How to Build a Backend for Objective-C?

introduction in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a backend for objective c using back4app we’ll walk through integrating essential back4app features—such as database management, cloud code functions, rest and graphql apis, user authentication, and real time queries—to create a secure, scalable, and robust backend that seamlessly communicates with your ios app we will use the parse ios sdk, which is open source, to handle all our data requirements you’ll see how to reduce the time and effort involved in configuring servers, storage, and security by tapping into back4app’s flexible environment this tutorial will show code samples in objective c, so you can type text aligned to your typical xcode workflow by the end, you’ll have the building blocks for a production ready mobile app, or you can customize further to fit your exact use case prerequisites to complete this tutorial, you will need a back4app account and a new back4app project getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app if you do not have an account, you can create one for free follow the guide above to get your project ready objective c development environment make sure you have a recent version of xcode installed download xcode from the mac app store https //apps apple com/us/app/xcode/id497799835 cocoapods or swift package manager knowledge (optional, but recommended) swift package manager guide https //github com/parse community/parse sdk ios osx familiarity with objective c, ios app basics, or related concepts apple’s objective c documentation https //developer apple com/library/archive/documentation/cocoa/conceptual/programmingwithobjectivec/introduction/introduction html make sure you have all these prerequisites before you begin, so your journey goes smoothly step 1 – creating a new project on back4app and connecting why this step? a new back4app project is the foundation of your backend it gives you a place to store your data, run cloud functions, and manage security let’s start by spinning up a back4app project creating a project in back4app log in to your back4app account click “new app” on your back4app dashboard name your app (e g , “objectivec backend tutorial”) and finalize you’ll see your new app in the back4app dashboard this app will handle all the backend configurations we’re about to discuss installing the parse sdk for ios (objective c) back4app works hand in hand with the parse ios sdk this sdk streamlines data operations, real time features, user authentication, and more for your ios app retrieve your parse keys in your back4app dashboard, navigate to app settings or security & keys to find your application id and client key the parse server url is often https //parseapi back4app com integrate parse using swift package manager or cocoapods cocoapods pod 'parse' swift package manager open xcode, choose “file” > “add packages…” add repository https //github com/parse community/parse sdk ios osx confirm parse in your ios target initializing parse in objective c open appdelegate m and import the parse module @import parsecore; // or #import \<parse/parse h> \ (bool)application (uiapplication )application didfinishlaunchingwithoptions (nsdictionary )launchoptions { \[parse initializewithconfiguration \[parseclientconfiguration configurationwithblock ^(id\<parsemutableclientconfiguration> configuration) { configuration applicationid = @"your application id"; configuration clientkey = @"your client key"; configuration server = @"https //parseapi back4app com"; }]]; return yes; } with this, your objective c app is securely connected to your back4app backend you’re now set to read, write, and manage data on the server step 2 – setting up the database 1\ creating a data model (schema) in back4app, data resides in classes—like tables in a database suppose we want a simple “todo” class you can create it manually in the database section of the back4app dashboard add fields like title (string), iscompleted (boolean), and so on 2\ creating a data model using the ai agent back4app offers an ai agent to help generate a schema open the ai agent in your app dashboard describe your data model in natural language (e g , “create a new todo class with title, description, and duedate ”) let ai set everything up for you automatically 3\ reading and writing data using sdk with objective c, we can use pfobject to handle create and query operations for example \#import \<parse/parse h> // create a new todo item pfobject todo = \[pfobject objectwithclassname @"todo"]; \[todo setobject @"buy groceries" forkey @"title"]; \[todo setobject @no forkey @"iscompleted"]; \[todo saveinbackgroundwithblock ^(bool succeeded, nserror error) { if (succeeded) { nslog(@"todo saved successfully!"); } else { nslog(@"error saving todo %@", error localizeddescription); } }]; // query all todos pfquery query = \[pfquery querywithclassname @"todo"]; \[query findobjectsinbackgroundwithblock ^(nsarray nullable objects, nserror nullable error) { if (!error) { for (pfobject item in objects) { nslog(@"todo %@", item\[@"title"]); } } }]; 4\ reading and writing data using rest if you’d rather skip the sdk curl x post \\ h "x parse application id your application id" \\ h "x parse rest api key your rest api key" \\ h "content type application/json" \\ d '{"title" "buy groceries","iscompleted"\ false}' \\ https //parseapi back4app com/classes/todo 5\ reading and writing data using graphql back4app provides a graphql interface as well mutation { createtodo(input { fields { title "wash the car", iscompleted false } }) { todo { objectid title iscompleted } } } 6\ working with live queries (optional) if your ios app needs real time updates enable live queries under server settings in the back4app dashboard configure parse with livequeryserverurl \[parse initializewithconfiguration \[parseclientconfiguration configurationwithblock ^(id\<parsemutableclientconfiguration> configuration) { configuration applicationid = @"your app id"; configuration clientkey = @"your client key"; configuration server = @"https //parseapi back4app com"; configuration livequeryserverurl = @"wss\ //your subdomain b4a io"; }]]; then subscribe to live updates in your objective c code this ensures your ui shows the latest data instantly step 3 – applying security with acls and clps access control lists (acls) and class level permissions (clps) back4app uses acls and clps for fine grained security clps apply to an entire class (table), while acls apply to individual objects setting class level permissions under the database section select a class (e g “todo”) click class level permissions control who can read, write, or perform queries at the class level configuring acls acls are object level for example pfacl acl = \[pfacl aclwithuser \[pfuser currentuser]]; \[acl setpublicreadaccess\ no]; \[acl setpublicwriteaccess\ no]; todo acl = acl; \[todo saveinbackground]; this snippet restricts read/write to the current user only step 4 – writing cloud code functions why cloud code? cloud code is useful for server side logic—handling triggers, validations, or background tasks it keeps your code hidden from the client, boosting security example function parse cloud define("calculatetextlength", async (request) => { const { text } = request params; if (!text) { throw "no text provided"; } return { length text length }; }); this example calculates the length of a string provided by the client deployment use the back4app cli https //www back4app com/docs/local development/parse cli or the cloud code > functions section in the dashboard to deploy your main js calling cloud code from objective c \[pfcloud callfunctioninbackground @"calculatetextlength" withparameters @{@"text" @"hello back4app"} block ^(id nullable result, nserror nullable error) { if (!error) { nsnumber len = result\[@"length"]; nslog(@"text length %@", len); } }]; step 5 – configuring authentication parse users back4app’s pfuser class manages sign up, login, and security by default, pfuser handles password hashing, sessions, and user fields sign up pfuser user = \[pfuser user]; user username = @"alice"; user password = @"secret123"; user email = @"alice\@example com"; \[user signupinbackgroundwithblock ^(bool succeeded, nserror nullable error) { if (succeeded) { nslog(@"user signed up successfully!"); } else { nslog(@"sign up error %@", error localizeddescription); } }]; log in \[pfuser loginwithusernameinbackground @"alice" password @"secret123" block ^(pfuser nullable user, nserror nullable error) { if (user) { nslog(@"user logged in %@", user username); } else { nslog(@"login error %@", error localizeddescription); } }]; social login back4app supports facebook , apple , google , etc integrate these platforms and link user sessions accordingly check the social login docs https //www back4app com/docs/platform/sign in with apple step 6 – handling file storage uploading & retrieving files you can store images, documents, or other binary data using pffileobject nsdata imagedata = uiimagepngrepresentation(\[uiimage imagenamed @"localimage"]); pffileobject parsefile = \[pffileobject fileobjectwithname @"image png" data\ imagedata]; pfobject photo = \[pfobject objectwithclassname @"photo"]; \[photo setobject\ parsefile forkey @"imagefile"]; \[photo saveinbackgroundwithblock ^(bool succeeded, nserror nullable error) { if (succeeded) { nslog(@"file uploaded successfully"); } }]; to retrieve pffileobject photofile = photo\[@"imagefile"]; \[photofile getdatainbackgroundwithblock ^(nsdata nullable data, nserror nullable error) { if (!error) { uiimage image = \[uiimage imagewithdata\ data]; // use the image in your ui } }]; step 7 – email verification and password reset why important? email verification helps ensure user account validity password reset offers a secure flow if users forget their credentials dashboard configuration go to email settings in your back4app dashboard enable email verification and password reset options customize email templates as needed implementation if you want to trigger a password reset manually in your app \[pfuser requestpasswordresetforemailinbackground @"alice\@example com" block ^(bool succeeded, nserror nullable error) { if (succeeded) { nslog(@"reset email sent!"); } else { nslog(@"error %@", error localizeddescription); } }]; step 8 – scheduling tasks with cloud jobs what are cloud jobs? cloud jobs automate recurring tasks—like cleaning up old data, generating daily reports, or sending bulk notifications daily cleanup job example in your main js parse cloud job("cleanupoldtodos", async (request) => { const todo = parse object extend("todo"); const query = new parse query(todo); const cutoff = new date(date now() 30 24 60 60 1000); query lessthan("createdat", cutoff); const oldtodos = await query find({ usemasterkey true }); await parse object destroyall(oldtodos, { usemasterkey true }); return `deleted ${oldtodos length} old todos `; }); then schedule it in app settings > server settings > background jobs you can pick a daily run, for example step 9 – integrating webhooks overview webhooks let back4app send http requests to external services whenever events occur, like object creation configuration in your back4app dashboard > more > webhooks add a new endpoint (url) decide which events trigger the webhook (e g , after a todo is saved) step 10 – exploring the back4app admin panel overview the back4app admin panel is a simple, model centric interface that non technical stakeholders can use to do crud operations without coding activation in your dashboard, go to more > admin app and enable it after creating your first admin user, you can set up a custom subdomain to access the panel this panel can simplify day to day tasks like editing records, viewing logs, or assigning roles, without diving into the raw database conclusion you have now seen how to build a backend for objective c using back4app throughout this tutorial, you created a new back4app project set up and read from the database using the parse ios sdk, rest, or graphql enabled real time updates with live queries applied security using acls and clps deployed cloud code for server side logic handled user authentication, file storage, email verification, and password resets configured scheduled tasks and webhooks explored the admin panel for easy data management this foundation allows you to scale your ios app while focusing on the front end experience the synergy between objective c and back4app is a proven way to accelerate development, saving time and effort next steps enhance your backend with advanced custom logic, push notifications, or analytics integrate external services or open source libraries for social login, billing, or messaging check official back4app documentation for optimization tips, best practices, and in depth tutorials build real world examples like chat apps, gaming leaderboards, or location based services using these patterns we hope you found this guide informative! leveraging back4app and the parse ios sdk helps you develop a robust and secure system without heavy server management, letting you focus on building your best mobile experience