Installing Liferay Screens and the Guestbook Mobile SDK

For your iOS app to work with the Guestbook portlet, you must install the following in your iOS project:

  • Liferay’s pre-built Mobile SDK: This Mobile SDK contains the classes that call Liferay DXP’s core remote services. It also contains the framework necessary for any Mobile SDK to make server calls.

  • The Guestbook Mobile SDK: This Mobile SDK contains only the classes that call the Guestbook portlet’s remote services.

  • Liferay Screens: Screens contains the Screenlet framework and several built-in Screenlets like Login Screenlet. Because these built-in Screenlets work with Liferay DXP’s core apps, they make their server calls with Liferay’s pre-built Mobile SDK. Note that all Screenlets, including those that make server calls with a custom-built Mobile SDK, must use the framework in Liferay’s pre-built Mobile SDK to issue their calls.

Since Liferay’s pre-built Mobile SDK is a dependency of Liferay Screens, installing Screens automatically installs this Mobile SDK. You must, however, install the Guestbook Mobile SDK manually.

This article walks you through the installation of the Guestbook Mobile SDK and Liferay Screens. When you finish, you’ll be ready to start developing the app.

Anatomy of the Liferay Guestbook iOS Project

Before getting started, you should learn a couple of terms this Learning Path uses when referring to the project’s structure. Knowing these terms ensures that you know where to add folders and files in the project. In Xcode’s Project navigator, there are two Liferay Guestbook items:

  1. The root project: This is the first item in the Project navigator. It contains all other items in the project, and is labeled with a blue application document icon. The root project corresponds with a folder in your file system that this Learning Path refers to as the root project folder. For example, the root project folder for the Liferay Guestbook project is Liferay Guestbook.

  2. The Liferay Guestbook folder: This is immediately under the root project. It contains the app’s files, and is labeled with a manila folder icon. Even though this folder shares a name with the root project folder on your file system, it is not the same thing. The root project folder contains this Liferay Guestbook folder.

Figure 1: The root project and Liferay Guestbook folder are labeled in this screenshot.

Figure 1: The root project and Liferay Guestbook folder are labeled in this screenshot.

Figure 2: On your file system, the Liferay Guestbook root project folder contains the apps Liferay Guestbook folder. The latter is selected in this screenshot.

Figure 2: On your file system, the `Liferay Guestbook` root project folder contains the app's `Liferay Guestbook` folder. The latter is selected in this screenshot.

It’s important not to confuse these two items. If you’re ever confused about where things should go, click here to see the finished app in GitHub.

Now you’re ready to install Liferay Screens!

Installing Liferay Screens

You’ll use CocoaPods to install Liferay Screens. Click here for instructions on installing CocoaPods. After installing it, use these steps to install Screens:

  1. In your root project’s folder, create a file named Podfile that contains the following:

    source 'https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git'
    
    platform :ios, '9.0'
    use_frameworks!
    
    target "Liferay Guestbook" do
        pod 'LiferayScreens', '3.0.2'
    end
    
    post_install do |installer|
      incompatiblePods = [
        'Cosmos',
        'CryptoSwift',
        'KeychainAccess',
        'Liferay-iOS-SDK',
        'Liferay-OAuth',
        'LiferayScreens',
        'Kingfisher'
      ]
    
      installer.pods_project.targets.each do |target|
        if incompatiblePods.include? target.name
          target.build_configurations.each do |config|
            config.build_settings['SWIFT_VERSION'] = '3.2'
          end
        end
        target.build_configurations.each do |config|
            config.build_settings['CONFIGURATION_BUILD_DIR'] = '$PODS_CONFIGURATION_BUILD_DIR'
        end
      end
    end
    

    This adds Liferay Screens 3.0.2 (the most recent version at the time this Learning Path was published) as a dependency. Since Screens 3.0.2 is incompatible with Swift 4, this Podfile also specifies that Screens and several of its dependencies (incompatiblePods) should be compiled by Swift 3.2. This lets you develop the app in Swift 4, while Screens itself is compiled in Swift 3.2.

    Also note the setting for CONFIGURATION_BUILD_DIR. This is a workaround for a benign bug that causes Screenlet previews to fail in Interface Builder.

  2. On the terminal, navigate to your root project’s folder and run this command:

    pod repo update
    

    This ensures you have the latest version of the CocoaPods repository on your machine. Note that this command can take a while to run.

  3. Still in your root project’s folder in the terminal, run this command:

    pod install
    

    This installs the Liferay Screens as specified in your Podfile. Once this completes, quit Xcode and reopen your project by using the LiferayGuestbook.xcworkspace file in your root project’s folder. From now on, you must use this file to open your project.

Great! You just installed Liferay Screens and the Liferay Mobile SDK! Next, you’ll install the Guestbook Mobile SDK.

Installing the Guestbook Mobile SDK

To install the Guestbook Mobile SDK, you must add its service classes to your project. Recall that these service classes are Objective-C. To use them from your project’s Swift code, you must also add and configure an Objective-C bridging header. You’ll do these things now:

  1. Recall that you created the following ZIP file containing the Guestbook Mobile SDK:

    modules/gb/build/liferay-gb-ios-sdk-1.0.zip
    

    Unzip this file to a location of your choosing on your machine. This creates the following directory hierarchy:

    Figure 3: The Guestbook Mobile SDKs Objective-C classes unzip to this folder structure.

    Figure 3: The Guestbook Mobile SDK's Objective-C classes unzip to this folder structure.

    This should look familiar. It’s the same Service folder, contents and all, from the Guestbook Mobile SDK you built earlier.

  2. To install the service classes in your project, drag the v7 folder from your Finder into your Xcode project, directly under the root project. In the dialog that appears, make sure you select the following items, and then click Finish:

    Figure 4: When adding the Guestbook Mobile SDK to your project, select these options and then click Finish.

    Figure 4: When adding the Guestbook Mobile SDK to your project, select these options and then click *Finish*.

    Figure 5: Your project structure should look like this after adding the Guestbook SDK.

    Figure 5: Your project structure should look like this after adding the Guestbook SDK.

  3. The v7 folder and its contents are now inside your Xcode project. Now you must change each Objective-C class header file in the Guestbook Mobile SDK to always import the Liferay Mobile SDK framework. This is necessary because you used use_frameworks! in your Podfile.

    In LREntryService_v7.h and LRGuestbookService_v7.h, replace the #if ... #endif statement with @import LRMobileSDK;. Don’t worry if Xcode doesn’t recognize this import–you’ll fix this shortly by adding and configuring an Objective-C bridging header in your project.

  4. In Xcode, for each *.m file in the Guestbook Mobile SDK (LREntryService_v7.m and LRGuestbookService_v7.m), make sure the checkbox for the Liferay Guestbook target is selected in the File inspector’s Target Membership section.

    Figure 6: Each *.m file in the Guestbook Mobile SDK must be part of the Liferay Guestbook target.

    Figure 6: Each `*.m` file in the Guestbook Mobile SDK must be part of the *Liferay Guestbook* target.

To use the Guestbook Mobile SDK’s Objective-C classes from Swift, you must add and configure an Objective-C bridging header in your project. Follow these instructions to do so:

  1. In Xcode’s project navigator, right-click the root project and select New File. In the window that appears, select Header File from the Source section of the iOS tab, and click Next.

    Figure 7: Create a new iOS header file.

    Figure 7: Create a new iOS header file.

  2. Name the file Liferay Guestbook-Bridging-Header.h and make sure that Liferay Guestbook with the blue icon is selected in the Group menu. To finish creating the file, uncheck any items in Targets and click Create.

    Figure 8: Use these options to create the header file.

    Figure 8: Use these options to create the header file.

  3. Upon creating the header file, Xcode opens it in the editor. In this file, you must import the Guestbook Mobile SDK’s header files. Add these imports immediately below the comments at the top of the file:

    #import "LRGuestbookService_v7.h"
    #import "LREntryService_v7.h"
    

    Your bridging header file should now look like this:

    #import "LRGuestbookService_v7.h"
    #import "LREntryService_v7.h"
    
    #ifndef Liferay_Guestbook_Bridging_Header_h
    #define Liferay_Guestbook_Bridging_Header_h
    
    
    #endif 
    
  4. Now you must configure your project to use this file. Select the root project on the left and then click Build Settings. Enter for Objective-C Bridging Header in the search box. The matching build setting appears under the section Swift Compiler - General. In the two Liferay Guestbook fields for this build setting, enter the bridging header’s file name.

    Figure 9: The red boxes highlight the two Liferay Guestbook fields configured to use the bridging header file.

    Figure 9: The red boxes highlight the two Liferay Guestbook fields configured to use the bridging header file.

  5. Build the project.

Awesome! You’ve successfully installed the Guestbook Mobile SDK. Next, you’ll configure your app to communicate with your Liferay DXP installation.

Configuring Communication with Liferay Portal

For Liferay Screens to work with your app, you must configure it to communicate with your Liferay DXP installation. You’ll do this by setting attributes in a plist file:

  1. In Xcode’s project navigator, right-click the Liferay Guestbook folder (not the root project) and select New File. In the dialog that appears, select the iOS tab then scroll down to the Resource section and select Property List. Click Next.

    Figure 10: Use the Property List template to create a new plist file.

    Figure 10: Use the Property List template to create a new `plist` file.

  2. Name the file liferay-server-context.plist and make sure you’re creating it in the Liferay Guestbook folder, which should be selected in the Group menu. Also make sure that Liferay Guestbook is selected in the Targets menu. Then click Create.

    Figure 11: Create the plist file as shown here.

    Figure 11: Create the `plist` file as shown here.

  3. The plist file now opens in the editor. Right-click the file in the Project navigator and select Open AsSource Code. Replace the file’s contents with this code:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
    <plist version="1.0">
    <dict>
        <key>server</key>
        <string>http://localhost:8080</string>
        <key>version</key>
        <integer>70</integer>
        <key>companyId</key>
        <integer>20116</integer>
        <key>groupId</key>
        <integer>20143</integer>
    </dict>
    </plist>
    

    This plist file sets the server address (http://localhost:8080), Liferay DXP version (70 specifies Liferay CE Portal 7.0 and Liferay DXP 7.0), companyId (Liferay DXP instance ID), and groupId (site ID) the app retrieves data from.

  4. Change the companyId and groupId in the plist file to match those of your Liferay DXP instance. You can find your company ID in your portal at Control PanelConfigurationVirtual Instances. The instance’s ID is in the Instance ID column. You can find your site ID from the site you put the Guestbook portlet on. Navigate to this site, and in the Site Administration menu select ConfigurationSite Settings. The site ID is listed at the top of the General tab.

Next, you’ll configure iOS App Transport Security.

Disabling App Transport Security

App Transport Security is an iOS security feature that restricts all network activity to HTTPS. It isn’t necessary for use in development and testing. Since your local Liferay DXP instance uses HTTP by default, App Transport Security prevents your app from communicating with the portal. You must therefore disable it:

  1. Select your project in Xcode’s Project navigator. With the Liferay Guestbook target selected in the outline, click the Info tab.

    Figure 12: Youll disable App Transport Security in the Info tab.

    Figure 12: You'll disable App Transport Security in the Info tab.

  2. In Custom iOS Target Properties, right-click Bundle OS Type Code and select Add Row. In the new row’s text field, enter App Transport Security Settings.

  3. Even though it doesn’t yet contain any items, ensure that the App Transport Security Settings category is open (click the triangle icon to its left to open/close it). Now click the + icon next to App Transport Security Settings and select Allow Arbitrary Loads. Then select YES for this field’s value.

    Figure 13: Your App Transport Security settings should look like this.

    Figure 13: Your App Transport Security settings should look like this.

    The Allow Arbitrary Loads setting should look like this when viewing your app’s Info.plist file as code:

    ...
    <key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
    <dict>
        <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key>
        <true/>
    </dict>
    ...
    

Stupendous! You’ve successfully installed Liferay Screens and the Guestbook Mobile SDK, and configured your app to communicate with your Liferay DXP instance. Before starting work on the app, however, you should learn the app’s design. The next article walks you through this.

« Creating the iOS ProjectDesigning Your App »
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