Here are the key points for implementing HTTP Basic Authentication with UIWebView on iOS:

• By Scott
• 26 July 202426 July 2024
• Technology

1. Create an NSURLRequest for the URL you want to load in the UIWebView.
2. Add the Basic Authentication credentials to the request headers:

let username = "user"
let password = "password"
let loginString = String(format: "%@:%@", username, password)
let loginData = loginString.data(using: String.Encoding.utf8)!
let base64LoginString = loginData.base64EncodedString()

request.setValue("Basic \(base64LoginString)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization")

3. Implement the NSURLConnectionDelegate method to handle authentication challenges:

func connection(_ connection: NSURLConnection, willSendRequestFor challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge) {
  if challenge.previousFailureCount == 0 {
    let credential = URLCredential(user: username, 
                                   password: password,
                                   persistence: .forSession)
    challenge.sender?.use(credential, for: challenge)
  } else {
    challenge.sender?.cancel(challenge)
  }
}

4. Load the request in the UIWebView:

swift webView.loadRequest(request)

5. You may need to handle subsequent authentication challenges by implementing the UIWebViewDelegate methods as well.
6. Consider using WKWebView instead of UIWebView for better performance and security, as it handles authentication more easily.
7. To persist authentication across page reloads, you’ll need to store the credentials securely and re-apply them on each request.

The key is adding the encoded credentials to the request headers and handling any authentication challenges that come back from the server. Proper error handling and security considerations are important when working with authentication.

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