1.3. Creating a Basic Core Data Application

The many facets, classes, and nuances of Core Data merit artful analysis and deep discussions to teach you all you need to know to gain mastery of Core Data's complexities. Building a practical foundation to support the theory, however, is just as essential to mastery. This section builds a simple Core Data–based application, using one of Xcode's built-in templates, and then dissects the most important parts of its Core Data–related code to show what they do and how they interact. At the end of this section, you will understand how this application interacts with Core Data to store and retrieve data.

1.3.1. Understanding the Core Data Components

Before building this section's basic Core Data application, you should have a high-level understanding of the components of Core Data. Figure 1-1 illustrates the key elements of the application we build in this section. Review this figure for a bird's-eye view of what this application accomplishes, where all its pieces fit, and why you need them.