Swift tableView with images from API is lagging when scrolling - ios

I have a tableView which I populate with images from an API,
however, it is lagging quite a bit when scrolling. I've tried to use async & run on different threads but cannot get it right.. so how do I fix this?
This is the cellForRowAt-func that I use to set image for every single cell.
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "VideoCell", for: indexPath) as! TableViewCell
let video = highlightsArray[indexPath.row]
cell.video = video
do {
let url = URL(string: self.highlightsArray[indexPath.row].thumbnail)!
let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
cell.thumbnailImage.image = UIImage(data: data)
}
catch{
print(error)
cell.thumbnailImage.image = UIImage(named: "pllogo.jpg")
}
return cell
}

This line
let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
blocks the main thread and redownloads the same image multiple times when scrolling , consider using SDWebImage

Related

Update ImageView in TableViewCell from function called from CellForRowAt

I try to update an ImageView witch is part of my TableViewCell. The each cell has other countries, and for each cell I want to download the county's flag and show it in the cell´s ImageView, so I use CellForRowAt, ready the cell´s country and call a function which downloads the image of the flag. But I don't get, how I can update the ImageView in the Cell...
Here is my code:
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "Cell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
// Configure the cell...
let stock = stocks[indexPath.row]
// Image downloading
loadCountryImage(country: stock.country)
return cell
}
func loadCountryImage(country: String) {
let url = "https://www.countryflags.io/\(country)/shiny/24.png"
guard let imageURL = URL(string: url) else {
print("no URL found")
return
}
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: imageURL) { imageData, _, _ in
let image = UIImage(data: imageData!)
}.resume()
So now the image is downloaded successfully, but how do I get it in the imageView of the cell?
Kind regards from Germany!
Yannik
The short answer is to pass the cell to loadCountryImage so that you can update the cell image in the closure from your data task. This update needs to be dispatched onto the main queue.
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "Cell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
// Configure the cell...
let stock = stocks[indexPath.row]
cell.imageView.image = somePlaceholderImage
// Image downloading
loadCountryImage(country: stock.country, in: cell)
return cell
}
func loadCountryImage(country: String, in cell:CustomCell) {
let url = "https://www.countryflags.io/\(country)/shiny/24.png"
guard let imageURL = URL(string: url) else {
print("no URL found")
return
}
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: imageURL) { imageData, _, _ in
guard let data = imageData, let image = UIImage(data: data) else {
return
}
DispatchQueue.main.async {
cell.imageView.image = image
}
}.resume()
}
The long answer is that you should consider caching and since cells are reused, what happens when the table view scrolls? You may fetch an image that is out of date. One approach is to store the country in the cell and check in the closure to see it is still what you expect before you set the image.
You can handle some of this yourself using UITableviewDatasourcePrefetching and NSCache
var imageCache = NSCache<NSString,UIImage>()
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "Cell", for: indexPath) as! CustomCell
// Configure the cell...
let stock = stocks[indexPath.row]
cell.imageView.image = somePlaceholderImage
cell.country = stock.country
// Image downloading
loadCountryImage(country: stock.country, in: cell)
return cell
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, prefetchRowsAt indexPaths: [IndexPath]) {
for indexPath in indexPaths {
let stock = stocks[indexPath.row]
if self.cache.object(forKey: stock.country) == nil {
self.loadCountryImage(country: stock.country, in: nil)
}
}
}
func loadCountryImage(country: String, in cell:CustomCell?) {
if let image = self.imageCache.object(forKey: country) {
cell?.imageView.image = image
return
}
let url = "https://www.countryflags.io/\(country)/shiny/24.png"
guard let imageURL = URL(string: url) else {
print("no URL found")
return
}
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: imageURL) { imageData, _, _ in
guard let data = imageData, let image = UIImage(data: data) else {
return
}
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.imageCache.setObject(image, forKey: country)
if cell?.country == country {
cell?.imageView.image = image
}
}
}.resume()
}
A better answer is probably to look at frameworks like SDWebImage or Kingfisher that do a lot of this for you.
With Existing solution you can pass cell to to your function to set image image when download. but this approach leads to performance issue while scrolling your TableView, because cells are reusing and your cellForRowAtIndexPath called each time when that specific row will be visible in mobile screen window and your download function also got triggered. As cell are reusing you also encounter problem of display same image in multiple cell. the better solution is to use SDWebImage form cocoaPod. you only have to focus on development . rest will be manage by SDWebImage i.e performance ,cache etc
Add SDWebImage image in pod file
pod 'SDWebImage'
Install pod by running
pod install
import SDWebImage image in your viewController
import SDWebImage
set image in cellforRowAt by
cell.yourImageViewInCell.sd_setImage(with: URL(string: "http://youserver.com/path/to/image.jpg"), placeholderImage: UIImage(named: "placeholder.png"))

How can I download a batch of images using one thread only?

The app I'm working on, it has many table views and each cell has an image. Problem is that each image is done using a network request and a different thread, so the app ends up using many threads to asynchronously download all the images (in the cellForRowAtIndex method) which results in huge battery drain.
Is there a way I can download them using one thread only, perhaps one after the other? Is there a better way of handling this issue?
What about the framework Kingfisher?
You could dispatch your network operation blocks onto an NSOperationQueue and set a lower value for maxConcurrentOperationCount.
Yes, there is actually a way, use Kingfisher
here is my sample code for you:
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
switch indexPath.section {
case 0:
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "BannerCell", for: indexPath) as! BannerCell
cell.loading.stopAnimating()
let urlString = banners[indexPath.row].image ?? ""
let url = URL(string: urlString)
cell.bannerPic.kf.indicatorType = .activity
cell.bannerPic.kf.setImage(with: url, completionHandler: {
(image, error, cacheType, imageUrl) in
DispatchQueue.main.async {
if let image = image{
if !(self.loaded[indexPath] ?? false){
let aspectRatio = image.size.height/image.size.width
let imageHeight = self.view.frame.width*aspectRatio
tableView.beginUpdates()
self.rowHeights[indexPath.row] = imageHeight
tableView.endUpdates()
self.loaded[indexPath] = true
}
}
}
})
cell.selectionStyle = .none
return cell
}

Loading image from URL is working inconsistently

I am storing URLs as Strings in an Organization. These URLs are used to fetch each Organization's logo and display it in a tableview. Here is the code I am using to do this:
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "orgcell", for: indexPath) as! OrgCell
cell.orgAcro.text = filteredOrgs[indexPath.row].acronym
cell.topTag.text = filteredOrgs[indexPath.row].tags[0].title
let data = try? Data(contentsOf: filteredOrgs[indexPath.row].url)
if (data == nil) {
cell.orgImg.image = UIImage()
} else {
cell.orgImg.image = UIImage(data: data!)
}
return cell
}
The only URL this is working for is this one https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/718076464856338432/zlcMj0Oo.jpg
It is not working for this one http://www.therightfew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Planned-Parenthood-Logo-Square.jpg
It has nothing to do with the order by which I load them, I have tried switching it up. Any ideas as to what's going on?

IOS Swift how can hide the space of an Image inside a TableView

I have a tableView that contains a UIImageView and if the Image has a URL then the image displays and if not then no Image is displayed. The issue I have is that if there is no Image then a big blank spot occurs in the TableView as if there was an image. Is there a way to reduce the blank spot or hide it (Images below) ? The image is the big UIImageView in the center . This is my code when it comes to the Images
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "MyFeed", for: indexPath) as! MyFeed
if stream_image_string[indexPath.row].characters.count > 2 {
let strCellImageURL = self.stream_image_string[indexPath.row]
let imgURL: NSURL = NSURL(string: strCellImageURL)!
let request:NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(url: imgURL as URL)
let config = URLSessionConfiguration.default
let session = URLSession(configuration: config)
let task = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: {(data, response, error) in
DispatchQueue.main.async(execute: { () -> Void in
cell.post_image.image = UIImage(data: data!)
})
});
task.resume()
} else {
cell.post_image!.isHidden = true
cell.post_image!.image = nil
}
return cell
}
Essentially if the String coming back has 2 or more characters then it's a valid URL and the image is downloaded; the part that I am focused on is the else statement and this code
else {
cell.post_image!.isHidden = true
cell.post_image!.image = nil
}
So obviously if it goes in the else statement then there is no image and I set the Image to null or nil then I try to hide the extra white space by setting the Image to hidden however that does not work . Any idea on how I can hide the white space ? I have also been reading this question but it does not work iOS swift imageView cannot be hidden in TableViewCell
Give outlet of image's width and if there is no image then set constant of that outlet to "0".
e.g.
if(!image)
{
widthOfImage.constant = 0
}
I experienced the same problem myself. You need to create 2 cells for this. Like this:
override func tableView (_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
if (stream_image_string[indexPath.row] == "")
{
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell (withIdentifier: "noImageMyFeed", for: indexPath) as! noImageMyFeed
return cell
}
else
{
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell (withIdentifier: "MyFeed", for: indexPath) as! MyFeed
return cell
}
}
this video will help you in detail : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAxtWtqeMIM
adapt the video to its own content, create a cell from scratch by simply deleting the image part

Slow loading of images in UITableViewController extracted from URL string

I'm trying to load images extracted from the web URL into the image view of each cell.
However, when i scroll the table the screen will freeze as I believe it is attempting to grab the images for each cell 1 by 1.
Is there a way i can make it asynchronous? The resources available out there currently is outdated or incompatible(running obj c) as I'm running on Swift 2
The relevant code I'm using within the table view controller is below :
override func tableView(newsFeedTableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("Cell", forIndexPath: indexPath)
let blogPost: BlogPost = blogPosts[indexPath.row]
cell.textLabel?.text = blogPost.postTitle
let unformattedDate = blogPost.postDate
//FORMATTING: Splitting of raw data into arrays based on delimiter '+" to print only useful information
let postDateArr = unformattedDate.characters.split{$0 == "+"}.map(String.init)
cell.detailTextLabel?.text = postDateArr[0]
let url = NSURL(string: blogPost.postImageUrl)
let data = NSData(contentsOfURL: url!)
cell.imageView!.image = UIImage(data: data!)//WHY SO SLOW!?
print(blogPost.postImageUrl)
return cell
}
Try this
var image: UIImage
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), {() -> Void in
// Background thread stuff.
let url = NSURL(string: blogPost.postImageUrl)
let data = NSData(contentsOfURL: url!)
image = UIImage(data:data)
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), {() -> Void in
// Main thread stuff.
cell.imageView.image = image
})
})
Lets clean your code a bit. First of all, you are trying to declear ALL your cells in your viewController. That means your app is not trying to load every image one byt one, but more like everything all together.
You need to create a separate file called PostCell what is going to be a type of UITableViewCell.
Then you need to go to your prototype cell and connect those view elements to that PostCell just like you would add those to any other ViewController.
Now, here is new code to your cellForRowAtIndexPath function:
override func tableView(newsFeedTableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let blogPost = blogPosts[indexPath.row]
if let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("Cell") as? PostCell {
cell.configureCell(blogPost)
return cell
}
return UITableViewCell() // You need to do this because of if let
}
And declear this on that PostCell:
func configureCell(post: BlogPost) {
this.textLabel.text = post.postTitle
let postDateArr = unformattedDate.characters.split{$0 == "+"}.map(String.init)
this.detailTextLabel.text = postDateArr[0]
// I would add few if let declarations here too, but if you are sure all these forced ! variables do exciest, then its ok
let url = NSURL(string: blogPost.postImageUrl)
let data = NSData(contentsOfURL: url!)
this.imageView.image = UIImage(data: data!)
}
Or something along those lines. When you connect those elements to your cell, you will get proper variable names for those.
That SHOULD help. There are plenty of tutorials how to make a custom tableviewcell. Some of them advice to put all the declarations inside that cellForRowAtIndexPath, but I have found that it get's problematic very fast.
So...my advice in a nutscell...create a custom tableviewcell.
Hope this helps! :)
To load the image on every cell use SDWebImage third party library. You can add it using pods as put pod 'SDWebImage' It provides various methods to load the image with caching or without caching asynchronously. With caching you don't really need to worry about loading image data every time cell appears on the screen. Try this
override func tableView(newsFeedTableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
if let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("Cell") as? PostCell {
--reset your cell here--
// cell.imageView.image = nil
}
cell.imageView.sd_setImageWithURL(YOUR_URL, placeholderImage: UIImage(named: "")) {
(UIImage img, NSError err, SDImageCacheType cacheType, NSURL imgUrl) -> Void in
// Do awesome things
}
-- configure your cell here --
}

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