Xikolo iOS App

iOS application for the HPI MOOC Platform

Development Toolchain

• Xcode 15
• bundler: gem install bundler

The following tools will be installed via bundler:

• CocoaPods
• fastlane

The following tools will be installed via CocoaPods:

• SwiftLint
• BartyCrouch

Contribute

Take a look at our Contribution Guide to learn about the key components, our development process, the tools we use, programming guidelines and more.

Get Started

1. Clone this repository
2. Install development tools

   bundle install
   

3. Update CocoaPods index & install dependencies

   bundle exec pod repo update
   bundle exec pod install
   

4. Copy initial branded app assets to prevent build errors

   cp -R ./iOS/Branding/openHPI/assets-ios-brand.xcassets ./iOS/assets-ios-brand.generated.xcassets
   

5. Open xikolo-ios.xcworkspace (or simply xed . in the terminal)
6. Build and run one of the targets

Setup Testing

1. Create the initial credentials file (to avoid build errors on the first test run)

   cp iOS-UITests/Credentials.plist.dummy iOS-UITests/Credentials.plist
   

2. Create the default credentials file

   cp iOS-UITests/Credentials.plist.dummy iOS-UITests/Credentials-default.plist
   

3. Optional: Create a brand specific credentials file

   cp iOS-UITests/Credentials.plist.dummy iOS-UITests/Credentials-<BRAND_NAME>.plist
   

4. Enter your login credentials for testing in the respective credentials files

Overall Architecture

For the overall architecture, we follow a plain MVC approach. However we make use of some reactive programming by using futures and promises provided by BrightFutures.

Naming Schema

The application fetches multiple resources from the backend. For a Resource, all related classes follow most of the time the following naming schema.

• Resource: The respective CoreData model
• ResourceListViewController: The view controller listing multiple resources -- usually in a table or collection view
• ResourceViewController: The detail view controller for a single resource
• ResourceHelper: The controller resonsible for synchronizing the resources with the server
• ResourceHelper+FetchRequests: CoreData fetch requests for the resource

Modules & Targets

To allow better code reusability, we restructured the codebase in multiple modules. For one, this reduces the application size as resources are not additionally bundled when used in an app extension. It also prevents you from going crazy by ticking hundreds of checkboxes for the target membership.
Important modules are listed below. If applicalble and neccesary, those modules can be further split up.

Common

The Common module holds the core functionality of the app, which is required in all targets. It includes the CoreData models, API abstraction layer, common functionalities and generic helpers.

Stockpile

The Stockpile module is responsible for retrieving resources from the backend and synchronizing them with the local storage. It is capable of sending network requests depending on the protocol of the backend.

Binge

The Binge module provides a custom video player which in contrast to AVPlayerViewController allows entering the full-screen mode programmatically and provides controls for changing the playback rate.

iOS

The iOS target is the main application.

TodayExtension

The TodayExtension target provides the today app extension (widget in the today view, considered legacy in iOS 14 and later).

WidgetExtension

The WidgetExtension target provides the widget extension for iOS 14 and later (widgets on homescreen)

Code of Conduct

Help us keep this project open and inclusive. Please read and follow our Code of Conduct.

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the GPL-3.0 license. See the LICENSE file.