iPhone Dropbox file synchronization strategy?

Question

I am trying to sync the iPhone Documents folder with the Dropbox app folder. Is there a way to manage file deletion? For example:

• readme.txt is created on desktop
• readme.txt is synced to cloud
• readme.txt is synced to iPhone

later:

• readme.txt is deleted from desktop
• readme.txt is deleted from cloud

Next time when iphone app starts, how can I tell whether:

1. readme.txt is created on iPhone and should be synced to the cloud?
2. readme.txt is deleted from cloud and should also be deleted from iPhone?

Answer 1

I'm not sure whether you can directly access the Dropbox app folder on the iPhone. However, you can monitor file events with the Dropbox API, which I think was just recently released here: https://www.dropbox.com/developers

I imagine your strategy would be something like:
1. Have the user authenticate their Dropbox account
2. When the app starts up, check the files for revisions (Dropbox - REST API Reference - Revisions)
3. Update the documents folder accordingly. Note: It looks like they don't have an API for Dropbox file events, yet, at least at a glance at their API page (Events via API)

iOS SDK here: https://www.dropbox.com/developers/reference/sdk