I start studing iOS last week and before I go any further I would like to ask some question. When I learn how to develop to iOS I would like to create an App to be used in a restaurant. Waiters will use ipods to take orders per table. There will be an iPad at the cashier with the same app that will receive all the orders per table.
I don't want to know how to develop an app like that but my question is very basic. How can I safe the orders? Locally? And the history of transactions(yearly, monthly, etc...), iCloud? Or any other server?
Since it could be a local WiFi network, without need of Internet, the application can send and receive information directly to/from a server inside the restaurant. So the iPad application can read from that server if there is any order and show it. iPods will send orders do server, where you can store everything in a database (like SQL Server Express, that is free) and the iPad can stay reading from there. Like 2 modes inside the same application (send orders per table and receive orders).
No need to super server, and no need to local storage on iPods and iPads since it's inside a Wifi local network. It's really more simpler than local storage and sync framework to a server or to send data between iDevices.
With all data stored in a database, you can develop any kind of reports, web reports of reports inside the application or another ap