trying to understand protocols and delegates in swift - ios

I'm trying to wrap my head around protocols and delegates, but seems to be having some issues. I have 2 ViewControllers that I'm trying to pass data from. ViewController A has a text field that I want to be optionally populated from ViewController B. So there is a button on ViewController A that segues you over to ViewController B This is how I have B set up.
protocol AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate{
var playersName:String? { set get }
}
class B-Controller: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource{
var addPlayerDelegate:AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
..etc
}
I'm using this code in my viewControllers B class to dismiss the currentView when a cell is selected
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, didSelectRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) {
println("did select")
let cell = playerTableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath)
addPlayerDelegate?.playersName? = "New Name"
if let navController = self.navigationController {
navController.popViewControllerAnimated(true)
}
}
It's not allowing me to set the players Name property inside the protocol here. It keeps returning me Nil when I check it from ViewController A.
View Controller A looks like this:
class A-ViewController: UIViewController, UITextFieldDelegate, AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate{
var addPlayerDelegate:AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate?
}
//then I'm just trying to print out the new name the was set in ViewController B
override func viewWillAppear(animated: Bool) {
println("this is the selected players name \(addPlayerDelegate?.playersName)") - returns nil
}
I'm sure I'm not fully understanding something, but I feel that I just keep reading and trying out examples only to end back up here where I started from.
//************************* UPDATE *************************//
I'm going to try and simplify my set up. I have 2 View Controllers, VC-A, and VC-B.
VC-A has a text field and a button. VC-B has a tableview. I want the option to have the textField to be populated from the cell.text from CB-B, but only if the user taps the button to view VC-B. So the first time that VC-A loads, it should being back nil from my playersName string from the protocol, because VC-B has never been called as of yet. But once the user taps the button inside VC-A to view VB-B and then selected a cell, which would dismiss VC-B and populate the playersName string inside the protocol on the VC-B class, then I'm using the viewWillAppear method to check to see if playersName has been set and if so use it. Here is my updated code from the help you have given me.
VC-A
class FirstViewController: AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate{
var playersName:String?
let svc = LookUpViewController()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
svc.addPlayerDelegate = self
}
}
VC-B
protocol AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate{
var playersName:String? { set get }
}
class LookUpViewController: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource{
var addPlayerDelegate: AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
}
}
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, didSelectRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) {
let cell = playerTableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath)
addPlayerDelegate?.playersName = "Ziggy"
println("the name to be pass is \(addPlayerDelegate?.playersName)")
if let navController = self.navigationController {
navController.popViewControllerAnimated(true)
}
}
It seems that I'm still getting nil even when I got back to VC-A from VC-B. All I want is to be able to get some data (string) from VC-B and use it in VC-A, but only after the user uses the VC-B class. Does that make sense?

You have shown that in the BController you have a property addPlayerDelegate:
var addPlayerDelegate:AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate?
And you have shown that in the BController you talk to that property:
addPlayerDelegate?.playersName? = "New Name"
But you have not shown that at any point in the lifetime of this controller, its addPlayerDelegate property is ever set to anything. For example I would want to see code like this:
someBController.addPlayerDelegate = someAController
If that doesn't happen, then that property remains at its initial value of nil.
Another problem with your code is that this line makes no sense:
class A-ViewController : // {
var addPlayerDelegate:AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate?
}
The AController doesn't need this property. They don't both need delegates! What the AController needs is a playersName property. Without it, it doesn't conform to the AddPlayersViewControllerDelegate protocol. In fact, I'm surprised that without that property your code even compiles. Are you sure you are reporting it correctly?

Related

How to save data from another view controller and reload tableview?

I'm making an expense tracking app. I have added a table view in the main view controller, and added an "add" button in the navigation controller. On clicking this, it shows a view controller in which you type in the data.
On clicking add at the end, it should save the entered data through coreData, and then be presented in the tableView, but my app crashes saying that a nil value was found, even though I have integrated the "??" safe guard."
You tableview in startingViewController is nil this is the problem. When you call the MainVC.getAllItems() your tabview is not initialized. Probably you are re creating startingViewController on your second controller to reach it getAllItems function but it is a wrong approach. You need to update previous viewController datas with protocols or notifications.
First you need to create a protocol like below
protocol AddViewControllerDelegate {
func updateTableView()
}
After that you need to define a variable in your addViewcontroller with this protocol type and call protocol's function when user adds new expense.
class AddViewController: UIViewController {
var delegate: AddViewControllerDelegate?
func callUpdateTableView() {
delegate?.updateTableView()
}
}
In your StartingViewController must conform this protocol. So you need to add updateTableView function. Also you need to say the delegate of your second class is your first class in where you show your addViewController.
class StartingViewController: UIViewController, AddViewControllerDelegate {
func goToAddViewController() {
let vc = AddViewController()
vc.delegate = self
show(vc, sender: nil)
}
func updateTableView() {
// Reload Tableview
}
}
So basically, when you call the protocol function from your secondViewController, your firstViewController's updateTableView function called and you can reload your tableview in this function.

Is there a way to pass data back to a view controller when swiping down to dismiss another view controller?

I have a view controller, lets call it vc1, which passes some data to another (vc2) using prepare for segue, and then calling performSegue.
Is there a way to pass some data back from vc2 to vc1 when vc2 is dismissed by swiping down?
Thanks,
Edit --
Apologies for the lack of information, very new to swift so unsure of the correct question to ask in this situation.
To elaborate, the root of the issue at the moment is that vc2 is not dismissed programatically. ie there is currently no function called, it is simply dismissed by the user swiping down.
Is there some function that I can include to capture this dismissal, and use it to send data back to vc1?
I would prefer not to add any buttons to vc2 if possible.
Apologies again, and I appreciate all the help given already!
Try This
class VCOne: UIViewController {
//Create a shared instance of VCOne
static var sharedInstance:VCOne?
//Let the data to be passed back to VCOne is of type string
var dataToBePassedBack:String?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
//set the sharedInstance to self
VCOne.sharedInstance = self
}
}
Class VCTwo:UIViewController{
//function in which you are dismissing your current VC you can use the shared
instance to pass the data back
func dismissVC(){
//before dismissing the VCTwo you can set the value for VCOne
VCOne.sharedInstance?.dataToBePassedBack = "data"
}
}
Using Protocol And Delegate You Do or Other Option is NSotificationcenter.
One way yo do it is to create another file that it the controller of everything and then have a delegate that always notifies the view controllers when new changes are available. I will walk it through.
protocol HeadControllerDelegate {
// Create a function that sends out the data to the delegates when it is called
// You can use your custom struct here to pass more data easly
func didReciveNewData(myData: String?)
}
struct HeadController {
// Create a shared instance so that the viewcontroller that conforms to the view as well as when we sends out the data the delegate is correct
static var shared = HeadController()
// Creates the delegate, every view can asign it to
public var delegate: HeadControllerDelegate?
// Add all your values here you want to pass back
var myValue: String? {
// The didSet gets called every time this value is set, and then is it time to call the delegate method
didSet {
// Calls the delegates didReciveMethod to notify the delegates that new data exsists
delegate?.didReciveNewData(myData: myValue)
}
}
}
Now in your viewcontroller class where you would like the data to be avaiable (as you said when you swipe down)
class ViewController: UIViewController {
// Here you create a property of the shared instance
let headController = HeadController.shared
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Set yourself as the delegate for the headController delegate to recive data
headController.delegate = self
}
}
extension ViewController: HeadControllerDelegate {
// here will the data be recived
func didReciveNewData(myData: String?) {
// handle the data here, you have now got newData
print(myData)
}
}
In the class where you want to pass data you just do it like this. The beauty of this is that you can have multiple classes or structs that writes to the head controllers data (just make sure you do it thought the shared instance). It is also a good pracice according to we to use the delegate pattern.
class Sender {
var headController = HeadController.shared
func sendData(data: String) {
// Here you change the data of the headcontroller wich will send the data to all the delegates
headController.myValue = data
}
}
Hope this answer helps. If you have any questions please let me know.
UPDATE -- EASIER SOLUTION
Here is an easier solution but is less scalable as the previous one according to me.
In prepareForSegue simply pass over your current viewContorller as a field in the destination view controller. Then when viewDidDissapear in the new view controller you can simply pass back the data. Not to worry, I will show you!
In prepare for Segue
override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
if let dc = segue.destination as? SecondViewController {
dc.viewController = self
}
}
And declare the secondViewContorller as following. The ViewDidDisappear method will be called when the view has dismissed, and therefore can you pass over the data to the view controller you have set before using the prepare for segue method.
class SecondViewController: UIViewController {
var viewController: UIViewController?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
}
override func viewDidDisappear(_ animated: Bool) {
(viewController as? ViewController)?.value = 2
}
}
Then you could update the UI using a didSet, which simply will be called when the property is set, which will be done in the view did disappear method.
var value: Int = 0 {
didSet {
print(value)
text?.text = "\(value)"
}
}
Hope this helps!

Setting up a ViewController for a .xib view

I am neither an iOS developer, nor a swift developer, but please bear with me:
I am currently trying to implement a simple iOS app but I have difficulties understanding how exactly I am supposed to set up custom UIViews and ViewControllers for those UIViews.
I am using a UIScrollView that is containing items a little bit more complex than just images, thats what I use custom views for.
What I did was:
I created a .xib file, the view itself. I added some elements (here it is only a textfield, for simplicity's sake).
I created a cocoa touch class "CustomView" that inherits from UIView and set my view up to be of that class (inside the class I just set up elements and such).
Now I want a ViewController that controls the class whenever it is rendered (for example reacting to the changing textField).
I cant manage everything from my main ViewController, because it would get too big (e.g. 3 scrollViews * 5 subviews that need to be managed).
I want a solution that uses ViewControllers for each subview (in case they themselves will have subviews, too).
How do I do that?
Do I need to add some sort of childViewController?
I really am at loss, most of the blog posts and SO examples simply do not work and/or are outdated and I am unsure about whether or not I got the whole View - ViewController pattern wrong.
Let's say you have two view controllers, MainViewController and TableViewController. TableVC's main view is to be a subview of MainVC's main view. In addition, you wish to pass back to MainVC which cell was selected in TableVC.
A solution is (a) make TableVC be a child to MainVC and (b) make MainVC be a delegate for TableVC.
TableViewController:
protocol TableVCDelegate {
func cellSelected(sender: TableViewController)
}
class TableViewController: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource {
// please note that you can do delegation differently,
// this way results in crashes if delegate is nil!
var delegate:TableVCDelegate! = nil
var someValue = ""
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, didSelectRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) {
// set someValue to contents in the selected cell or it's data source
someValue = "Hello World!"
delegate.cellSelected(sender: self)
}
}
MainViewController:
class MainViewController: UIViewController, TableVCDelegate {
let tableVC = TableViewController()
override func viewDidLoad() {
// make tableVC be a child of this VC
addChild(tableVC)
tableVC.didMove(toParent: self)
tableVC.delegate = self
// position tableVC.view
tableVC.view.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
}
func cellSelected(sender: TableViewController) {
print(sender.someValue) // this should send "Hello World!" to the console
}
}
This is obviously untested code, but it is based on product code. This is meant to be a shell to help you get started.

Pushing to a new Viewcontroller from an inactive Viewcontroller (programatically)

Short explanation.
I have a ContainerViewController that I'm pushing to the navigationStack.
The ContainerViewController has 2 child ViewControllers. A SlidePanelViewController (a slide-out menu) and a CenterViewController (the content)
I have a button in my menu to "sign Out". When this button is clicked I want to push ContainerViewController (and it's 2 childViewControllers) to my LandingPageViewController.
Here's the function I am trying to call:
func signOut() {
println("signOut")
// Set up the landing page as the main viewcontroller again.
let mainTableViewController = LandingPageVC()
mainTableViewController.navigationItem.setHidesBackButton(true, animated: false)
mainTableViewController.skipView = false
self.navigationController!.pushViewController(mainTableViewController, animated: true)
// Disable menu access
menuEnabled = false
// change status bar style back to default (black)
UIApplication.sharedApplication().statusBarStyle = UIStatusBarStyle.Default
}
At first I tried putting this in my SlidePanelViewController. That didn't work. So I put it where I'm assuming it belongs in the ContainerViewController.
However when I click my signOutButton in my menu. I'm presented with the error:
fatal error: unexpectedly found nil while unwrapping an Optional value
When looking into the error. This is the line causing it:
self.navigationController!.pushViewController(mainTableViewController, animated: true)
After the error I checked that the function works, by adding a UINavigationBarButtonItem that called the function (in my ContainerViewController). It did exactly what I wanted.
However when I call this function from my Menu (again my menu is a childViewController of the ContainerViewController). It does not work.
I'm attempting to call it like so:
ContainerViewController().signOut()
I also tried adding a Delegate to my SidePanelViewController like this:
Before the class:
#objc protocol SidePanelViewControllerDelegate {
optional func needsSignOut(sender: SidePanelViewController)
optional func toggleLeftPanel()
optional func collapseSidePanels()
}
in viewDidLoad():
// Make sure your delegate is weak because if a ContainerViewController owns
// a reference to a SidePanelViewController and the container view controller
// is its delegate, you'll end up with a strong reference cycle!
weak var delegate: SidePanelViewControllerDelegate?
in my tap gesture function:
func signOutTapGesture() {
println("signOutTapGesture")
selectView(signOutView)
delegate?.needsSignOut?(self)
println(delegate)
}
before my ContainerViewController class:
var leftViewController: SidePanelViewController?
my ContainerViewController class:
class ContainerViewController: UIViewController, CenterViewControllerDelegate, SidePanelViewControllerDelegate, UIGestureRecognizerDelegate {
in my ContainerViewController's viewDidLoad()
leftViewController?.delegate = self
And I changed the signOut function in the ContainerViewController class to this:
func needsSignOut(sender: SidePanelViewController) {
println("needsSignOut called")
self.signOut()
}
However using the delegate like above, doesn't seem to do anything either.
Any help as to How I can successfully push my LandingPageVC from the menu would be greatly appreciated! (I'm not using storyboards)
You're attempting to call signOut with ContainerViewController().signOut(). This will create a new ContainerViewController and because you haven't pushed it onto the navigation controller's stack, navigationController is nil. Try just calling self.signOut(). (I'm assuming signOut in a method of ContainerViewController)
Update - delegates
Your delegate property should go in SidePanelViewController. I'll give you and example of how to implement it:
SidePanelViewController:
(Note - the protocol doesn't have to go here but I think it keeps things organised)
#objc protocol SidePanelViewControllerDelegate {
optional func needsSignOut(sender: SidePanelViewController)
}
class SidePanelViewController: UIViewController {
// Make sure your delegate is weak because if a ContainerViewController owns
// a reference to a SidePanelViewController and the container view controller
// is its delegate, you'll end up with a strong reference cycle!
weak var delegate: SidePanelViewControllerDelegate?
// Called when the UIButton is pressed.
func myButtonWasPressed() {
delegate?.needsSignOut?(self)
}
}
ContainerViewController:
class ContainerViewController: UIViewController {
var sidePanel: SidePanelViewController!
// Setup the side panel...
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
sidePanel.delegate = self
}
func signOut() {
// Sign out stuff here.
}
}
// The ContainerViewController needs to conform to the SidePanelViewControllerDelegate
// protocol if we want the delegate to work. (This could have gone in the initial
// class declaration.)
extension ContainerViewController : SidePanelViewControllerDelegate {
func needsSignOut(sender: SidePanelViewController) {
self.signOut()
}
}
Hope that helps.
The problem seems to be that navigationController is nil and you're trying to force unwrap it (as indicated by your error).
One problem I discussed in my other answer.
Another problem may be you haven't added a navigation controller. To do this you need to:
If you're using Storyboards
You need to make sure you've embedded your UINavigationController. After that, when you use navigationController it won't be nil and you'll be able to push your view controller.
When you're on your storyboard:
Also, if you're using storyboards, have you considered using segues to move around instead of calling presentViewController? I've found it makes everything much easier.
If you're not using Storyboards
Have a look at this post: Programatically creating UINavigationController in iOS

How to Pass data between tabBarControllers

I am currently trying to pass data between two UINavigationControllers with a UITableViewController attached to each. I am navigating between these two controllers via a UITabBarController. I have been trying to use vacawama's solution on Changing VC issue in Swift. How to pass data between views in tab bar controller? I am using the following code.
import UIKit
class placeData: Equatable {
var description : String
var selected : Bool
init (description : String, selected : Bool) {
self.description = description
self.selected = selected
}
}
class PlacesTabBarController: UITabBarController {
var placeDataArray = [placeData]()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
}
This is in the tabBarController custom class. In the other two controllers I declare the array I want to be pass between the view controllers and use the method in the link to populate the UITableViewController
var placeDataArray = [placeData]()
override func viewWillAppear(animated: Bool) {
placeDataArray = (self.tabBarController as PlacesTabBarController).placeDataArray
}
When the controllers load, however, the arrays are empty. In the example in the link, all the rest of the code is within the viewWillAppear function, where I need my array to be available to all of the corresponding tableView functions. I am not sure if I am just equating the arrays to zero on load. But my thought was that they would repopulate. Not sure what the correct way to go about this is. Any help would be great.
EDIT: My current structure is as follows:
UITabBarController
| |
UINavigation UINavigation
Controller Controller
| |
UITableView UITableView
Controller Controller
The array is populated when the first tab loads. What I am trying to do is have the populated array in the second view controller, and if I edit it in the second view controller, I want the edits to stay in the first. So I want it to be passed by reference.
I would subclass the UITabBarController and make it a delegate for the two UITableViewControllers.
CustomTabBarController
protocol CustomTabBarDelegate {
var places:Array<placeData> { get set }
}
class CustomTabBarController: UITabBarController, CustomTabBarDelegate {
var places = Array<placeData>()
override func viewDidLoad() {
places = [PlaceData(),PlaceData()]
var table1 = CustomTableViewController()
var table2 = CustomTableViewController()
table1.delegate = self
table2.delegate = self
var navController1 = UINavigationController(rootViewController: table1)
var navController2 = UINavigationController(rootViewController: table2)
self.viewControllers = [navController1, navController2]
}
}
Then your TableViewControllers simply access the delegates array like so.
CustomTableViewController
class CustomTableViewController: UITableViewController {
var delegate:CustomTabBarDelegate!
override func viewDidAppear() {
self.tableView.reloadData()
}
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
return delegate.places.count
}
}
Any changes to the array will be visible in each table after you .reloadData() - I have set the CustomTableViewController in my example to reload data every time the view appears, so when you change tabs they should refresh to show the latest changes.
It's worth mentioning that in time it would probably be cleaner to have a separate class that manages your data instead of holding the array in the TabBarController.
You can always use the app delegate..
Set a property there and call it from anywhere in your application.
let appDel: AppDelegate = UIApplication.sharedApplication().delegate as! AppDelegate
var yourNeededData = appDel.yourPassingAroundDataProperty

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