What’s new in Cordova iOS 2.4.0

1. Removal of JSONKit, replaced with NSJSONSerialization

Since we dropped support for iOS 4.x, this is now possible. See the Plugin Upgrade Guide.

2. Support for ArrayBuffer arguments over the exec bridge

Only for top level arguments (nothing nested). It converts the ArrayBuffer to a NSData object, and vice-versa. See CB-2189 and CB-2215.

3. The start page can be specified in config.xml

Through the content tag.

4. FileTransfer “trustAllHosts” parameter

This is now supported. Set to true to trust hosts with self-signed certificates, for example.

5. InAppBrowser enhancements, and fix

Enhancements are specified here. Basically these are the same settings as in the Project Settings, also presentation and transition styles are added. The fix for InAppBrowser is specified here. Basically, on iOS 6, when you load PDFs in the InAppBrowser, it resets the User-Agent for all UIWebViews which we rely on for our exec bridge — our fix helps work around that, with caveats.

6. Custom url-scheme handler ‘handleOpenURL’ not called on startup

It was not being called on first app launch, but has now been fixed. Resume from backgrounding has always worked.

7. FileTransfer failing for file:/// urls

Fixed. An alternative is to use xhr.

8. require.js lazy loading of cordova.js

This should  work now.

9. Various deprecated methods removed

See the wiki.

10. Default splash-screen sizes 10x smaller

Shouldn’t affect you much.

11. There was an ARC issue in Contacts

See this issue.

12. Support Reading Slices of Text Files.

From Simon McDonald’s blog post regarding Cordova Android 2.4.0:

The File object now has a slice method. Suppose the file we’re reading contains the text:

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.” 

Then…

• f.slice(4, 8) would result in “that”
• f.slice(9) would be “is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.”
• f.slice(-5, -1) would be “lost”

[NOTE] I want to also draw attention to cordova-cli being released with 2.4.0. More on Raymond Camden’s blog. In a nutshell, this is an abstraction for the command-line utilities that are included for the different platforms all in one easier to use interface, plus the ability to add and remove plugins.