RestKit - Request blocks until previous call completes - restkit

I am seeing an issue with RestKit where an outstanding remote request will cause other requests to queue up and block until the previous one completes. I have read that RestKit defaults AFNetworking's setMaxConcurrentOperationCount value to 5, but I am encountering blocking with just a single outstanding request.
Does the current version of RestKit still default this to 5, and if so, what could be causing my lack of concurrent requests?
RestKit 0.20.3
Request
- (RKManagedObjectRequestOperation*) getUser {
RKObjectManager *objectManager = [RKObjectManager sharedManager];
NSDictionary *items = [objectManager.HTTPClient defaultHeaders];
NSString *auth = [items objectForKey:#"Authorization"];
if (auth == nil) {
NSLog(#"You must login first\n");
return nil;
}
auth = [auth stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString:#"Bearer " withString:#""];
NSMutableString *path = [NSMutableString stringWithFormat:#"/users?accessToken=%#", auth];
return [[RKObjectManager sharedManager] appropriateObjectRequestOperationWithObject:nil method:RKRequestMethodGET path:path parameters:nil];
}
- (void) getUser:(void ( ^ ) ( RKObjectRequestOperation *operation , RKMappingResult *mappingResult ))success failure:(void ( ^ ) ( RKObjectRequestOperation *operation , NSError *error ))failure {
RKManagedObjectRequestOperation *requestOperation = [self getUser];
[requestOperation setCompletionBlockWithSuccess:success failure:failure];
[requestOperation start];
}
The former is a helper used in testing, and the latter is actually called by Production code. I don't see any place in my code where the Queue size is set explicitly.

RKObjectRequestOperation contains an internal queue (responseMappingQueue) which is shared amongst all instances. This queue is explicitly set with a concurrency count of 1, but it's just used for mapping, not for the URL connections.
Looking at what you're doing, calling start on the operation directly, you most likely want to think about adding the operation to a queue so that you can manage them better. Because you aren't using the object manager to run the operations the concurrent count of 5 that you refer to doesn't apply. Look at using enqueueObjectRequestOperation: to run the operations.

Related

better way to find max date inside big pool of core data objects

i have big pool of core date objects (around 10000) and there is too long time doing code according profile:
NSDate *maxExternalChangedDate = [codes valueForKeyPath:#"#max.externalChangedDate"];
is community know better way to found it?
NSString *rateSheetID = [rateSheetAndPrefix valueForKey:#"rateSheetID"];
NSFetchRequest *requestCodesForSale = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
[requestCodesForSale setEntity:[NSEntityDescription entityForName:#"CodesvsDestinationsList"
inManagedObjectContext:self.moc]];
[requestCodesForSale setPredicate:[NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"(%K.carrier.GUID == %#)",relationshipName,carrierGUID]];
NSError *error = nil;
NSArray *codes = [self.moc executeFetchRequest:requestCodesForSale error:&error];
if (error) NSLog(#"Failed to executeFetchRequest to data store: %# in function:%#", [error localizedDescription],NSStringFromSelector(_cmd));
NSNumber *count = [codes valueForKeyPath:#"#count.externalChangedDate"];
if (count == 0) {
[requestCodesForSale release];
[pool drain], pool = nil;
return YES;
}
NSDate *maxExternalChangedDate = [codes valueForKeyPath:#"#max.externalChangedDate"];
By using NSFetchRequest and returning NSDictionaryResultType You can use NSExpressionDescription to yeild the results for functions like max() and min().
Sample Code from Apple
NSExpression *keyPathExpression = [NSExpression expressionForKeyPath:#"salary"];
NSExpression *maxSalaryExpression = [NSExpression expressionForFunction:#"max:"
arguments:[NSArray arrayWithObject:keyPathExpression]];
NSExpressionDescription *expressionDescription = [[NSExpressionDescription alloc] init];
[expressionDescription setName:#"maxSalary"];
[expressionDescription setExpression:maxSalaryExpression];
[expressionDescription setExpressionResultType:NSDecimalAttributeType];
[request setPropertiesToFetch:[NSArray arrayWithObject:expressionDescription]];
Check out this doc for more information.
Core Data Programming Guide
I have the same issue.
In theory this should work, but for me it did not.
For some reasons the query crashes with the error that the database is corrupt.
In the end I perfomed a query, where I ordered on my field DESCENDING, and using setFetchLim it:1. Its not perfect, but at least it worked.
Also I made sure the field I use has an index.
Since I have few records, this works fine.
On 30000 records, it might be a problem though.
I followed the IOS documentation, fot fatch a "max:" query, but only got "database corrupted" errors. That is the sample code from Apple fails BADLY.
Googling the internet, it seem the call to setPropertiesToFetch fails in IOS 5+ ??!
I have not found any way around that.
Using a normal query, it worked without any issue.
So I must conclude Apple code is no longer corerct.

Core Data Transformable attributes NOT working with NSPredicate

I often use Transformable for Core Data attributes, so I can change them later.
However, it seems like, if I want to use NSPredicate to find a NSManagedObject, using "uniqueKey == %#", or "uniqueKey MATCHES[cd] %#", it's not working as it should.
It always misses matching objects, until I change the attributes of the uniqueKey of the matching object to have specific class like NSString, or NSNumber.
Can someone explain the limitation of using NSPredicate with Transformable attributes?
Note: I'm not sure when/if this has changed since 5/2011 (from Scott Ahten's accepted answer), but you can absolutely search with NSPredicate on transformable attributes. Scott correctly explained why your assumptions were broken, but if Can someone explain the limitation of using NSPredicate with Transformable attributes? was your question, he implied that it is not possible, and that is incorrect.
Since the is the first google hit for "Core Data transformable value search nspredicate" (what I searched for trying to find inspiration), I wanted to add my working answer.
How to use NSPredicate with transformable properties
Short, heady answer: you need to be smart about your data transformers. You need to transfrom the value to NSData that contains what I'll call "primitive identifying information", i.e. the smallest, most identifying set of bytes that can be used to reconstruct your object. Long answer, ...
Foremost, consider:
Did you actual mean to use a transformable attribute? If any supported data type -- even binary data -- will suffice, use it.
Do you understand what transformable attributes actually are? How they pack and unpack data to and from the store? Review Non-Standard Persistent Attributes in Apple's documentation.
After reading the above, ask: does custom code that hides a supported type "backing attribute" work for you? Possibly use that technique.
Now, past those considerations, transformable attributes are rather slick. Frankly, writing an NSValueTransformer "FooToData" for Foo instances to NSData seemed cleaner than writing a lot of adhoc custom code. I haven't found a case where Core Data doesn't know it needs to transform the data using the registered NSValueTransformer.
To proceed simply address these concerns:
Did you tell Core Data what transformer to use? Open the Core Data model in table view, click the entity, click the attribute, load the Data Model Inspector pane. Under "Attribute Type: Transformable", set "Name" to your transformer.
Use a default transformer (again, see the previous Apple docs) or write your own transformer -- transformedValue: must return NSData.
NSKeyedUnarchiveFromDataTransformerName is the default transformer and may not suffice, or may draw in somewhat-transient instance data that can make two similar objects be different when they are equal.
The transformed value should contain only -- what I'll call -- "primitive identifying information". The store is going to be comparing bytes, so every byte counts.
You may also register your transformer globally. I have to do this since I actually reuse them elsewhere in the app -- e.g. NSString *name = #"FooTrans"; [NSValueTransformer setValueTransformer:[NSClassFromString(name) new] forName:name];
You probably don't want to use transforms heavily queried data operations - e.g. a large import where the primary key information uses transformers - yikes!
And then in the end, I simply use this to test for equality for high-level object attributes on models with NSPredicates -- e.g. "%K == %#" -- and it works fine. I haven't tried some of the various matching terms, but I wouldn't be surprised if they worked sometimes, and others not.
Here's an example of an NSURL to NSData transformer. Why not just store the string? Yeah, that's fine -- that's a good example of custom code masking the stored attribute. This example illustrates that an extra byte is added to the stringified URL to record if it was a file URL or not -- allowing us to know what constructors to use when the object is unpacked.
// URLToDataTransformer.h - interface
extern NSString *const kURLToDataTransformerName;
#interface URLToDataTransformer : NSValueTransformer
#end
...
// URLToDataTransformer.m - implementation
#import "URLToDataTransformer.h"
NSString *const kURLToDataTransformerName = #"URLToDataTransformer";
#implementation URLToDataTransformer
+ (Class)transformedValueClass { return [NSData class]; }
+ (BOOL)allowsReverseTransformation { return YES; }
- (id)transformedValue:(id)value
{
if (![value isKindOfClass:[NSURL class]])
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
NSMutableData *data;
char fileType = 0;
if ([value isFileURL])
{
fileType = 1;
data = [NSMutableData dataWithBytes:&fileType length:1];
[data appendData:[[(NSURL *)value path] dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
}
else
{
fileType = -1;
data = [NSMutableData dataWithBytes:&fileType length:1];
[data appendData:[[(NSURL *)value absoluteString] dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
}
return data;
}
- (id)reverseTransformedValue:(id)value
{
if (![value isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
NSURL *url = nil;
NSData *data = (NSData *)value;
char fileType = 0;
NSRange range = NSMakeRange(1, [data length]-1);
[data getBytes:&fileType length:1];
if (1 == fileType)
{
NSData *actualData = [data subdataWithRange:range];
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:actualData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
url = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:str];
}
else if (-1 == fileType)
{
NSData *actualData = [data subdataWithRange:range];
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:actualData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
url = [NSURL URLWithString:str];
}
else
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
return url;
}
#end
Transformable attributes are usually persisted as archived binary data. As such, you are attempting to compare an instance of NSData with an instance of NSString or NSNumber.
Since these classes interpret the same data in different ways, they are not considered a match.
you can try this way
NSExpression *exprPath = [NSExpression expressionForKeyPath:#"transformable_field"];
NSExpression *exprKeyword = [NSExpression expressionForConstantValue:nsdataValue];
NSPredicate *predicate = [NSComparisonPredicate predicateWithLeftExpression:exprPath rightExpression:exprKeyword modifier:NSDirectPredicateModifier type:NSEqualToPredicateOperatorType options:0];

IOBluetooth Synchronous Reads

Right now I'm working on a program using IOBluetooth and I need to have synchronous reads, i.e. I call a method, it writes a given number of bytes to the port, then reads a given number and returns them. I currently have a complex system of NSThreads, NSLocks, and NSConditions that, while it sort of works, is very slow. Also, after certain calls, I need to make sure there's no extra data, so I'd normally flush the buffer, but with IOBluetooth's asynchronous callback that's not possible - any thoughts on how to make sure that no matter what, all data received after a specific point is data that's received after that point?
I really haven't dealt at all with synchronization and multithreading of this type, since all the work I've done so far is using synchronous calls, so I'd appreciate any thoughts on the matter.
Here's the callback for incoming data (the "incomingData" object is NSMutableData):
- (void)rfcommChannelData:(IOBluetoothRFCOMMChannel*)rfcommChannel data:(void *)dataPointer length:(size_t)dataLength {
[dataLock lock];
NSData *data = [NSData dataWithBytes:dataPointer length:dataLength];
[incomingData appendData:data];
if (dataWaitCondition && [incomingData length] >= bytesToWaitFor) {
[dataWaitCondition signal];
}
[dataLock unlock];
[delegate bluetoothDataReceived];
}
And here's the method that waits until the given number of bytes has been received before returning the data object (this gets called from an alternate thread).
- (NSData *)waitForBytes:(int)numberOfBytes {
bytesToWaitFor = numberOfBytes;
[dataLock lock];
dataWaitCondition = [[NSCondition alloc] init];
[dataWaitCondition lock];
[dataLock unlock];
while ([incomingData length] < numberOfBytes) {
[dataWaitCondition wait];
}
[dataLock lock];
NSData *data = [incomingData copy];
[dataWaitCondition unlock];
dataWaitCondition = NULL;
[dataLock unlock];
return data;
}
Doing any kind of IO/communication in a synchronous way will get you into trouble.
You can avoid multi threading and locks by using a simple state machine for your application logic. Whenever data is received, the state machine is triggered and can process the data. If all data is there, you can do the next step in your app. You can use synchronous calls for sending if you like as it will just drop the data with the Bluetooth system.

Is there a more memory efficient way to search through a Core Data database?

I need to see if an object that I have obtained from a CSV file with a unique identifier exists in my Core Data Database, and this is the code I deemed suitable for this task:
NSFetchRequest *fetchRequest = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
NSEntityDescription *entity;
entity =
[NSEntityDescription entityForName:#"ICD9"
inManagedObjectContext:passedContext];
[fetchRequest setEntity:entity];
NSPredicate *pred = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"uniqueID like %#", uniqueIdentifier];
[fetchRequest setPredicate:pred];
NSError *err;
NSArray* icd9s = [passedContext executeFetchRequest:fetchRequest error:&err];
[fetchRequest release];
if ([icd9s count] > 0) {
for (int i = 0; i < [icd9s count]; i++) {
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc]init];
NSString *name = [[icd9s objectAtIndex:i] valueForKey:#"uniqueID"];
if ([name caseInsensitiveCompare:uniqueIdentifier] == NSOrderedSame && name != nil)
{
[pool release];
return [icd9s objectAtIndex:i];
}
[pool release];
}
}
return nil;
After more thorough testing it appears that this code is responsible for a huge amount of leaking in the app I'm writing (it crashes on a 3GS before making it 20 percent through the 1459 items). I feel like this isn't the most efficient way to do this, any suggestions for a more memory efficient way? Thanks in advance!
Don't use the like operator in your request predicate. Use =. That should be much faster.
You can specify the case insensitivity of the search via the predicate, using the [c] modifier.
It's not necessary to create and destroy an NSAutoreleasePool on each iteration of your loop. In fact, it's probably not needed at all.
You don't need to do any of the checking inside the for() loop. You're duplicating the work of your predicate.
So I would change your code to be:
NSFetchRequest *fetchRequest = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
[fetchRequest setEntity:...];
[fetchRequest setPredicate:[NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"uniqueID =[c] %#", uniqueIdentifier]];
NSError *err = nil;
NSArray *icd9s = [passedContext executeFetchRequest:fetchRequest error:&err];
[fetchRequest release];
if (error == nil && [icd9s count] > 0) {
return [icd9s objectAtIndex:0]; //we know the uniqueID matches, because of the predicate
}
return nil;
Use the Leaks template in Instruments to hunt down the leak(s). Your current code may be just fine once you fix them. The leak(s) may even be somewhere other than code.
Other problems:
Using fast enumeration will make the loop over the array (1) faster and (2) much easier to read.
Don't send release to an autorelease pool. If you ever port the code to garbage-collected Cocoa, the pool will not do anything. Instead, send it drain; in retain-release Cocoa and in Cocoa Touch, this works the same as release, and in garbage-collected Cocoa, it pokes the garbage collector, which is the closest equivalent in GC-land to draining the pool.
Don't repeat yourself. You currently have two [pool release]; lines for one pool, which gets every experienced Cocoa and Cocoa Touch programmer really worried. Store the result of your tests upon the name in a Boolean variable, then drain the pool before the condition, then conditionally return the object.
Be careful with variable types. -[NSArray count] returns and -[NSArray objectAtIndex:] takes an NSUInteger, not an int. Try to keep all your types matching at all times. (Switching to fast enumeration will, of course, solve this instance of this problem in a different way.)
Don't hide releases. I almost accused you of leaking the fetch request, then noticed that you'd buried it in the middle of the code. Make your releases prominent so that you're less likely to accidentally add redundant (i.e., crash-inducing) ones.

Core Data: Inverse relationship only mirrors when I edit the mutableset. Not sure why

My model is setup so Business has many clients, Client has one business. Inverse relationship is setup in the mom file.
I have a unit test like this:
- (void)testNewClientFromBusiness
{
PTBusiness *business = [modelController newBusiness];
STAssertTrue([[business clients] count] == 0, #"is actually %d", [[business clients] count]);
PTClient *client = [business newClient];
STAssertTrue([business isEqual:[client business]], nil);
STAssertTrue([[business clients] count] == 1, #"is actually %d", [[business clients] count]);
}
I implement -newClient inside of PTBusiness like this:
- (PTClient *)newClient
{
PTClient *client = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:#"Client" inManagedObjectContext:[self managedObjectContext]];
[client setBusiness:self];
[client updateLocalDefaultsBasedOnBusiness];
return client;
}
The test fails because [[business clients] count] is still 0 after -newClient is called.
If I impliment it like this:
- (PTClient *)newClient
{
PTClient *client = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:#"Client" inManagedObjectContext:[self managedObjectContext]];
NSMutableSet *group = [self mutableSetValueForKey:#"clients"];
[group addObject:client];
[client updateLocalDefaultsBasedOnBusiness];
return client;
}
The tests passes.
My question(s): So am I right in thinking the inverse relationship is only updated when I interact with the mutable set? That seems to go against some other Core Data docs I've read. Is the fact that this is running in a unit test without a run loop have anything to do with it?
Any other troubleshooting recommendations? I'd really like to figure out why I can't set up the relationship at the client end.
Update: Some people have suggested I use -processPendingChanges to for the relationships be updated before the end of the run loop where it typically happens. Doing this is not helping me. Another sample test that fails:
- (void)testAssigningRelationship
{
// BUG: for some unknow reason in this project i have to assign both ends of the relationsip manually.
NSURL *modelUrl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#/%#", [[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath], #"PTDataModel.momd/schemaVersion1.mom"]];
NSManagedObjectModel *managedObjectModel = [[NSManagedObjectModel alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:modelUrl];
NSPersistentStoreCoordinator *persistentStoreCoordinator = [[NSPersistentStoreCoordinator alloc] initWithManagedObjectModel:managedObjectModel];
[persistentStoreCoordinator addPersistentStoreWithType:NSInMemoryStoreType configuration:nil URL:nil options:nil error:nil];
NSManagedObjectContext *managedObjectContext = [[NSManagedObjectContext alloc] init];
[managedObjectContext setPersistentStoreCoordinator:persistentStoreCoordinator];
PTBusiness *business = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:#"Business" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext];
STAssertTrue([[business clients] count] == 0, #"is actually %d", [[business clients] count]);
PTClient *client = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:#"Client" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext];
//NSMutableSet *clients = [business valueForKey:#"clients"];
//[clients addObject:client];
[client setBusiness:business];
[managedObjectContext processPendingChanges];
STAssertTrue([business isEqual:[client business]], #"[client business] is %#", [client business]);
// fails count is 0
STAssertTrue([[business clients] count] == 1, #"is actually %d", [[business clients] count]);
NSSet *clientSet = [business valueForKey:#"clients"];
// fails count is 0
STAssertTrue([clientSet count] == 1, #"is actually %d", [clientSet count]);
}
I've tried to recreate the bug in a fresh project that mirrors my own project's core data stack, but the fresh projects seem to work correctly. I'm really at a lose where to troubleshoot next. Sure I can work around this is my code (always use the mutableSet) but I worry about this being the tip of a bigger problem.
Inverse relationships are only handled at the end of the runloop typically. You can force it to happen earlier though by calling -processPendingChanges on your context.
Also, in your second example using the mutableSetValueForKey: you should have the inverse problem because there your PTClient object's business relationship would be nil.
Thanks for all your help people but the lack of updated inverse relationships seems to have been caused by a very subtle KCV bug in that inside of PTClient I had a relationship called business and a method (for compatibility with a previous implementation) called -isBusiness.
More info and a sample project demo-ing the bug is on my blog:
http://blog.clickablebliss.com/2010/04/09/walkthrough-of-a-recent-core-data-bug/
Thanks again.

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