iOS Remote server connectivity (?)

[vcanic]

Hello,

I am working on an application which should connect to a remote server. Behind that remote server is an MySQL database.
So the remote server will be some kind of interface that retrieves data from the MySQL database and sends it to the iPhone.

Does this remote server/interface have to be a Web Service? Or can it be anything else? What other possibilities are there besides using a Web Service as a remote server?

Hope that I am clear and someone can help me out. Thanks in advance.

 

[dejo]

Does this remote server/interface have to be a Web Service? Or can it be anything else? What other possibilities are there besides using a Web Service as a remote server?

I see you have 'Web Service' capitalized. Does that mean you have a specific definition of Web Service in mind? Please elaborate.

 

[vcanic]

I see you have 'Web Service' capitalized. Does that mean you have a specific definition of Web Service in mind? Please elaborate.

By that I mean a Web Service that is usally described (and accessible) by a WSDL file and uses SOAP to send messages.

I read in tutorials that "you have to use NSUrl to access a web service". Is the definition of web service here different than what I mean by Web Service?

 

[dejo]

By that I mean a Web Service that is usally described (and accessible) by a WSDL file and uses SOAP to send messages.

Then, based on that definition, no, the remote access doesn't need to be a Web Service. You can retrieve data in something as simple as a text file. It more depends on the capabilities and requirements of your remote server than it does on the iPhone side.

 

[vcanic]

Then, based on that definition, no, the remote access doesn't need to be a Web Service. You can retrieve data in something as simple as a text file. It more depends on the capabilities and requirements of your remote server than it does on the iPhone side.

Ahh that really answers my question. So basically the iPhone can read anything from a server, it either being plain text or xml. Thanks for clearing that up.