Please bear with me. This amazing world is completely new to me, and the learning curve is steep, well almost vertical.
I have an idea for a project:
I would like to be able to control a series of individual switches (Up to 128, or if possible 256), these individual on/offs would then control relays that would allow me to control more poweful LED's. I would like to be able to control these switches using either an Ipad (Preferred) or Android tablet, using either Blue Tooth or WiFi. The whole unit would be stand alone, with no connection to another network. I would like to be able to select multiple LEDS for lighting, be able to select all the LEDs on and off, and also when the unit is in "sleep mode" have it able to switch on and off LEDs in a random Pattern.
Is this even possible?
As I said I'm a complete novice at this, I'm trying to work out if and how I can do it.
Or if someone can point me in the direction of someone who has done something similar I would be extremely grateful.
This is a huge project. You seem to be looking for some pointer to some code that does it all for you. That isn't going to happen.
You need to figure out how you are going to connect the 128 or 256 switches (I hope you mean transistors) to the 20 IO pins on the Arduino, (non-mega versions) and not use the WiFi shield pins. Multiplexers come to mind. How do you intend to power this project? 256 high power LEDs are going to suck a lot of current. Make that a LOT of current. 256 relays are going to need a lot of careful planning, and serious attention to detail. Which relays have you selected? Are you able to get the Arduino to turn one of them off and on?
Which WiFi shield have you selected? Does it support AdHoc mode? Many do not.
Are you able to connect to the Arduino-as-server from the Android or iPad? What code is running on the Arduino-as-server?
How will you tell the Arduino which of the 256 switches to open or close? That is what protocol have you defined? Is it ASCII or binary?