and make it podworthy.
• Look up NSPropertyListSerialization.
• Allow id to be sent to save/update.

License

ASJPlistHelper is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.