I've recently started working with Xcode, having come from a C# background. I'm struggling to implement something for OSX that I'd find fairly trivial in C#.
Basically, I want to create a model that contains, say, two points. I then want to open a window which contains a Custom View that is linked to an object that is a subclass of NSView. I then want to draw a line between those two points using the dirtyRect function of my NSView based object.
I've followed examples for this & it works fine. However, I want to be able to open a number of windows, each of the same type of view so the data is displayed using the same technique, but having each one associated with a different model.
How can I let my NSView based object know what model data it should be drawing? I assume I'm missing something stupidly simple here...
Thanks,
Tom.
Related
Excuse me for this probably complex question.
I'm currently working on a feature for an app that needs to present a timeline of a location. I have had influences from the app "Path" which also uses a similar method although they have implemented it for social media (forgive me if there is other related examples). I also looked at this example which I believe is the closest to my target but he creates the UI programatically which I haven't learn't how to do yet and am more used to using the storyboards. Therefore it may seem quite daunting to try an implement a similar method.
This is the layout I'm looking for where the 'Year' and 'Content' views relate to each other and the Content view adjust according to the amount of contents inside it i.e. text & images.
I really hope this isn't such a complicated ask but thank you in advance.
You would probably have to use a custom table view cell with a dynamic view controller. You can create a placeholder for the year/info labels and fill the content through a dynamic table view's class.
Here's an example: http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/Using_Storyboards_and_Swift_to_Build_Dynamic_TableViews_with_Prototype_Table_View_Cells
I created a custom NSView that displays some data exactly the way I want it to (a line chart of sorts). I now want to add a couple of sliders to have the ability to zoom the displayed data in and out. I would also like to add a couple of checkboxes so that the incoming data can be interpreted and graphed in different ways, and maybe some scrollbars to be able to see past data. I need to have at least 5 copies of this view (with all its controls) on screen at the same time, each showing a different data feed.
This way of thinking a user interface falls nicely into the WebComponents paradigm where you can design a component that encapsulates many different ones. As I understand it, there is no way of nesting controls like this into a master control in Xcode.
Of course I could layout all the views and all the controls separately inside a view controller and achieve exactly what I want but it would not be as maintainable as having ONE object that I can duplicate either in interface builder or in code.
My question is: what is the proper way to achieve this in Xcode (if any)? I don't need code examples but rather a conceptual answer and I'm only interested in answers related to Cocoa rather than CocoaTouch.
I just learned that you can have multiple view controllers as child controllers. This is exactly what I was looking for as it maximizes reusability and reduces maintenance.
I'm new to cocoa development, and been trying to look for something similar in the attached image.
Basically an app with multiple views or sections or panels, where I'd link separate classes to each of them instead of one Delegate class doing everything.
I'm also confused between the old xib and the new storyboard style and wondering how can I accomplish the same, like what kind of visual objects to use. attached images explains where I'm trying to get at.
In Mac OS Cocoa it's common to just uses plain NSView objects to hierarchically subdivide complex views.
If you also want visual dividers there's NSBox. For resizable parts use NSSplitView.
Regarding the controller tier it's also pretty common to set up individual controller objects for separated panes (subviews) in a window.
You are talking about one single view. So what is possible would be to create a background view and then add multiple custom subviews (NSView subclass), each with their own custom class to control them, and even custom controllers.
As to accomplish something that looks similar to the screenshot, you can select a few UI elements in interface builder and do Embed In > Box to group them like in the screenshot.
I’ve been reading through several books on Mac development, but cannot find the information I’m looking for.
The books all describe how to make floating windows or panes, but never mention how to make them all in one window. A simplified example of what I’m looking to create is shown below:
Basically, there will be three windows; A selector window with radio buttons to choose which NSDocument is currently being used, a window underneath that with buttons that show different windows to the right that allow viewing and manipulation of certain data.
For a example, each NSDocument may have a color value that can be set in the window shown by clicking view A, and some text strings that can be set in the window shown by clicking view B.
So the questions are:
Is it appropriate to use a single NSDocument sub-class for each Doc #1 and Doc #2?
Which classes should I use to set up the application as shown? NSWindowController? NSWindow? NSPanel?
I’m only looking for guidance on what to read up on, so any pointers are appreciated.
EDIT:
To clarify this further, I want to have a table view where the buttons are (View A & B), and by clicking them they will cause the other window/view to change it's contents.
It's like the split view in the iPad settings application, there is a table view on the left, and when it's pressed the right side changes.
The radio buttons are there only to illustrate that I want more than one Document. I'm guessing I need more than one to handle this? Or perhaps I should place them all in a single NSDocument? Somehow that doesn't seem right.
To achieve what you want you need one window (NSWindow), one window controller and various views each with their own view controller. There are several ways you could set this up, all depending on your requirements:
You'd have at least 3 views (instances of NSView): one for the selection of the document class, one for the view selection and one for the content. Each view is controlled by a view controller (instance of NSViewController). Additionally you can opt to wrap the views in split views (NSSplitView) so your user can resize the real estate available to each view.
You have one window with a window controller. If you choose a Document based app template in Xcode, Xcode will generate a subclass of NSDocument which you can use as your window controller (or choose to use Core Data and Xcode will generate a subclass of NSPersistentDocument with all bells and whistles you need to access Core Data for document persistency).
So to come back to your questions:
1: Yes, but depending on your requirements. If Doc #1 is a completely different thing than Doc #2 than you might need to re-evaluate. For example Doc #1 might have completely different persistent requirements than #2.
2: There's no single scenario here, but one that worked for me: Take the project template for a document based app (with or without Core Data). Use the generated subclass of NSDocument (or NSPersistentDocument) as your window controller. Use NSView to implement the views in your window where each view is managed by its own controller, which is an instance of NSViewController.
I know this is an old question, but a way to do it how you want would be to use: ContainerViews and set their embed segue to be the view controllers you want.
Fairly new to Mac and XCode 3.2.6 and iPad. I have a fairly simple business data model to implement on the iPad, but can't seem to find the combination of views and controllers to use.
It's a simple data collection program, but there are too many data fields to fit on a single screen so I've resorted to the Split View approach.
I've got eight rows of table data on the left; RootViewController is the default UITableViewController. I'm trying to write the program such that when any of those table rows are selected, the view on the right (Detail View) gets redrawn and populated with a bunch of different controls (labels, buttons, text fields, etc.) that correspond to the selection on the left. Currently all the Details views are plain UIViewControllers.
For instance, the first "tab" might be titled "Personal", and I need to display fields to collect info such as Name, DOB, Height, Weight, etc. The next one might be "Address" where I need to collect Street, City, ZIP Code, etc. The next one might be "Employer", where I'd like to collect the employer's name, address, phone number, etc. These are mostly static and unchanging, but there are enough fields for about 8 screens worth.
I've got all this laid out in Interface Builder, but when I run it on the iPad simulator and click the very first button on the very first view, the connected delegate isn't called. I've put a breakpoint there and it's not being hit.
Is there some special magic to using simple UIViewControllers on the right side of a UISplitViewController, as far as letting them contain other simple Label, TextBox, and Button controls?
Also is there any special magic in that the framework built the original start-up code with a RootViewController.h/.m and DetailViewController.h/.m pair? Am I correct in thinking that a single detail view represents the entire iPad screen to the right of the Table View, and that to add more "pages" we need to write more files and .XIBs like DetailViewController?
Final question is how to implement the data model for this app. I noticed when the project was first auto-created, there weren't any source files for the model. (Maybe most of the predefined app types don't auto-generate anything for the model, but I understand that's a big part of model-view-controller paradigm.) Anyway these data fields on all the various views will eventually be part of a SQLite record that I'd like to save and load from storage. Where would I begin to wire all that stuff in to all the auto-generated "view centric" code?
If anyone has seen a "how to write real business apps for the iPad" website along the lines of anything like this, please post the link. I'm not trying to display jpegs of various fruits in a single (reused) view on the right side; I'm trying to display several real controls for real-world data collection for a real business app.
Thanks!
Basic things if you haven't already done them:
Have you connected the interface object the user is pressing from it's INSIDE TOUCH UP event to an IBOUTLET that then refreshes the right side?
If you have, and you've mucked about a bit (ie renaming and moving stuff around), try deleting it from the right-click event panel and then reconnecting it to the same IBOUTLET again (you don't have to delete any code).
Also, if you are counting on some event to fire that isn't firing, you should search on that (ie VIEWDIDLOAD NOT FIRING) because that can both occasionally be "broken" (ie no connection to the Files Owner) but more often one might misunderstand when that actually gets fired (ie VIEWDIDLOAD vs VIEWDIDAPPEAR vs VIEWWILLAPPEAR etc.)
For your data model, CoreData is your friend. It provides a modell-oriented approach and easily allows to persist data.
For your navigation needs, I think a tabBarController better suits your needs.
Changing the detail view from the master view can be troublesome, especially when using a NavigationController as detail view. The best way I've found is using the NSNotificationCenter.
When using UISplitview I strongly recommend to support the iPad only when it's a business requirement - there are some changes in iOs 8 that make easier to use.