Using Google Oauth2 webflow from iOS + Bonjour (Yikes!)

Question

I'm building an iOS app that requires the user to authorize Google API's via Oauth2 using the server side web flow. I currently open a UIWebView to start the oauth2 flow.

This works fine in the simulator because I'm setting the redirect URI to http://localhost and have a server running on my local machine.

However, I'd like to test on the device while still connecting to a server running on my desktop. In order to do this, I've gotten the app to discover my desktop address (a local subnet IP or bonjour address like http://foo.local.) to connect to the server. However, the Google Oauth2 flow is saying that it cannot use local URI's as a redirect url.

Is there any way around this? I'd like to not have to mess with my local network setup or proxy requests from my IOS device if at all possible. I'd ideally also like to be able to use the bonjour service to discover the server because we have a team of developers and our app lets you choose which server on the local network you'd like to connect to.

Options?

Answer 1

Updated 19/03/2013

If server is a must have middle man, then I recon the easiest way is to grab a domain name and make the server go public. www.godaddy.com or any domain name provider will get a domain name for about $15 per year (would be lower if there is discount).

After that then just search how to get a dynamic DNS and setup the redirect_uri as the domain name that has been choose.

Otherwise I didn't see the role of the server is playing here if only for the oauth purpose. As the second method listed below, a device can communicate to google server directly even behind a heavily defenced fire wall. (token will be passed throw the title bar).

So might need some clairification here.

Would the localhost server acting like a hub to cashing files from google drive and then redistribute to iOS devices? Or what kind of network architecture would like to achieve here?

==

Updated 18/03/2013

according to the official document https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OAuth2InstalledApp#choosingredirecturi

There are two ways of oauth. using localhost as redirect is just one way.

another is to use this string

urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob

to replace the request where it have local host.

For example, a previous request with localhost of (note: the difference is on the middle line starting with 'redirect_uri=')

    https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?scope=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fuserinfo.email+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fuserinfo.profile&
redirect_uri=http://localhost:9004&
response_type=code&client_id=812741506391-h38jh0j4fv0ce1krdkiq0hfvt6n5amrf.apps.googleusercontent.com

now can be changed to

    https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?scope=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fuserinfo.email+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fuserinfo.profile&
redirect_uri=urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob&
response_type=code&client_id=812741506391-h38jh0j4fv0ce1krdkiq0hfvt6n5amrf.apps.googleusercontent.com

so access the url of the former one in the simulator should be equivalent of accessing the latter one in real device.

Halo