Integrating push notifications with Parse.com

A push notification is a constantly open IP connection used to forward notifications from servers of third-party applications to your iOS device. It is used as an alternative to always running applications, and allows your device to receive notifications from a specific app even when it is not running. If you have ever received an SMS on your iPhone, then you'll already know what Push Notifications look like. They are essentially notifications that typically appear at the top of the screen (although you can configure them to appear differently). The banner usually appears with an icon, message, and so on. Clicking on the banner notification will open the corresponding app, and in iOS 8, swiping down the banner will sometimes give additional options, such as an Action button. The Action button can be defined by your code, so your app can respond to the button when it is clicked on.

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