On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 8:20 PM, Kyle Sluder<kyle.slu...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Jul 25, 2009, at 11:00 AM, "slasktrattena...@gmail.com" > <slasktrattena...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I find the third option the most likely: iTunes rewrites the data file >> frequently. Is there a way to lock the file while reading it, or >> detect if it is being modified, or suchlike? Thanks. > > You aren't guaranteed that the iTunes library file will always be a plist.
You mean because it might be rewritten or corrupted while my app is reading it, or because the format might change in the future? > The "correct" recommendation, which will also solve your issue, is to use > Apple Events to get the information you need. Yes, but then iTunes would have to be running. Plus it's a lot slower. I believe the sole purpose of the xml file (as opposed to the actual iTunes library file) is for third parties to be able to access iTunes data without querying iTunes.app. > In the general case, since you didn't write -[NSDictionary > initWithContentsOfFile:], you can't make it safe. You'll have to open the > file and read it's data yourself, then hand that off to the NSDictionary > initializer (or perhaps NSPropertyListSerialization). If I get the data with e g NSData's initWithContentsOfFile:, how would I initialize the dictionary? I don't see any dictionaryWithData: or suchlike in NSDictionary. Would I have to do the parsing myself? Also, is the NSData equivalent any safer than NSDictionary's? It's initWithContentsOfFile: method is documented to return "An initialized object—which might be different than the original receiver—that contains the dictionary at path, or nil if there is a file error or if the contents of the file are an invalid representation of a dictionary." There's no mention of a potential crash. Should I file a bug? I found an example on reading property lists using Core Foundation functions in the Property List Programming Guide (http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/PropertyLists/ReadWritePlistData/ReadWritePlistData.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000048i-CH8-SW1). Is this a safer way to get the data than relying on factory methods? Thanks! _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to arch...@mail-archive.com
