To send a notification first create a `Device` object. Pass it the device token as either a hexadecimal string, or alternatively as a `Buffer` object containing the token in binary form.
As of version 1.2.0 it is also possible to use a set of methods provided by Notification object (`setAlertText`, `setActionLocKey`, `setLocKey`, `setLocArgs`, `setLaunchImage`) to aid the creation of the alert parameters. For applications which provide Newsstand capability there is a new boolean parameter `note.newsstandAvailable` to specify `content-available` in the payload.
**\*N.B.:** If you wish to send notifications containing emoji or other multi-byte characters you will need to set `note.encoding = 'ucs2'`. This tells node to send the message with 16bit characters, however it also means your message payload will be limited to 127 characters.
If the enhanced binary interface is enabled and an error occurs - as defined in Apple's documentation - when sending a message, then subsequent messages will be automatically resent* and the connection will be re-established. If an `errorCallback` is also specified in the connection options then it will be invoked with 2 arguments `(err, notification)`
If a notification fails to be sent because a connection error occurs then the `errorCallback` will be called for each notification waiting for the connection which failed. In this case the first parameter will be an Error object instead of an error number.
`errorCallback` will be called in 3 situations with the parameters shown.
1. The notification has been rejected by Apple (or determined to have an invalid device token or payload before sending) for one of the reasons shown in Table 5-1 [here][errors] `errorCallback(errorCode, notification)`
1. A notification has been rejected by Apple but it has been removed from the cache so it is not possible to identify which. In this case subsequent notifications may be lost. **If this happens you should consider increasing your `cacheLength` value to prevent data loss**`errorCallback(255, null)`
1. A connection error has occurred before the notification can be sent. `errorCallback(Error object, notification)`
**\*N.B.:** The `cacheLength` option for the connection specifies the number of sent notifications which will be cached, on a FIFO basis for error handling purposes. If `cacheLength` is not set to a large enough value, then in high volume environments, a notification - possibly including some subsequent notifications - may be removed from the cache before Apple returns an error associated with it. In this case the `errorCallback` will still be called, but with a `null` notification and error code 255. If this happens you should consider increasing `cacheLength` to prevent losing notifications. All the notifications still residing in the cache will be resent automatically.
Using the `Feedback` object it is possible to periodically query the server for the list. You should provide a function `feedback` which will accept two arguments, the `time` returned by the server (epoch time) and a `Buffer` object containing the device token. You can also set the query interval in seconds. The default options are shown below.
This will automatically start a timer to check with Apple every `interval` seconds. You can cancel the interval by calling `feedback.cancel()`. If you do not wish to have the service automatically queried then set `interval` to 0 and use `feedback.start()`.
**Important:** In a development environment you must set `address` to `feedback.sandbox.push.apple.com`.
More information about the feedback service can be found in the [feedback service documentation][fs].
If you are using a development certificate you may wish to name them differently to enable fast switching between development and production. The filenames are configurable within the module options, so feel free to name them something more appropriate.
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[errors]:https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/RemoteNotificationsPG/CommunicatingWIthAPS/CommunicatingWIthAPS.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40008194-CH101-SW4 "The Binary Interface and Notification Formats"
[fs]:https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/RemoteNotificationsPG/CommunicatingWIthAPS/CommunicatingWIthAPS.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40008194-CH101-SW3 "Communicating With APS"
* Change in the error handling logic. When a notification errors and it cannot be found in the cache, then all notifications in the cache will be resent instead of being discarded.
*`errorCallback` will also be invoked for connection errors.
* New methods on `Notification` to aid settings the alert properties.
*`content-available` can now be set for Newsstand applications by setting the `newsstandAvailable` property on the Notification object.
*`Notification` objects now have a `.clone(device)` method to assist you in sending the same notification to multiple devices.
* Included some js-doc tags in the source.
* Device object now provides a `.toString()` method to return the hex representation of the device token.
* Feature: Certificate and Key data can be passed directly when creating a new connection instead of providing a file name on disk. (See: `certData` and `keyData` options)
* Deliver whole write buffer if the socket is ready.
* Fixed some global memory leaks.
* Tidied up some code formatting glitches flagged by jslint
* Fixes #9, Addresses an issue if the socket disconnects with queued notifications it would be reinitialised before its teardown is completed leaving the system in an undefined state.
