Get pdf download location from URL query

Question

I have a PDF download location which is formatted as follows:

https://www.example.com/apps/user_name?txtFile=directory_1%2Fmy_pdf_file.pdf

Which NSURL would I need to pass to for example NSURLSessionDownloadTask in order to download this mentioned PDF (my_pdf_file.pdf)?

UPDATE: The problem seems to be related to the url redirection to a different location, which is unknown at the outset.

Further info:

• I have no problem downloading files formatted as http://www.example.com/my_pdf_file.pdf
• I'm using AFNetworking for downloading files

• My download code is as follows:

      NSURLSessionConfiguration *configuration = [NSURLSessionConfiguration defaultSessionConfiguration];
      AFURLSessionManager *manager = [[AFURLSessionManager alloc] initWithSessionConfiguration:configuration];
      NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:url];
      NSURLSessionDownloadTask *downloadTask = [manager downloadTaskWithRequest:request progress:nil destination:^NSURL *(NSURL *targetPath, NSURLResponse *response) {
          NSURL *documentsDirectoryURL = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] URLForDirectory:NSDocumentDirectory inDomain:NSUserDomainMask appropriateForURL:nil create:NO error:nil];
          return [documentsDirectoryURL URLByAppendingPathComponent:[response suggestedFilename]];
      } completionHandler:^(NSURLResponse *response, NSURL *filePath, NSError *error) {
          if (!error) {
              DDLogInfo(@"File downloaded to: %@", filePath);
          }
      }];
      [downloadTask resume];
  

Answer 1

In order to download a PDF file using NSURLSession do the following:

NSString *londonWeatherUrl = @"https://www.example.com/apps/user_name?txtFile=directory_1%2Fmy_pdf_file.pdf";

First here is how you make this call when using NSURLConnection:

NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:
[NSURL URLWithString:londonWeatherUrl]];

[NSURLConnection sendAsynchronousRequest:request
   queue:[NSOperationQueue mainQueue]
   completionHandler:^(NSURLResponse *response,
                       NSData *data,
                       NSError *connectionError) {
      // handle response
}];

Now let’s use NSURLSession. Note that this is the simplest way to make a quick call using NSURLSession. Later in the tutorial you will see how to configure the session and setup other features like delegation.

NSURLSession *session = [NSURLSession sharedSession];
[[session dataTaskWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:londonWeatherUrl]
          completionHandler:^(NSData *data,
                              NSURLResponse *response,
                              NSError *error) {
            // handle response

  }] resume];