Populating a UITable with info from a website (mySQL database)

I'm looking to write an iPhone app that populates a UITable开发者_运维百科 with information from a field in a database that is stored online, and when selected shows more information from the database.

For example, a list of names that when tapped will show a bio for the person, some basic stats, and a picture.

OR

Is it possible to use CoreData, and have it populate itself on start up with the information from the online mySQL database? This would give the best of both worlds - the uptodate nature of the web and the offline access...

I would suggest using something like PHP to talk to the MySQL database and creating your app to talk to the PHP via a web address. Bit of a security risk to have an app talk directly with a database due to the database not being behind a firewall and your database details being stored in the program and being sent across non authed means.