Using custom XIB in table view cell - ios

Question

I have followed this tutorial to create a custom .xib, which I plan to use in a table view's cell:
https://medium.com/#brianclouser/swift-3-creating-a-custom-view-from-a-xib-ecdfe5b3a960
Here is the .xib's class I created:
class UserView: UIView {
#IBOutlet var view: UIView!
#IBOutlet weak var username: UILabel!
override init(frame: CGRect) {
super.init(frame: frame)
initialize()
}
required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
initialize()
}
private func initialize() {
Bundle.main.loadNibNamed("UserView", owner: self, options: nil)
addSubview(view)
view.frame = self.bounds
view.autoresizingMask = [.flexibleHeight, .flexibleWidth]
}
}
Previously, I was creating my table view cell within the storyboard, but I've come to realize that I want a more flexible view so that I can use it in different parts of my app, so I created the above custom .xib, UserView.
I have updated the table view cell in the storyboard to use the custom .xib:
https://i.stack.imgur.com/t7Tr7.png
Here is what my table view controller class looked like prior to creating the custom .xib (i.e. making the layout in the storyboard):
class UserTableViewController: UITableViewController {
// MARK: Properties
let provider = MoyaProvider<ApiService>()
var users = [User]()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
tableView.estimatedRowHeight = 100
tableView.rowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension
// Fetch the user by their username
provider.request(.getUsers()) { result in
switch result {
case let .success(response):
do {
let results = try JSONDecoder().decode(Pagination<[User]>.self, from: response.data)
self.users.append(contentsOf: results.data)
self.tableView.reloadData()
} catch {
print(error)
}
case let .failure(error):
print(error)
break
}
}
}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
}
override func numberOfSections(in tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
return 1
}
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
return users.count
}
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cellIdentifier = "UserTableViewCell"
guard let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: cellIdentifier, for: indexPath) as? UserTableViewCell else {
fatalError("The dequeued cell is not an instance of UserTableViewCell.")
}
let user = users[indexPath.row]
cell.username.text = user.username
return cell
}
}
Here is the table view cell class:
class UserTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
//MARK: Properties
#IBOutlet weak var userView: UserView!
override func awakeFromNib() {
super.awakeFromNib()
// Initialization code
}
override func setSelected(_ selected: Bool, animated: Bool) {
super.setSelected(selected, animated: animated)
// Configure the view for the selected state
}
}
My question is, how do I update the above table view controller class to use my custom .xib, instead of using the storyboard layout?

Answer 1

You can use 2 ways:
Create UITableViewCell (better)
1) Change UIView to UITableViewCell
class CustomTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
...
class var identifier: String {
return String(describing: self)
}
}
2) Register your cell
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.tableView.registerNib(UINib(nibName: CustomTableViewCell.identifier, bundle: nil), forCellReuseIdentifier: CustomTableViewCell.identifier)
...
}
3) Use cellForRow(at:)
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: CustomTableViewCell.identifier) as! CustomTableViewCell
cell.username.text = user.username
return cell
}
OR Add view as subview to cell (only in rare cases)
1) Add this to UserView
class UserView: UIView {
...
class func fromNib() -> UserView {
return UINib(nibName: String(describing: self), bundle: nil).instantiate(withOwner: nil, options: nil)[0] as! UserView
}
}
2) Use cellForRow(at:)
override func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cellIdentifier = "UserTableViewCell"
guard let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: cellIdentifier, for: indexPath) as? UserTableViewCell else {
fatalError("The dequeued cell is not an instance of UserTableViewCell.")
}
let userView = UserView.fromNib()
let user = users[indexPath.row]
userView.username.text = user.username
//Use frame size, but for me better to add 4 constraints
userView.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: cellWidth, height: cellHeight)
cell.contentView.addSubview(UserView)
return cell
}