Search NSFetchedResults by changing Settings in another view - ios

Question

I have read a lot of content and watched several tutorials on how to search Core Data by using a search bar however I have not yet seen anything for how to change a the sort descriptor by passing a setting from a Settings view to the Table View.
I have a search bar button item that when pressed goes to a SearchSettingsVC. The views communicate by passing boolean's from one VC to the other and vise-versa. The problem is that the table is not corresponding accordingly by changing the TableVC order - (I have tried calling self.tableview beginUpdates, self.tableview reload, self fetchedResultsController among other things).
The point is to reorder the TableVC results, not to present only specific results like a predicate does
I have created a delegate for the SettingsVC so that I can pass boolean value to the SettingsVC which is then capable of returning a different changed value if there are any changes.
The problem is that I cannot manage to get the table view (or prehaps even the fetched results) to update.
Here is my code for my -(NSFetchedResultsController*) fetchedResultsController method:
// return if already initialized
if (self.fetchedResultsController != nil) {
return self.fetchedResultsController;
}
if (dateSearch == true){
NSManagedObjectContext *managedObjectContext = [self managedObjectContext];
// the entity to fetch
NSEntityDescription *entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:#"Details" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext];
// how to sort the data
NSSortDescriptor *sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"addDate" ascending:YES];
NSFetchRequest *request = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
[request setEntity:entity];
[request setSortDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:sort]];
self.fetchedResultsController = [[NSFetchedResultsController alloc] initWithFetchRequest:request
managedObjectContext:managedObjectContext
sectionNameKeyPath:nil
cacheName:nil];
// fetch the data
NSError *e = nil;
if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&e]) {
NSLog(#"fetch error(Date): %#", e );
abort();
}
NSLog(#"Dates loaded");
}
if (mostAmount == true){
NSManagedObjectContext *managedObjectContext = [self managedObjectContext];
// the entity to fetch
NSEntityDescription *entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:#"Details" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext];
// how to sort the data
NSSortDescriptor *sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"amount" ascending:NO];
NSFetchRequest *request = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
[request setEntity:entity];
[request setSortDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:sort]];
self.fetchedResultsController = [[NSFetchedResultsController alloc] initWithFetchRequest:request
managedObjectContext:managedObjectContext
sectionNameKeyPath:nil
cacheName:nil];
// fetch the data
NSError *e = nil;
if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&e]) {
NSLog(#"fetch error (Most Fuel): %#", e);
abort();
}
NSLog(#"Amount loaded");
}
else{
NSManagedObjectContext *managedObjectContext = [self managedObjectContext];
// the entity to fetch
NSEntityDescription *entity = [NSEntityDescription entityForName:#"Details" inManagedObjectContext:managedObjectContext];
// how to sort the data
NSSortDescriptor *sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"addDate" ascending:YES];
NSFetchRequest *request = [[NSFetchRequest alloc] init];
[request setEntity:entity];
[request setSortDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:sort]];
self.fetchedResultsController = [[NSFetchedResultsController alloc] initWithFetchRequest:request
managedObjectContext:managedObjectContext
sectionNameKeyPath:nil
cacheName:nil];
// fetch the data
NSError *e = nil;
if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&e]) {
NSLog(#"fetch error(Date): %#", e );
abort();
}
NSLog(#"Defualt loaded");
}
return self.fetchedResultsController;
I required a default because at the beginning when I initialise the booleans in the TableVC to false they can be updated when I go to my settings VC.
My SearchSettingsVC has UISwitches that change the values from true to false (and vice-versa) which successfully update the equivalent booleans in the TableVC as represented when I return to the SearchSettingsVC.
My prepareForSegue code in my TableVC
if ([[segue identifier] isEqualToString:#"searchSettings"]){
//pass new search settings in here
SearchSelectionSettings * settingsVC = (SearchSelectionSettings *)segue.destinationViewController;
settingsVC.delegate = self;
settingsVC.dateSearch = dateSearch;
settingsVC.mostAmount = mostAmount;
This is my closeSettings method which is located in my TableVC
#pragma mark - SettingsViewControllerDelegate methods
//record the settings changed in the settings view
//dismissViewController changes the screen
- (void)closeSettings:(id)sender {
NSLog(#"Working?");
dateSearch = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).dateSearch;
mostAmount = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).mostAmount;
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
[self FetchedResultsController];
NSIndexPath * indexPath;
[self tableView:self.tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
}
Passing boolean values from one VC to other works perfectly. Getting the TableView to update according to the fetchedResults if statements does not, my switches in the SettingsVC are updated every time without any issues. Can anyone help or recommend a tutorial?

Answer 1

The opening lines of the fetchedResultscontroller getter, i.e.:
// return if already initialized
if (self.fetchedResultsController != nil) {
return self.fetchedResultsController;
}
mean that, once your fetchedResultsController has been created, the remaining code will not be executed when you access it. A quick way to resolve your problem would therefore be to set self.fetchedResultsController to nil in your closeSettings method, and then reload your table view. When the tableview reloads, it will access the fetchedResultsController again, and since it is now nil, the above code will be bypassed and your code will be used.
#pragma mark - SettingsViewControllerDelegate methods
//record the settings changed in the settings view
//dismissViewController changes the screen
- (void)closeSettings:(id)sender {
NSLog(#"Working?");
dateSearch = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).dateSearch;
mostAmount = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).mostAmount;
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
self.fetchedResultsController = nil;
[self.tableView reloadData];
}
Alternatively, you can modify the fetchedResultsController's fetch and then get it to reperform the fetch:
#pragma mark - SettingsViewControllerDelegate methods
//record the settings changed in the settings view
//dismissViewController changes the screen
- (void)closeSettings:(id)sender {
NSLog(#"Working?");
dateSearch = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).dateSearch;
mostAmount = ((SearchSelectionSettings *)sender).mostAmount;
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
NSFetchRequest *request = [[NSFetchRequest fetchRequestWithEntityName:#"Details"];
NSSortDescriptor *sort;
if (dateSearch == true){
sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"addDate" ascending:YES];
NSLog(#"Dates loaded");
} else if (mostAmount == true) {
sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"amount" ascending:NO];
NSLog(#"Amount loaded");
} else {
sort = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:#"addDate" ascending:YES];
NSLog(#"Default loaded");
}
[request setSortDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:sort]];
self.fetchedResultsController.fetchRequest = request;
// fetch the data
NSError *e = nil;
if (![self.fetchedResultsController performFetch:&e]) {
NSLog(#"fetch error (Most Fuel): %#", e);
abort();
}
[self.tableView reloadData];
}
That way, you can simplify your fetchedResultsController code so it just loads the default.