Core Data issue - ios

I implemented core data in my app.
I am fetching data in ViewWillAppear method.
I am assign fetch result to local array.
Now, I make change on TextFiledDidEndEditing method to local array, but not saved to persistence store.
But when I again come to that view & try to re-fretch on ViewWillAppear method then that changed remain as it is.
Help to solve this
Thank you

NSFetchRequest has a property includesPendingChanges, which has a default of true. Just bear this in mind.
NSManagedObjectContext can tell you about insertedObjects, updatedObjects and deletedObjects.
The above all relates to dirty context state - changes you've made but which haven't been saved yet.
So while you aren't saving your change the context is still dirty with the change and each time you make a request the managed objects you get back will have those changes. The only thing you can filter out is inserted or deleted objects by using the fetch request flag (though that isn't your case here).
If you want to get rid of the changes you should use an undo manager, so rollback or reset the context.

Related

Why does storing a reference to an NSManagedObject prevent it from updating?

This question is poorly phased but this can be better explained in code.
We have a Core Data Stack with private and main contexts as defined by Marcus Zarra here: http://martiancraft.com/blog/2015/03/core-data-stack/
We call a separate class to do a fetch request (main context) and return an array of NSManagedObjects:
NSArray *ourManagedObjects = [[Client sharedClient].coreDataManager fetchArrayForClass:[OurObject class] sortKey:#"name" ascending:YES];
We then do some processing and store a reference:
self.ourObjects = processedManagedObjects
Our view contains a UITableView and this data is used to populate it and that works just fine.
We change the data on our CMS, pull to refresh on the UITableView to trigger a sync (private context) and then call this same function to retrieve the updated data. However, the fetch request returns the exact same data as before even though when I check the sqlite db directly it contains the new data. To get the new values to display I have to reload the app.
I have discovered that if I don't assign the processedManagedObjects to self, the fetch request does indeed return the correct data, so it looks like holding a reference to the NSManagedObject stops it from getting new data from the main context. However I have no idea why that would be.
To clarify, we're pretty sure there's nothing wrong with our Core Data Stack, even when these managed objects are not being updated, other are being updated just fine, it's only this one where we store a local reference.
It sounds like what's going on is:
Managed objects don't automatically update themselves to reflect the latest data in the persistent store when changes are made via a different managed object context.
As a result, if you keep a reference to the objects, they keep whatever data they already had.
On the other hand if you don't keep a reference but instead re-fetch them, you get the new data because there was no managed object hanging around with its old data.
You have a few options:
You could keep the reference and have your context refresh the managed objects, using either the refresh(_, mergeChanges:) method or refreshAllObjects().
If it makes sense for your app, use an NSFetchedResultsController and use its delegate methods to be notified of changes.
Don't keep the reference.
The first is probably best-- refreshAllObjects() is probably what you want. Other options might be better based on other details of your app.
Try setting the shouldRefreshRefetchedObjects property of the fetch request to true. According to the documentation:
By default when you fetch objects, they maintain their current property values, even if the values in the persistent store have changed. Invoking this method with the parameter true means that when the fetch is executed, the property values of fetched objects are updated with the current values in the persistent store.

Core Data fetch predicate nil check failing/unexpected results?

I have a Core Data layer with several thousand entities, constantly syncing to a server. The sync process uses fetch requests to check for deleted_at for the purposes of soft-deletion. There is a single context performing save operations in a performBlockAndWait call. The relationship mapping is handled by the RestKit library.
The CoreDataEntity class is a subclass of NSManagedObject, and it is also the superclass for all our different core data object classes. It has some attributes that are inherited by all our entities, such as deleted_at, entity_id, and all the boilerplate fetch and sync methods.
My issue is some fetch requests seem to return inconsistent results after modifications to the objects. For example after deleting an object (setting deleted_at to the current date):
[CoreDataEntity fetchEntitiesWithPredicate:[NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"deleted_at==nil"]];
Returns results with deleted_at == [NSDate today]
I have successfully worked around this behavior by additionally looping through the results and removing the entities with deleted_at set, however I cannot fix the converse issue:
[CoreDataEntity fetchEntitiesWithPredicate:[NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"deleted_at!=nil"]];
Is returning an empty array in the same conditions, preventing a server sync from succeeding.
I have confirmed deleted_at is set on the object, and the context save was successful. I just don't understand where to reset whatever cache is causing the outdated results?
Thanks for any help!
Edit: Adding a little more information, it appears that once one of these objects becomes corrupted, the only way get it to register is modifying the value again. Could this be some sort of Core Data index not updating when a value is modified?
Update: It appears to be a problem with RestKit https://github.com/RestKit/RestKit/issues/2218
You are apparently using some sintactic sugar extension to Core Data. I suppose that in your case it is a SheepData, right?
fetchEntitiesWithPredicate: there implemented as follows:
+ (NSArray*)fetchEntitiesWithPredicate:(NSPredicate*)aPredicate
{
return [self fetchEntitiesWithPredicate:aPredicate inContext:[SheepDataManager sharedInstance].managedObjectContext];
}
Are you sure that [SheepDataManager sharedInstance].managedObjectContext receives all the changes that you are making to your objects? Is it receives notifications of saves, or is it child context of your save context?
Try to replace your fetch one-liner with this:
[<your saving context> performBlockAndWait:^{
NSFetchRequest *request = [NSFetchRequest fetchRequestWithEntityName:#"CoreDataEntity"];
request.predicate = [NSPredicate predicateWithFormat:#"deleted_at==nil"];
NSArray *results = [<your saving context> executeFetchRequest:request error:NULL];
}];
First, after a save have you looked in the store to make sure your changes are there? Without seeing your entire Core Data stack it is difficult to get a solid understanding what might be going wrong. If you are saving and you see the changes in the store then the question comes into your contexts. How are they built and when. If you are dealing with sibling contexts that could be causing your issue.
More detail is required as to how your core data stack looks.
Yes, the changes are there. As I mentioned in the question, I can loop through my results and remove all those with deleted_at set successfully
That wasn't my question. There is a difference between looking at objects in memory and looking at them in the SQLite file on disk. The questions I have about this behavior are:
Are the changes being persisted to disk before you query for them again
Are you working with multiple contexts and potentially trying to fetch from a stale sibling.
Thus my questions about on disk changes and what your core data stack looks like.
Threading
If you are using one context, are you using more than one thread in your app? If so, are you using that context on more than one thread?
I can see a situation where if you are violating the thread confinement rules you can be corrupting data like this.
Try adding an extra attribute deleted that is a bool with a default of false. Then the attribute is always set and you can look for entities that are either true or false depending on your needs at the moment. If the value is true then you can look at deleted_at to find out when.
Alternatively try setting the deleted_at attribute to some old date (like perhaps 1 Jan 1980), then anything that isn't deleted will have a fixed date that is too old to have been set by the user.
Edit: There is likely some issue with deleted_at having never been touched on some entities that is confusing the system. It is also possible that you have set the fetch request to return results in the dictionary style in which case recent changes will not be reflected in the fetch results.

Remove all references to ManagedObjects belonging to a ManagedObjectContext

I'm looking to integrate iCloud with a Core-Data-managed SQLite database (only on iOS 7 and later). I've been reading Apple's guide on using Core Data with iCloud (https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/DataManagement/Conceptual/UsingCoreDataWithiCloudPG/UsingCoreDataWithiCloudPG.pdf).
To quote from the guide, "Core Data posts an NSPersistentStoreCoordinatorStoresWillChangeNotification notification. In your notification handler, you reset your managed object context and drop any references to existing managed objects."
Calling -reset on the MOC to reset it isn't the problem, the problem is the part where they say all references to managed objects need to be dropped. I understand why this needs to be done (because the persistent store is changing), what I don't know is how to do it.
All my Core Data work is handled by a singleton and I had originally thought of posting a notification, and listening classes could set all their managed objects to nil. First, this doesn't sound like a particularly good way of doing it. Secondly, I have a FetchedResultsController managing a tableView, the FetchedResultsController manages it's own managed objects, therefore, as far as I know, I can't set them to nil.
I'd be really grateful for any advice on what to do here.
Thanks in advance.
The way I handle situations like this is to post two notifications in my app: just before resetting, and just after resetting.
For example, I might post MYMainContextWillResetNotification, then reset the context, then post MYMainContextDidResetNotification.
Any controller receiving the will-reset notification should release its managed objects, but also store any information it will need to recover after the reset. Usually this will be one or more NSManagedObjectID objects. In some cases, you may not need to store anything, simply performing a fetch after the reset instead.
A typical method might look like this:
- (void)mainContextWillReset:(NSNotification *)notif
{
self->noteID = note.objectID;
}
This code supposes there is a controller for a single note object. When the reset is about to take place, the note's object identifier is stored in an instance variable.
The did-reset notification method retrieves the note.
- (void)mainContextDidReset:(NSNotification *)notif
{
note = [context existingObjectWithID:noteID error:NULL];
[self refreshViews];
}
This code uses existingObjectWithID:error:, but you could equally do a fetch.
With an NSFetchedResultsController, you would need to call performFetch: in the did-reset method, to refresh the objects.

What's the point of self.managedObjectContext == nil in NSManagedObject prepareForDeletion?

I have a Reminder entity that needs to update its date property whenever a certain entity B is deleted. I've spent some days coding thinking I could do some useful things in my managed object subclass on deletion time. I tried
- (void)willSave
{
if (self.isDeleted)
// use self.managedObjectContext
}
The context was nil. Relationships were also torn down there. Fair enough.
So... I started writing cumbersome code for prepareForDeletion to circumvent the fact that the object hadn't been deleted yet, but then Core Data throws self.managedObjectContext == nil in my face. The documentation says that this is where I do stuff "before relationships are torn down". So what is the point in self.managedObjectContext == nil if self.relationshipA.managedObjectContext is accessible (as the docs suggest)? And more importantly, why does my not yet deleted object not have its context?
I read a comment here regarding that problem
its not 'fault' as much as it is a 'disown', the context has disowned your object (he was deleted and save was committed to the database) and so your object was disowned. don't save in methods that are changing and object as the save should probably be committed/saved after the operation anyway. – Dan Shelly May 21 at 19:05
My code was:
[moc deleteObject:obj]
[moc save:NULL]
When I removed the save operation my self.managedObjectContext existed in prepareForDeletion. That is, until auto-save, when it was nil again. Probably because the parent context also deleted it, followed by a save by the UIManagedDocument.
I'm starting to think that my only options are to make a custom delete method (that works until Core Data cascades a deletion, in which case it won't be called), or make a new class that listens to NSManagedObjectContextDidSaveNotification.
Update:
The user wants to keep in touch with a person, and wants to be reminded after a certain interval (stored in ContactWish) if no contact has been made. What I'm trying to accomplish is that when the latest ContactOccasion for a certain person is deleted, the corresponding occasion->person->wish->reminder gets updated (using the interval).
Since this is a learning experience for me I wanted to find out the right way (one that works with cascade deletion etc.) and not just call for an update manually from every place in my code where I do [MOContext deleteObject:occasion]. Suggestions are welcome.
(the reminder entity has also been prepared for more manual use)
Would it not be much more logical to have the Reminder entity manage its date property? It could "listen" (maybe via changedValues:) to its relationship entities being deleted and perform the update.
This seems more consistent, as the B entity should not really be concerned with the logic of the Reminder entity updates.
Edit
Pursuant to the discussion below and based on my opinion that you cannot load up the database cascade delete model too much with update logic:
Rather than react to a deletion you can introduce an attribute that you set and listen to in order to do the changes.
I really do not see how relying on core data delete mechanisms is easier or more elegant than just writing your own "deleteOccasion" method that handles this logic.

NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate to update Table Cell after merging changes from another context

I have a TableViewController that's a NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate. The data that this table is displaying is getting updated in another context (by RestKit) and getting merged upon notification. At this point if I were to run a query on the main thread's ManagedObjectContext I see the data that was updated by the other thread.
When that merge of context happens, the TableViewController, being a NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate, even gets the controller:didChangeObject:atIndexPath:forChangeType:newIndexPath message. The issue I'm having is that the object (didChangeObject), still has the old data. I imagine this is so because whatever is calling this message just uses the current NSFetchResultsController to give me that object.
Why didn't the NSFetchResultsController's fetchObjects get updated from the context merge? Is there a way to have fetchObjects be updated by the context merge and perform this fetch again?
The answer was that the merge from changes marks the NSManagedObject's data as being in fault because it's stale. By default staleness interval is set to be infinite apparently. I would give credit to where I found this info but I can't find it now. Anyway, setting the NSManageObjectContext like so allows that context to see the updated info right away.
[__managedObjectContext setStalenessInterval:0];

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