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From: Jens Alfke <jens@couchbase.com>
To: "user@couchdb.apache.org" <user@couchdb.apache.org>
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:26:43 -0700
Subject: ANN: CouchCocoa framework (Objective-C API)
Thread-Topic: CouchCocoa framework (Objective-C API)
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CouchCocoa is a new Objective-C API for CouchDB on iOS and Mac OS. It=92s =
=93medium-level=94, in that:

=95 It doesn't require knowledge of the HTTP API, only of CouchDB's archite=
cture, so you won't have to remember special paths or URL query parameters.
=95 But it doesn't provide a full-fledged model layer like CoreData or Acti=
veRecord. You're still working with CouchDB documents as, basically, NSDict=
ionaries, and you'll need your own mapping between those and your app's obj=
ect model.
=95 It usually provides both high-level and low-level ways to do the same t=
hing. So you can call CouchDocument=92s -resolveConflictingRevisions: metho=
d, or if you=92re a REST jockey you can assemble your own JSON data and cal=
l -POST: yourself.

A key feature is that it provides document change notifications, driven by =
the _changes feed, and filters out local changes made by your app from exte=
rnal ones made by other apps or by replication. Thus you can easily detect =
when external changes are made, and check for conflicts and update your UI.

Speaking of conflicts, the API provides easy access to a document=92s revis=
ion history (via CouchRevision objects) and lets you compare the conflictin=
g revisions and choose which properties should be in the resolved document.

There are some experimental classes (part of the Mac demo apps) that interf=
ace CouchDB views to Cocoa bindings, which lets you do a lot of the work of=
 building a Mac app entirely in Interface Builder, with very little coding.=
 (Unfortunately iOS doesn=92t support bindings yet.)

[We have an iOS demo app using CouchCocoa almost ready, a modified version =
of the one in the iOS-Couchbase repo. Chris will have it up ASAP.]

The code is roughly at alpha level, by which I mean that it=92s working, an=
d suitable for people to start development with; but on the other hand you =
should expect bugs and limitations, and future API changes.

I=92m excited to be developing this as part of my day job at Couchbase. Thi=
s open-source framework will be a supported part of the Mobile Couchbase pr=
oduct. But we=92re not positioning it as the One True Way to use Couchbase =
on iOS and Mac OS, any more than CouchRest is the One True Way on Ruby. You=
 can of course still use Trundle, or roll your own interface on top of NSUR=
LConnection. But we want to make CouchCocoa easy as powerful and easy to us=
e as we can, to help you build amazing applications. And of course, it=92s =
open source, and we welcome your contributions to it.

Repo & source code: https://github.com/couchbaselabs/CouchCocoa
Example snippets: https://github.com/couchbaselabs/CouchCocoa/wiki/Example-=
Snippets
API docs: http://couchbaselabs.github.com/CouchCocoa/docs/

=97Jens

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