Question

I am very new to programming in Objective C (as in a few days), and unfortunately have an iPhone app due as a project for a class in a few days (in retrospect I probably should have chosen something different). One of the main features my app needs is the ability to select a dish from a menu by first selecting the meal on one page, and then the category on the next page, and then the dish on the final page. I have gotten my app to download a JSON file from an internet API and store it as an NSArray variable, but now I need to use that array to populate my tableview. Below is a sample from the downloaded array from my app’s debug window. I already have the basic framework of the app (i.e. several different views) in place. This came from a sample app that populates the tableview rows with data from a plist file, but I want to use this JSON data. How would I use this array to populate the rows with the JSON data stored in this NSArray variable?
Thanks!

2012-12-05 03:29:48.973 MLBMobile[3858:c07] {
    category = "BREAKFAST MEATS";
    date = "2012-12-05";
    meal = BREAKFAST;
    name = "Low-Sodium Ham";
    portion = 1;
    recipe = 319044;
    unit = oz;
}
2012-12-05 03:29:48.975 MLBMobile[3858:c07] {
    category = "BREAKFAST MEATS";
    date = "2012-12-05";
    meal = BREAKFAST;
    name = "Roasted Low-Sodium Turkey";
    portion = 4;
    recipe = 113503;
    unit = oz;
}
2012-12-05 03:29:48.976 MLBMobile[3858:c07] {
    category = "BREAKFAST ENTREES";
    date = "2012-12-05";
    meal = BREAKFAST;
    name = "Cheddar Cheese";
    portion = 1;
    recipe = 130029;
    unit = oz;
}
2012-12-05 03:29:48.976 MLBMobile[3858:c07] {
    category = "BREAKFAST ENTREES";
    date = "2012-12-05";
    meal = BREAKFAST;
    name = "Hard Cooked Eggs - Cage Free";
    portion = 1;
    recipe = 061009;
    unit = each;
}

Answer 1

With your array variable you can iterate through each element. Use fast enumeration:

for(NSDictionary *dict in yourArrayVariable){
    NSString *category = [dict objectForKey:@"name"];
    //...you get the point
}

Now you can populate your row by just setting the properties of the row. For example, if you are using the default UITableViewCell:

cell.textLabel.text = name;

There is a bit more to this that you can do for better data/model/view separation, but I have just included examples as if it were all done locally in one file.