Remove cells if titleLabel.string / cell content is empty - ios

Question

I have the following problem.
example
If a cell has no content, I want to hide the cell. The logic as you can see allows, that constantly 5 cells get returned:
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
if(section == 0){
return 1
}
return 5
}
Here is the logic of the actual table view:
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
switch indexPath.section{
case 0:
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CampusGoogleMapsTableViewCell", for: indexPath) as! CampusGoogleMapsTableViewCell
if let building = self.selectedPOIOffice.room?.building{
cell.setMarkerForSelectedBuilding(building)
}
return cell
case 1:
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CampusTableViewCell", for: indexPath) as! CampusTableViewCell
let iconLabel: UILabel = cell.iconLabel
let titleLabel: UILabel = cell.titleLabel
iconLabel.font = UIFont.fontAwesome(ofSize: 25, style: .solid)
switch indexPath.row{
case 0:
//name
titleLabel.text = selectedPOIOffice.name
titleLabel.textColor = UIColor.black
titleLabel.alpha = 0.8
iconLabel.text = FontAwesomeIcons.University.getIcon()
case 1:
//Phone
titleLabel.text = selectedPOIOffice.phone
titleLabel.textColor = HsKAmpusColors.Red
iconLabel.text = FontAwesomeIcons.Phone.getIcon()
case 2:
//email
titleLabel.text = selectedPOIOffice.email
titleLabel.textColor = HsKAmpusColors.Red
iconLabel.text = FontAwesomeIcons.Mail.getIcon()
case 3:
//Opening Hours
if(titleLabel.text == nil){ break}
titleLabel.text = selectedPOIOffice.openingHours
titleLabel.textColor = UIColor.black
titleLabel.alpha = 0.8
iconLabel.text = FontAwesomeIcons.Clock.getIcon()
case 4:
//Location
titleLabel.text = selectedPOIOffice.room?.roomAndBuildingString ?? ""
titleLabel.textColor = UIColor.black
titleLabel.alpha = 0.8
iconLabel.text = FontAwesomeIcons.PositionMarker.getIcon()
default:
break
}
return cell
default:
return UITableViewCell()
}
}
I think I could solve it with a simple for-statement to check if every cell has any content. Can you help me please with the application?

Answer 1

You are going about this all wrong. cellForRowAt is not the place to attempt to hide a cell. By the time it is called, the cell is going to be shown.
Do one of two things:
Update your data model used by your data source methods to only include the data you want to display. Or...
Implement heightForRowAt to return 0 for rows you don't wish to see.

Answer 2

"If a cell has no content, I want to hide the cell."
That sentence shows a basic misunderstanding of how table views and collection views work. Table views display tabular data from a data model. If you have empty entries in your model, remove them from the model before giving it to the table view.