How to populate a core data store programmatically?

Question

Edit: a minimal project that exhibits the crash can be downloaded from crashTest. It was created by choosing the "navigation based with core data" project template in XCode and modifying maybe ten lines.

I have ran out of hairs to pull with a crash when a section and two objects are added in one go.

The crash happens at the end of the routine inside the call to [managedObjectContext save:&error].

The crash is an out-of-bound exception for an NSArray:

Serious application error.  Exception was caught during Core Data change processing: *** -[NSCFArray objectAtIndex:]: index (1) beyond bounds (1) with userInfo (null)

Also maybe relevant, when the exception happen, my fetch result controller controllerDidChangeContent: delegate routine is in the call stack. It simply calls my table view endUpdate routine.

I am now running out of ideas. How am I supposed to insert more than one item to a core data store with a table view using sections?

Here is the call stack:

#0  0x901ca4e6 in objc_exception_throw
#1  0x01d86c3b in +[NSException raise:format:arguments:]
#2  0x01d86b9a in +[NSException raise:format:]
#3  0x00072cb9 in _NSArrayRaiseBoundException
#4  0x00010217 in -[NSCFArray objectAtIndex:]
#5  0x002eaaa7 in -[UITableView(_UITableViewPrivate) _endCellAnimationsWithContext:]
#6  0x002def02 in -[UITableView endUpdates]
#7  0x00004863 in -[AirportViewController controllerDidChangeContent:] at AirportViewController.m:463
#8  0x01c43be1 in -[NSFetchedResultsController(PrivateMethods) _managedObjectContextDidChange:]
#9  0x0001462a in _nsnote_callback
#10 0x01d31005 in _CFXNotificationPostNotification
#11 0x00011ee0 in -[NSNotificationCenter postNotificationName:object:userInfo:]
#12 0x01ba417d in -[NSManagedObjectContext(_NSInternalNotificationHandling) _postObjectsDidChangeNotificationWithUserInfo:]
#13 0x01c03763 in -[NSManagedObjectContext(_NSInternalChangeProcessing) _createAndPostChangeNotification:withDeletions:withUpdates:withRefreshes:]
#14 0x01b885ea in -[NSManagedObjectContext(_NSInternalChangeProcessing) _processRecentChanges:]
#15 0x01bbe728 in -[NSManagedObjectContext save:]
#16 0x000039ea in -[AirportViewController populateAirports] at AirportViewController.m:112

Here is the code to the routine. I apologize because a number of lines are probably irrelevant, but I'd rather err on that side. The crash happens when it calls [context save:&error]:

- (void) insertObjects
{
NSManagedObjectContext *context = [fetchedResultsController managedObjectContext];
NSEntityDescription *entity = [[fetchedResultsController fetchRequest] entity];

NSManagedObject *newManagedObject = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:[entity name] inManagedObjectContext:context];

// If appropriate, configure the new managed object.
[newManagedObject setValue:@"new airport1" forKey:@"name"];
[newManagedObject setValue:@"???" forKey:@"code"];
[newManagedObject setValue:@"new country" forKey:@"country_name"];

newManagedObject = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:[entity name] inManagedObjectContext:context];
[newManagedObject setValue:@"new airport2" forKey:@"name"];
[newManagedObject setValue:@"???" forKey:@"code"];
[newManagedObject setValue:@"new country" forKey:@"country_name"];


// Save the context.
NSError *error = nil;
if (![context save:&error]) {
    NSLog(@"Unresolved error %@, %@", error, [error userInfo]);
    abort();
}
}

Note: the sections are by country_name. Also, the four NSFetchedResultsControllerDelegate routines are as documented and as preset by XCode:

- (void)controllerWillChangeContent:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller {
[self.tableView beginUpdates];
}


- (void)controller:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller didChangeSection:(id <NSFetchedResultsSectionInfo>)sectionInfo
       atIndex:(NSUInteger)sectionIndex forChangeType:(NSFetchedResultsChangeType)type
{
switch(type) {
    case NSFetchedResultsChangeInsert:
        [self.tableView insertSections:[NSIndexSet indexSetWithIndex:sectionIndex] withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationFade];
        break;
// other cases omitted because not occurring in this crash            

}
}


- (void)controller:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller didChangeObject:(id)anObject
   atIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath forChangeType:(NSFetchedResultsChangeType)type
  newIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)newIndexPath
{
UITableView *tableView = self.tableView;

switch(type) {

    case NSFetchedResultsChangeInsert:
        [tableView insertRowsAtIndexPaths:[NSArray arrayWithObject:newIndexPath] withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationFade];
        break;
// other cases omitted because not occurring in this crash            
}
}


- (void)controllerDidChangeContent:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller {
[self.tableView endUpdates];
}

Answer 1

It seems to me this is a bug in Cocoa Touch. I may be wrong of course. In any case, I found a work around.

The work around consist of doing nothing in the four delegate routines, but only in that case. I ended up adding a BOOL massUpdate iVar that I set to true before adding the objects, and that I reset to false after the call to save.

In the four delegate routines, I test the massUpdate iVar. If it's true, I do nothing, except in the fourth, where I reload the whole table view.

I get:

- (void)controllerWillChangeContent:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller {
if (massUpdate)
    return;
[self.tableView beginUpdates];
}


- (void)controller:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller didChangeSection:(id <NSFetchedResultsSectionInfo>)sectionInfo
       atIndex:(NSUInteger)sectionIndex forChangeType:(NSFetchedResultsChangeType)type
{
if (massUpdate)
    return;
    <snip normal implementation>
}


- (void)controller:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller didChangeObject:(id)anObject
   atIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath forChangeType:(NSFetchedResultsChangeType)type
  newIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)newIndexPath
{
if (massUpdate)
    return;
    <snip normal implementation>
}


- (void)controllerDidChangeContent:(NSFetchedResultsController *)controller {
if (massUpdate)
    [self.tableView reloadData];
else
    [self.tableView endUpdates];
}