Encode NSDictionary to send across AFNetworking - ios

Question

How can i URLEncode a NSDictionary so i can send it across AFNetworking.
The code is as follows:
NSMutableDictionary *rus = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
[rus setValue:#"1211" forKey:#"id"];
[rus setValue:#"33" forKey:#"man"];
How can i Encode this NSDictionary so i can send it across AFNetworking ?

Answer 1

Depends how you wish to send your data:
1) #"application/json" in which case you would use [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:parameters options:self.writingOptions error:error]
2) #"application/x-www-form-urlencoded" in which case you basically want to create the string: ?id=1211&man=33 from your dictionary rus.
Here's some code, may not be the most efficient by you get the idea:
NSString *temp;
int i=0;
for(NSString *key in options.params.allKeys)
{
NSString *value = [options.params objectForKey:key];
[parameters setObject:value forKey:key];
if(i==0)
{
temp = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"?%#=%#", key,value];
}
else
{
temp = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#&%#=%#", temp, key, value];
}
}
Note: may or may not be relevant to you, but my two cents:
I use AFHTTPSessionManager which handles all the details for me including url encoding, so I just pass in the desired dictionary:
NSMutableDictionary *rus = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
[rus setValue:#"1211" forKey:#"id"];
[rus setValue:#"33" forKey:#"man"];
[self POST:#"/api/place/nearbysearch" parameters:rus success:^(NSURLSessionDataTask *task, id responseObject) {
NSLog(#"nearbyPlaces: success");
[self fetchedPlacesData:responseObject block:block];
if(task != nil && task.originalRequest != nil)
{
NSString *url = [task.originalRequest.URL absoluteString];
[self saveNearbySearchEvent:url params:params];
}
} failure:^(NSURLSessionDataTask *task, NSError *error) {
NSLog(#"nearbyPlaces: error: %#", error);
block(self, nil, error);
}];
AFHTTPSessionManager encapsulates a lot of functionality included serializing the data: AFURLRequestSerialization either as JSON or HTTP Request. In case you interested on what AFHTTPSessionManager actually does here's some detail:
A) HTTP Request
Here's the code from AFURLRequestSerialization.m:
- (NSURLRequest *)requestBySerializingRequest:(NSURLRequest *)request
withParameters:(id)parameters
error:(NSError *__autoreleasing *)error
{
NSParameterAssert(request);
NSMutableURLRequest *mutableRequest = [request mutableCopy];
[self.HTTPRequestHeaders enumerateKeysAndObjectsUsingBlock:^(id field, id value, BOOL * __unused stop) {
if (![request valueForHTTPHeaderField:field]) {
[mutableRequest setValue:value forHTTPHeaderField:field];
}
}];
if (parameters) {
NSString *query = nil;
if (self.queryStringSerialization) {
NSError *serializationError;
query = self.queryStringSerialization(request, parameters, &serializationError);
if (serializationError) {
if (error) {
*error = serializationError;
}
return nil;
}
} else {
switch (self.queryStringSerializationStyle) {
case AFHTTPRequestQueryStringDefaultStyle:
query = AFQueryStringFromParametersWithEncoding(parameters, self.stringEncoding);
break;
}
}
if ([self.HTTPMethodsEncodingParametersInURI containsObject:[[request HTTPMethod] uppercaseString]]) {
mutableRequest.URL = [NSURL URLWithString:[[mutableRequest.URL absoluteString] stringByAppendingFormat:mutableRequest.URL.query ? #"&%#" : #"?%#", query]];
} else {
if (![mutableRequest valueForHTTPHeaderField:#"Content-Type"]) {
[mutableRequest setValue:#"application/x-www-form-urlencoded" forHTTPHeaderField:#"Content-Type"];
}
[mutableRequest setHTTPBody:[query dataUsingEncoding:self.stringEncoding]];
}
}
return mutableRequest;
}
B) JSON
- (NSURLRequest *)requestBySerializingRequest:(NSURLRequest *)request
withParameters:(id)parameters
error:(NSError *__autoreleasing *)error
{
NSParameterAssert(request);
if ([self.HTTPMethodsEncodingParametersInURI containsObject:[[request HTTPMethod] uppercaseString]]) {
return [super requestBySerializingRequest:request withParameters:parameters error:error];
}
NSMutableURLRequest *mutableRequest = [request mutableCopy];
[self.HTTPRequestHeaders enumerateKeysAndObjectsUsingBlock:^(id field, id value, BOOL * __unused stop) {
if (![request valueForHTTPHeaderField:field]) {
[mutableRequest setValue:value forHTTPHeaderField:field];
}
}];
if (parameters) {
if (![mutableRequest valueForHTTPHeaderField:#"Content-Type"]) {
[mutableRequest setValue:#"application/json" forHTTPHeaderField:#"Content-Type"];
}
[mutableRequest setHTTPBody:[NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:parameters options:self.writingOptions error:error]];
}
return mutableRequest;
}

Answer 2

NSMutableDictionary *rus = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
[rus setValue:#"1211" forKey:#"id"];
[rus setValue:#"33" forKey:#"man"];
If you are exchanging JSON data with your server:
NSError *error = nil;
NSData *aRequestData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:rus options:NSJSONWritingPrettyPrinted error:&error];
if (!error) {
[urlRequest setHTTPBody:aRequestData];
}
If you are exchanging PLIST data with your server:
[self stringByAppendingQueryParameters:rus appendQuestionMark:NO];
- (NSString *)stringByAppendingQueryParameters:(NSDictionary *)iParameters appendQuestionMark:(BOOL)iAppendQuestionMark {
BOOL aAppendAmpersand = YES;
NSMutableString *aWorking = [NSMutableString stringWithString:self];
if (iAppendQuestionMark) {
NSRange aQueryBeginning = [self rangeOfString:#"?"];
if (aQueryBeginning.location == NSNotFound) {
[aWorking appendString:#"?"];
aAppendAmpersand = NO;
}
} else {
aAppendAmpersand = NO;
}
for (id aKey in iParameters) {
id aValue = [iParameters valueForKey:aKey];
NSString *aKeyStr = [self convertObjectToURLEncodedValue:aKey];
if (aAppendAmpersand) {
[aWorking appendString:#"&"];
} else {
aAppendAmpersand = YES;
}
if ([aValue isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]]) {
NSArray *aSubParamaters = (NSArray *)aValue;
BOOL aFirstTime = YES;
for (id aSubValue in aSubParamaters) {
NSString *aValueString = [self convertObjectToURLEncodedValue:aSubValue];
if (!aFirstTime) {
[aWorking appendString:#"&"];
}
[aWorking appendString:aKeyStr];
[aWorking appendString:#"="];
[aWorking appendString:aValueString];
aFirstTime = NO;
}
} else {
NSString *aValueString = [self convertObjectToURLEncodedValue:aValue];
[aWorking appendString:aKeyStr];
[aWorking appendString:#"="];
[aWorking appendString:aValueString];
}
}
return [NSString stringWithString:aWorking];
}
- (NSString *)convertObjectToURLEncodedValue:(id)iObject {
NSString *anIntermediate = nil;
if ([iObject isKindOfClass:[NSString class]]) {
anIntermediate = iObject;
} else if ([iObject respondsToSelector:#selector(stringValue)]) {
anIntermediate = [iObject stringValue];
} else {
anIntermediate = [iObject description];
}
NSString *anEncodingString = (__bridge_transfer NSString *)(CFURLCreateStringByAddingPercentEscapes(
NULL,
(__bridge CFStringRef)anIntermediate,
NULL,
(CFStringRef)#"!*'();:#&=+$,/?%#[]",
kCFStringEncodingUTF8 ));
return anEncodingString;
}