App Update - what is the best choice in cases you want to update just the database?

[sosergio]

Hello,
I would like to know what you think is the best way to update an app.
I'm next to send my app to apple, but I'm doubting on the way I should update it.

I have made a simple app that lists some shops round my town. It counts less than 100 shops, and in the first release all data will be definitive. But there are cases in which I will find a new shop and want to update the app database with this new shop.
I have two ways: first- make a new version of the app, pass throw apple approval stage, and let users download the updated app from the app store; Second - let the app continuously check a server whether it has or not updates, and eventually download them (I'm not worried about data size, because it wont never get over 1megabyte).

My question is when you have an app with a local database released on the iphone, what is the best choice in cases you want to update just the database?
Do approval need to be passed every time you release an updated version of an existing app?

Thanks!

[neilkachu]

Hi sosergio,

Yes each time you update the database if its included in the app then it will have go through approval again. I made this same decision with my app and quickly regreted it as the approval delay really does ruin any immediacy for your app.

So for the next version Im checking my server and downloading a new database (only about 130k) if required. Im storing a version number in the db and a simple xml file on the server with the current version, I then download the xml at startup, compare the number to the phone one and if greater dl the database and replace on the phone.

hth, Neil