How to dynamicaly load data from websites in UITableViewCell? - ios

I'm learning iOS developing and want to make a news app that loads posts from different websites and merge it into one table. What is the code for UITableViewCell to show like the image below:

You will get many 3rd party API's which provide recent news, you can use any one of them, parse data and follow example below
This is an example using native UITableViewCell, you can use custom cell if you need your custom layout
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView
cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
cell.tag = indexPath.row;
NSDictionary *parsedData = self.loader.parsedData[indexPath.row];
if (parsedData)
{
cell.imageView.image = nil;
dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0ul);
dispatch_async(queue, ^(void) {
NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL URLWithString:parsedData[#"imageLR"]];
UIImage* image = [[UIImage alloc] initWithData:imageData];
if (image) {
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
if (cell.tag == indexPath.row) {
cell.imageView.image = image;
[cell setNeedsLayout];
}
});
}
});
cell.textLabel.text = parsedData[#"description"];
}
return cell;
}

Related

Loading images asynchronously, wrong image in cell

I have a UICollectionView in which I am loading multiple images into. From what Ive been reading, in order to match the correct image to each cell I need to subclass UIImageView and get the image there. Because every time I collectionView reloadData, some images duplicate and they are all out of order. But I am unsure how to do this and haven't found any tutorials. I am using Parse for a database.
- (UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
albumImageCell *cell = (albumImageCell *) [collectionView dequeueReusableCellWithReuseIdentifier:reuseIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[albumImageCell alloc]init];
}
PFObject *temp = [_dataArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
PFFile *file = [temp objectForKey:#"imageThumbnail"];
if (![cell.hasImage isEqualToString:#"YES"]) {
dispatch_async(imageQueue, ^{
NSData *data = [file getData];
if (data) {
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void){
cell.imageView.image = image;
cell.hasImage = #"YES";
});
}
});
}
return cell;
}
One way to solve this is to re-query the collection view for the cell again once you're back on the main queue. This code should work:
- (UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
albumImageCell *cell = (albumImageCell *) [collectionView dequeueReusableCellWithReuseIdentifier:reuseIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[albumImageCell alloc]init];
}
PFObject *temp = [_dataArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
PFFile *file = [temp objectForKey:#"imageThumbnail"];
if (![cell.hasImage isEqualToString:#"YES"]) {
dispatch_async(imageQueue, ^{
NSData *data = [file getData];
if (data) {
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void){
// cellAgain will be the actual cell at that index path, if it is visible.
// If it is not visible, cellAgain will be nil.
albumImageCell *cellAgain = [collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:indexPath];
cellAgain.imageView.image = image;
cellAgain.hasImage = #"YES";
});
}
});
}
return cell;
}
I made a small 'tutorial' in answer to a this question. Although the question refers to Core Data, my answer applies to any data source so you should be able to fit it around your use case.
One thing you want to watch out for is the inner block, when you get back onto the main queue. Given that you have no idea how long it takes to get to that point, the cell may no longer be relevant to that image (could have been reused), so you need to do a couple of additional checks...
(a) is the image still required?
if ([[tableView indexPathsForVisibleRows] containsObject:indexPath])
(b) is that cell is the correct cell for the image?
UITableViewCell * correctCell = [self.tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
Although this tutorial is still valid, I tend to abstract things further these days. As the viewController has to deal with thread-unsafe entities like UIKit and Core Data, it is a good idea to keep all viewController code on the main thread. Background queue abstractions should take place at a lower level, preferably in the model code.
What I ended up doing was subclassing UIImaveView and then passing the image file in cellForRow
- (UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)collectionView cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
albumImageCell *cell = (albumImageCell *) [collectionView dequeueReusableCellWithReuseIdentifier:reuseIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[albumImageCell alloc]init];
}
PFObject *temp = [_dataArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
PFFile *file = [temp objectForKey:#"imageThumbnail"];
[cell.imageView setFile:file];
return cell;
}
And then in the customImageView -
- (void) setFile:(PFFile *)file {
NSString *requestURL = file.url; // Save copy of url locally (will not change in block)
[self setUrl:file.url]; // Save copy of url on the instance
self.image = nil;
[file getDataInBackgroundWithBlock:^(NSData *data, NSError *error) {
if (!error) {
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:data];
if ([requestURL isEqualToString:self.url]) {
[self setImage:image];
[self setNeedsDisplay];
}
} else {
NSLog(#"Error on fetching file");
}
}];
}
But this gets Data every time the user scrolls to a new cell. So Im still trying to figure out how to match a particular image to a cell, without getting data every time.

Download Images for UITableViewCell using Multithread, but Cannot Load Images until Scroll the UITableView

I am trying to download images in the UITableViewCell using multi-thread. However, when I using the simulator to see the results, the images can not be loaded until I scroll the table view.
I have watched many examples and tutorials in StackOverFlow, but it still doesn't work at all. Actually, I download the images from the Flickr server and stored them into a cached dictionary. But I could still load the images for the first time, unless I scroll the table view and the images start to appear.
And here is my code:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:#"cell" forIndexPath:indexPath];
NSString *cellIdentifier = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"cell%ld", (long)indexPath.row];
NSDictionary *photo = self.recentPhotos [indexPath.row];
NSString *title = [photo valueForKeyPath:FLICKR_PHOTO_TITLE];
cell.textLabel.text = title;
[cell.textLabel setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:#"OpenSans" size:18]];
if ([self.cashedImages objectForKey:cellIdentifier] != nil) {
cell.imageView.image = [self.cashedImages objectForKey:cellIdentifier];
}
else
{
dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_queue_create("fetch photos", 0);
dispatch_async(queue, ^{
NSURL *imageURL = [FlickrFetcher URLforPhoto:photo format:FlickrPhotoFormatSquare];
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:[NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:imageURL]];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
if ([tableView indexPathForCell:cell].row == indexPath.row) {
[self.cashedImages setValue:image forKey:cellIdentifier];
cell.imageView.image = [self.cashedImages valueForKey:cellIdentifier];
}
});
});
}
return cell;
}
For this task probably it is better to use a library. Usually I use the SDWebImage which is very easy to use, and handle image cashing also.
https://github.com/rs/SDWebImage
One example could be:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *MyIdentifier = #"MyIdentifier";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:MyIdentifier];
if (cell == nil)
{
cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault
reuseIdentifier:MyIdentifier] ;
}
// Here we use the new provided setImageWithURL: method to load the web image
[cell.imageView setImageWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:#"http://www.domain.com/path/to/image.jpg"]
placeholderImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"placeholder.png"]];
cell.textLabel.text = #"My Text";
return cell;
}
EDIT:
If you want to download all the images first and cache them you shouldn't handle this in a tableviewCell. TableViewCells will start the download, when it is created -> when they become visible.
SDWebImageView cashes the images that has been downloaded before so try to add this code in the viewDidLoad method:
for (NSURL* url in self.recentPhotos) {
SDWebImageManager *manager = [SDWebImageManager sharedManager];
[manager downloadImageWithURL:url options:SDWebImageContinueInBackground progress:nil completed:^(UIImage *image, NSError *error, SDImageCacheType cacheType, BOOL finished, NSURL *imageURL) {
//Your code if needed
}];
}
SDWebImage caches the images based on their absolute url path.
Note! GDImageLoader now (2016) has full, awesome, Swift version. It is maintained on an almost daily basis - it's really perhaps the single most critical and basically perfect library in iOS. Until Apple sensibly just include caching, it's basically a must-use library.
GDImageLoader is incredibly simple, solid - it's the best ..
https://github.com/AndreyLunevich/DLImageLoader-iOS/tree/master/DLImageLoader
No manual, no learning curve - one command. Totally fantastic.
-(UICollectionViewCell *)collectionView:(UICollectionView *)cv
cellForItemAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
NSInteger thisRow = indexPath.row;
MeetingsCell *cell;
cell = [cv dequeueReusableCellWithReuseIdentifier:
#"CellPlayersB2" forIndexPath:indexPath];
cell.layer.shouldRasterize = YES; // TYPICALLY NEEDED ON iPhone6+
cell.layer.rasterizationScale = [UIScreen mainScreen].scale;
NSDictionary *mtg = CLOUD.players[thisRow];
NSString *hostText = mtg[#"host"]; etc...
cell.whenDescrip.text = etc ...;
NSString *imUrl = mtg[#"image"];
__weak UIBookView *loadBooky = cell.booky;
[DLImageLoader loadImageFromURL:imUrl
completed:^(NSError *error, NSData *imgData)
{
if (loadBooky == nil) return;
[loadBooky use:[UIImage imageWithData:imgData]];
}];
return cell;
}
Possibly the table doesn't redraw it's content. One fix could be to save the image in self.cashedImaged (you know that a typo, right ;) ) and then instruct the UITableView to reload the single cell using reloadRowsAtIndexPaths:
I think it will be better to add a Category on UIImageView and add a method something link this:
#interface UIImageView (Caching)
- (void)setImageWithFlickrURL:(NSURL *)url;
#end
And put your caching logic there.
And then in your cellForRow:indexPath:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
//...
NSURL *imageURL = [FlickrFetcher URLforPhoto:photo format:FlickrPhotoFormatSquare];
[cell.imageView setImageWithFlickrURL:imageURL];
return cell;
}
Or, you can just use caching mechanism that provides AFNetworking's UIImageView+AFNetworking
- (void)setImageWithURL:(NSURL *)url;
You need to add one line:
cell.imageView.image = [self.cashedImages valueForKey:cellIdentifier];
//add this line to make tableview redraw
[cell setNeedsLayout];

reloading UItableViewCell after thumbnail image downloads

I have an app in which within the tableViewCell an image is downloaded and than set as a thumbnail. My problem is that the only way I can see the thumbnail image refresh is if I click on another tab, and than come back to the tab that the tableViewCell is being held. Below is the code for setting the thumbnail.
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *cellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
PFObject *message = [self.messages objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
cell.textLabel.text = [message objectForKey:#"username"];
cell.imageView.image = [UIImage imageNamed:#"Treehouse.png"];
PFFile *thumbnail = nil;
if (thumbnailArray.count > 0){
thumbnail = [[thumbnailArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"imageFile"];
dispatch_async(backgroundQueue, ^{
NSURL *thumbnailURL = [[NSURL alloc]initWithString:thumbnail.url];
NSData *thumbnailData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:thumbnailURL];
[[cell imageView]setImage:[UIImage imageWithData:thumbnailData]];
[tableView reloadRowsAtIndexPaths:[NSArray arrayWithObject:indexPath] withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationNone];
});
}
return cell;
}
The problem is.,
The cell is loaded.
The image download is fired.
Once image is downloaded, the cell is reloaded.
The image is downloaded again.
There is no caching of the image or logic to load the image
Declare a NSMutableDictionary #property (strong) NSMutableDictionary *imagesDictionary; and instantiate it self.imagesDictionary = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
In cell for Row at index path, check for the presence of cache before downloading it.
PFFile *thumbnail = nil;
if (thumbnailArray.count > 0)
{
//If image is present in cache load from cache
UIImage *image = [self.imagesDictionary objectForKey:indexPath];
if (image)
{
[cell.imageView setImage:image];
}
else
{
//If Image is not present fire a download
thumbnail = [[thumbnailArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"imageFile"];
dispatch_async(backgroundQueue, ^{
NSURL *thumbnailURL = [[NSURL alloc]initWithString:thumbnail.url];
NSData *thumbnailData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:thumbnailURL];
//Cahce it to your image dictionary
[self.imagesDictionary setObject:[UIImage imageWithData:thumbnailData] forKey:indexPath];
//Reload the dictionary
[tableView reloadRowsAtIndexPaths:[NSArray arrayWithObject:indexPath] withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationNone];
});
}
I recommend you use AFNetworkings category UIImage+AFNetworking which allows you to just do [imageView setImageWithURL:(NSURL)] which manages everything in the background. You don't have to worry about loading the image, caching the image or anything like that. It will cache it for you.
https://github.com/AFNetworking/AFNetworking
The following code helped solve my problem
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *cellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
PFObject *message = [self.messages objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
cell.textLabel.text = [message objectForKey:#"username"];
cell.imageView.image = [UIImage imageNamed:#"Treehouse.png"];
PFFile *thumbnail = nil;
if (thumbnailArray.count > 0){
thumbnail = [[thumbnailArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"imageFile"];
dispatch_async(backgroundQueue, ^{
NSURL *thumbnailURL = [[NSURL alloc]initWithString:thumbnail.url];
NSData *thumbnailData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:thumbnailURL];
dispatch_sync(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
[[cell imageView]setImage:[UIImage imageWithData:thumbnailData]];
[tableView reloadInputViews];
});
});
}
return cell;
}
The problem was that reloading the TableView was being called on a separate thread. Once I moved the setting of the image onto the main thread and calling reloadInputViews from there, my problem was fixed.

Loading images for UITableViewCell from URL (need to load them asynchronously)

I have a custom class that parses through an XML and gets URL strings for images (which I store in an array). Then I want to retrieve those strings to load images and display each in a UITableViewCell. Here is my code:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
UILabel *labelText = (UILabel *)[cell viewWithTag:1000];
labelText.text = [[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"name"];
NSURL *imageURL = [NSURL URLWithString:[[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row]objectForKey:#"imageCell"]];
NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:imageURL];
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:imageData];
cell.imageView.image = image;
return cell;
}
Obviously, when I scroll down the table, the app loads more images, and when the images are loading, the user can't do anything. It looks like the app froze. The images I want to load are not very large (about 8kb). Maybe there is a way I could load and store them in the background? I also want to give more freedom to the user, like scrolling down and viewing cells with text but without an image. Then force the app to load the images for the cells the user is currently viewing.
Is there any way to modify my code or any other solution for proper loading of images from URL strings?
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
Try to load the images asynchronous, so the main thread doesn't block.
Your code would look as follows:
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
UILabel *labelText = (UILabel *)[cell viewWithTag:1000];
labelText.text = [[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"name"];
NSURL *imageURL = [NSURL URLWithString:[[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row]objectForKey:#"imageCell"]];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), ^{
NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:imageURL];
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData:imageData];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
cell.imageView.image = image;
});
});
return cell;
}
You can use the SDWebImage framework to load images asynchronously.
Please follow the link:
https://github.com/rs/SDWebImage
Just add the SDWebImage framework to your project and set the other linker flag '-ObjC', to use the framework.
Download link : https://github.com/rs/SDWebImage/releases
Use this for asynchronus way of loading imageview
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)_tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier forIndexPath:indexPath];
UILabel *labelText = (UILabel *)[cell viewWithTag:1000];
labelText.text = [[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:#"name"];
//get a dispatch queue
dispatch_queue_t concurrentQueue = dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0);
//this will start the image loading in bg
dispatch_async(concurrentQueue, ^{
NSURL *imageURL = [NSURL URLWithString:[[self.listOfPlaceDetails objectAtIndex:indexPath.row]objectForKey:#"imageCell"]];
NSData *image = [[NSData alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:imageURL];
//this will set the image when loading is finished
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
cell.imageView.image = [UIImage imageWithData:image];
});
});
return cell;
}
Download this project and use asynimageveiw in your cell's imageview.. link
Use NSOperation and NSOperationQueue.A perfect solution for your problem.Use below link to see how it works.
http://www.raywenderlich.com/19788/how-to-use-nsoperations-and-nsoperationqueues
Or
Use AFNetworking library It also provide a category over UIImageview that download image asynchronously.

How to reduce time when UITableView added Multiple NSURL UIImage on cell its UIBlocked

I am trying to load an image form the internet into a cell.
When I'm using a single row then it's not taking much time, but when I have more then 5 rows then it is blocking UI. How can I solve this?
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)theTableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath;
In this method: I am using that Code:
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:upcImageLink];
NSData *data = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL: url];
UIImage *imageObj = [[UIImage alloc] initWithData:data];
[iconImgVw setImage:imageObj];
If I understand correctly, you are currently, making sync calls to download the tableview cell image. Sync call takes time and your screen/UITableView becomes unresponsive to touch events. The technique to avoid this is called Lazy loading.
Use SDWebImage for lazy loading of tableview images. Usage is simple,
#import <SDWebImage/UIImageView+WebCache.h>
...
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
static NSString *MyIdentifier = #"MyIdentifier";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:MyIdentifier];
if (cell == nil)
{
cell = [[[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault
reuseIdentifier:MyIdentifier] autorelease];
}
// Here we use the new provided setImageWithURL: method to load the web image
[cell.imageView setImageWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:#"http://www.domain.com/path/to/image.jpg"]
placeholderImage:[UIImage imageNamed:#"placeholder.png"]];
cell.textLabel.text = #"My Text";
return cell;
}
Alternatively, you can also implement lazy loading of image on your own refering to the Apple sample code.
Hope that helps!
please try the following code by replacing url:
dispatch_async( dispatch_get_global_queue( DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0 ), ^(void)
{
NSData * data = [[[NSData alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:URL] autorelease];
UIImage * image = [[[UIImage alloc] initWithData:data] autorelease];
dispatch_async( dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void){
if( image != nil )
{
[iconImgVw setImage:image];
} else {
//error
}
});
});

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