My First iPhone Application

When you parse URL from RSS feeds there are, most of the time, unwanted characters (not directly visible) that prevent you from opening a page from within your iPhone app. The solution below is not perfect but does the job.

// Get the actual string
NSString *storyURL = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", self.selectedURL];
// Break it at control characters. This will give an array with multiple objects
NSArray *brokenString = [storyURL componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet:[NSCharacterSet controlCharacterSet]];
// Get the clean URL
NSString *webURL = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", [brokenString objectAtIndex:0]];

NSLog has always been my weapon of choice when I needed to debug in my early days of iPhone development. Recently I came across a very interesting post from Vincent Gable which has created a macro called LOG_EXPR(x) that prints out x, no matter what type x is, without having to worry about format-strings (and related crashes from eg. printing a C-string the same way as an NSString). It works on Mac OS X and iOS.

Here is the macro:

#define LOG_EXPR(_X_) do{\
 	__typeof__(_X_) _Y_ = (_X_);\
 	const char * _TYPE_CODE_ = @encode(__typeof__(_X_));\
 	NSString *_STR_ = VTPG_DDToStringFromTypeAndValue(_TYPE_CODE_, &_Y_);\
 	if(_STR_)\
 		NSLog(@"%s = %@", #_X_, _STR_);\
 	else\
 		NSLog(@"Unknown _TYPE_CODE_: %s for expression %s in function %s, file %s, line %d", _TYPE_CODE_, #_X_, __func__, __FILE__, __LINE__);\
 }while(0)

Download VTPG_Common.m and VTPG_Common.h from Vincent Gable’s github repository, and add them to your Xcode project.

Now just add the line #import “VTPG_Common.h” to your prefix file (named _Prefix.pch by default), after the #ifdef __OBJC__, for example:

#ifdef __OBJC__
    #import 
    // maybe other files, depending on project  template...
    #import "VTPG_Common.h"
#endif

Now LOG_EXPR() will work everywhere in your project.

Approach Guides Wine is the ultimate wine app, helping you navigate any Italian wine list with ease and choose wine with confidence.

Select wine by style, grape, region or food pairing and find information on all of Italy’s grapes, regions and vintages.

Further, AG Wine does not require an internet connection, so this information is always available. It’s like having a sommelier right in your pocket.

KEY FEATURES

* Choose wine with confidence. AG Wine helps you navigate any wine list with ease.
* 4 “never-fail” approaches to finding a great wine: by style, by grape, by region, and by food pairing.
* Super-fast access to wine information, from any location — no internet connection needed.
* Like having a sommelier in your pocket. AG Wine’s recommendations focus on attractively-priced, high-quality wines.
* Build and expand your wine knowledge with our detailed reviews of Italy’s grapes, regions, and DOCs.
* Wine information you can trust. AG Wine operates 100% independently, so you can be confident that you are getting the best advice.
* Start with Italy’s wines. Existing customers will receive discounted pricing on all incremental countries.
* Connects to Facebook and Twitter; emails tasting notes and descriptions.

WHY WE’RE DIFFERENT

Have you ever looked at a wine list and not known where to begin? Approach Guides Wine solves this problem by giving you a strategy to take on any Italian wine list — offering recommendations on which regions, DOCs, grapes, and vintages to look out for and which to avoid. With this critical information, no matter your level of wine knowledge, you can make an informed wine choice that is sure to meet your expectations.