iPhone adapting centralized push based notification architecture
Since I tapped into iPhone Development with SDK, i’ve always wondered where is the background processing? Basically, poll a new data to keep things in sync with the main server. That was basically the wish that everyone was asking for.
But now, with iPhone 2.0 announcement, it was announced that the centralized push based notification architecture will be used. Basically, Apple servers (mediator) will push data to iPhone and iPhone Application will push back once the App is closed. And the push will be based on persistent connection with a huge chunks of packets instead of small ones.
Here is something I got from Todd Hoff, A poll based architecture is good when system capabilities are relatively symmetric. Clearly mobile phones are restricted along a number of dimensions, the most important being battery power. Having a large number of apps constantly polling for updates sucks down battery power faster than vampires at phlebotomist convention.
So Apple’s logic is sound. Keep a single connection over which data is pushed and work on the phone is minimized. You also maximize battery life and maximize bandwidth usage because data can be aggregated on the server side and be sent in large chunks rather than a random distribution of small packets.
The mechanics of how this works isn’t clear. Must all apps needing to push data to a phone become part of Apple’s private iPhone cloud? Smart for Apple as it gives them complete control. For sculptors of the ultimate user experience you want total control. Not so good for developers as it’s just another garden with a very high wall protecting it.
And oh, I am getting the new iPhone for sure in less than a month….
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Morad Rayyan is IT professional specialized in New Media development and has special interest in networking "routing" as well as programming.
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