iOS iPhone MVC basics

Question

Does anyone know of a good way to start with a basic model but not use Core Data yet? I have a simple application that doesn't need to save any data (at the moment), but I don't think Core Data would be overkill for it.

I don't want to use the App Delegate to store data, nor do I want to store data in individual views. I was hoping to find some sort of "transitioning" type of solution that would let me switch over to Core Data in the future.

I've seen some simple examples, but they require storing an instance of the model within a particular view controller. I plan to have several views, so I want to find a better way.

Answer 1

The data model for an app can be as simple as a dictionary, or an array of dictionaries, or a plain old C-style array of characters for that matter. Or, to take it one step further, you might create a custom model class that not only stores the data but also knows how to manipulate it as necessary for your application.

How each controller gets access to the model is a different question. Some people like to use a singleton (I don't) so that they can access it globally. A (IMO) better approach is to instantiate the model in an object like the app delegate or root view controller, and then pass either a pointer to the entire model or a pointer to part of the model to view controllers as needed. An address book app might pass just a Person object to an address detail view controller, for example.