iOS: How to define public methods? - ios

How can I define a method that can be called from anywhere, in every viewcontroller class?
I have a method that brings me a json file, and i want it to be reusable, since i have several json calls on my app.
Can you help me?

You can add it through a category:
EDIT
Create a new .h .m file pair and in the .h file:
#interface UIViewController(JSON)
-(void) bringJSON;
-(void) fetchData:(NSData*) data;
# end
Then in the .m file:
#implementation UIViewController(JSON)
-(void) bringJSON {
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue( DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), ^{
[NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:yourURL];
[self performSelectorOnMainThread:#selector(fetchData:)
withObject:data waitUntilDone:YES];
});
}
-(void) fetchData:(NSData*) data {
//parse - update etc.
}
#end
Where I'm just assuming that you'll be returning an NSArray, you can put any method there and extend all UIViewControllers. The method bringJSON will be available to all UIViewControllers and its subclasses.

I believe you are thinking about a static method which would be defined with the "+" symbol.
+ (String) yourFunctionName:(NSInteger)someValue .....
Then you could call it anywhere with the class name first:
[YourClassName yourFunctionName:5];
If you need to have a function that access an object that needs to be instantiated then you will want to do a singleton pattern.

Use a + sign before the return type of the method.
For example:
+ (void) Name: (NSString *) str{
}

I plused the first answer as it is a way of creating (essentially) another object with methods that can be called from any file that includes that object.
Remember also that objective-c also is simply just C. You can have .c files included that are simply contain ANSI-C routines that can be called also.

Related

MVC and importing UIKit

I know this seems like a simple question but if I #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> into a class file is this breaking the MVC rule?
The reason I ask is I set up a class that has a function to make an API call. Inside of that API function I want to use the dispatch_async method to get the data back to the main thread and want to call [tableView reload] inside of that dispatch_async method.
To do this I need to have access to the UITableView class so when I call my function I can pass in my tableView. Sorry still somewhat new to all of this.
Thanks!
First of all, MVC is a design pattern, and not a set of rules. It is a way of organizing code so that the view (and how to represent it) is totally decoupled from the model/application.
Secondly, you are correct in saying that importing the viewController file in the class that makes the API calls (let's call it API Class) is against the principles of MVC.
But you can make the view update in the viewController class itself! Instead of importing the ViewController class into the API class, you can do the absolute reverse and use the API class from the View Controller class. There are a lot of ways that classes can communicate with each other while conforming to the MVC pattern. Have a look at this article on the website objc.io which talks about the same.
Have a look at AFNetworking, an extremely popular networking library for applications written in Objective-C. It makes excellent use of objective-c blocks, and the same is recommended for your use case as well.
For example, your class for making the API call can look like this:
//APICall.h
#interface APICall : NSObject
-(void)makeAPICallWithHandler:(void(^)(NSError*, id data))handler;
#end
//APICall.m
#import "APICall.h"
#implementation APICall
-(void)makeAPICallWithHandler:(void(^)(NSError*, id data))handler
{
NSError *err;
id data;
//Make your API call and then pass the result in the handler
if (err)
{
handler(err, nil);
return;
}
handler(nil, data);
}
#end
The above method can be implemented by the view controller as follows:
//ViewController.m
#import "ViewController.h"
#import "APIClass.h"
#implementation ViewController
{
APIClass *api;
id displayData;
__weak IBOutlet UITableView *tableView;
}
-(void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
api = [APICall new];
[api makeAPICallWithHandler:^(NSError* error, id data) {
if (error)
{
//Show alert or something
return;
}
displayData = data;
[tableView reloadData];
}];
}
#end
The point is that using blocks, you can make the data from the API call available to the viewController which can then update the tableView and maintain it's data source. This conforms to MVC as you will have totally decoupled the view update from the actual API call.

Where should I initialize my singleton in iOS/OS X app?

I want to initialize my singleton object which stores and manages the application settings over the entire class within my app. Also, the singleton instance should be initialized by loading the data from NSUserDefaults upon launch. However, I'm not fully sure where I should initialize the singleton upon launch.
In Cocoa app, I first wrote the singleton initialization code within applicationWillFinishLaunching:, taking parameters from NSUserDefaults. However, later I found that this doesn't work properly if I also write the singleton initialization code (taking no parameter!) within my initial view controller, set in storyboard, because the viewWillLoad:, viewDidLoad: etc. of the class of the view controller are called before the applicationWillFinishLaunching:.
So now I'm sure I should write the singleton initalization code within viewWillLoad: earlier than applicationWillFinishLaunching, but still not sure whether it is appropriate. Specifically, I know the NSApplicationMain is the first method to be called upon launch, but it seems that the next method is not anything within AppDelegate, at least if you use storyboard.
To summary, what I want to ask are the following:
What method from what class will be called after NSApplicationMain, if you use storyboard.
Where should I write my singleton initialization code within my app? I want to initialize it as soon as possible.
Does it differ between iOS and OS X app?
You should initialize it when it's first accessed. Something like this, maybe:
+ (instancetype)sharedInstance {
static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
_instance = [[self alloc] init];
});
return _instance;
}
As a side note, if you're literally only using this class as an accessor to NSUserDefaults, you might want to consider using static methods instead.
+ (id)mySpecificDataPoint {
return [[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] objectForKey:#"whatever"];
}
+ (void)setMySpecificDataPoint:(id)data {
[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] setObject:data forKey:#"whatever"];
}
Or maybe a more well-designed way might be to add a category to NSUserDefaults for this purpose.
#interface NSUserDefaults (MyData)
#property (nonatomic) NSString *someDataPoint;
#property (nonatomic) NSInteger somePrimitiveDataPoint;
#end
#implementation NSUserDefaults (MyData)
- (NSString *)someDataPoint {
return [self objectForKey:#"someDataPoint"];
}
- (void)setSomeDataPoint:(NSString *)someDataPoint {
[self setObject:someDataPoint forKey:#"someDataPoint"];
}
- (NSInteger)somePrimitiveDataPoint {
return [[self objectForKey:#"somePrimitiveDataPoint"] integerValue];
}
- (void)setSomePrimitiveDataPoint:(NSInteger)somePrimitiveDataPoint {
[self setObject:#(somePrimitiveDataPoint) forKey:#"somePrimitiveDataPoint"];
}
#end
You init the singleton when you have to use it. So as Daji Djan said: lazy wins. Just take attention that, you should not do a long-run process in your applicationWillFinishLaunching, it should return as soon as possible.
If the singleton is not mandatory during applicationWillFinishLaunching, you should call it in viewWillAppear of first view controller if you need to initialize it ASAP.
lazy always wins
if you can get away with it: as late as possible :) AND always do the minimum needed (but do as much as is reasonable to keep your code clean!)

How do I declare a global variable to be used in both the main view and the flipside view of an app? ios iphone

Okay, so I was reading here declaring global variables in iPhone project and I noticed the line with this code: [[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate] myNSString];.
Basically, I want a user to input something in a text field on the flipside view, then have it stored in a variable which is accessed on the main view. Ideally, the main view would be able to just read the text field from the flipside view, but this seems to be impossible (I've spent several hours each day for the past few days scouring the web and various books for an answer about how to do this and no one seems to be able to give a definitive answer). Therefore, I'm resorting to using a global variable to tackle this.
Will the code that I printed above somehow allow me to do this? I've been trying to adapt it for the past hour, but have come up with nothing except No known instance method for selector 'myNSString' and I'm not quite sure what that means in this case.
Can someone please help me out? I feel like I can keep trying different things but without some sort of help, I'm just shooting in the dark here. Thank you!
You may want to think about using a singleton to hold your data if you're set on using a global variable. There's a good tutorial on singletons here: http://www.galloway.me.uk/tutorials/singleton-classes/ -basically it's a class that can be shared throughout the application and accessed/modified by different controllers. You'd be able to create a property on it, write to that property from the flip view, and then access that property from your main view.
#import "Singleton.h"
#implementation Singleton
#synthesize yourTextField;
#pragma mark Singleton Methods
+ (id)sharedManager {
static Singleton *sharedMyManager = nil;
static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
sharedMyManager = [[self alloc] init];
});
return sharedMyManager;
}
- (id)init {
if (self = [super init]) {
yourTextField = #"";
}
return self;
}
You could call it in code by importing its header file and:
Singleton *mySingleton = [Singleton sharedManager];
the mySingleton object will have the text field attached. It can be accessed by:
mySingleton.yourTextField;
.h file:
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#interface Singleton : NSObject
#property (nonatomic, strong) NSString *yourTextField;
+ (id)sharedManager;
#end
Singleton (remember about dispatch_once), static variables or NSUserDefaults. It really depends what you really need.
If you are using storyboards and just want to pass data between VC, then you can use "prepareForSegue" method (described here https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/uikit/reference/UIViewController_Class/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/UIViewController/prepareForSegue:sender:).
Segue has "destinationController" property, so you can setup VC before showing it.

iOS: Singleton Pattern for Data File

Class name MyData has 75+ properties that are needed in throughout 7 Scenes.
Currently, I pass the the instance of MyData file with the code below:
in SceneOne:
MyData *myData = [[MyData alloc]init];
-(void) prepareForSegue:(UIStoryboardSegue *)segue sender:(id)sender
{
UIViewController *destinationViewController = segue.destinationViewController;
SceneTwo *sceneTwo = [destinationViewController isKindOfClass:[SceneTwo class]] ? (SceneTwo*)destinationViewController : nil;
sceneTwo.myData = self.myData;
}
This allows me to access any properties as myData.anyProperty
When the 7th Scene is dismissed, I set myData = NULL, and the app returns to SceneOne and a new instance of MyData is initialized.
I'm trying to accomplish above via sharedInstance.
MyData.h
#import <foundation/Foundation.h>
#interface MyData : NSObject {
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *someProperty;
// 74 other properties
+ (id)sharedData;
#end
MyData.m
#import "MyData.h"
#implementation MyData
#synthesize someProperty;
+ (id)sharedData {
static Mydata *sharedData = nil;
static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
sharedData = [[self alloc] init];
});
return sharedData;
}
#end
Question 1: Will the code above work to access the same instance with the code below in any of the Scenes:
MyData *myData = [MyData sharedData];
Question 2: Can I still access the files as myData.anyProperty ?
Question 3: How do I trigger a new instance of MyData and delete the current instance?
Question 4: I'm downloading a myData file off the web that's a duplicate of MyData class but the properties contain data, and I want Singelton to provide a new instance with the data from the downloaded file, what would be the code for that? i.e myData = [newDownloadedFile copy];
Question 5: Is there an advantage of using Singleton Method Vs. my current method?
Yes
Yes
You don't. Why do you believe this is necessary? Can you instead add a reset method to MyData?
You shouldn't mix the singleton pattern with a multiple-instance usage case. If you truly want a singleton, think about adding an additional layer to your data set. For example, you may have a local data and remote data configuration. If this is what you want, you may have to change the interface (header) of MyData to make this possible.
A singleton is a single instance of a class across a process. When you want to access the same collection of data from multiple locations in your code, a singleton object is one way you can accomplish this. Otherwise you need to instantiate an object and pass its address to all interested classes so they are each accessing the same instance. That's an oversimplification but I believe it addresses your question.
Regarding your comment for number 3, if you have a singleton, you don't want to reset the data for the entire app if you simply don't need the data in one place anymore. So consider the impact that would have. If you no longer need the MyData object, simply don't use it anymore. Singleton objects typically persist for the lifetime of an app, so it is not common to release/dispose of the object.
For number 4, say you currently have a property called player with a method declaration like this:
- (Player *)currentPlayer;
If you have multiple configurations available, you would add a parameter to your method interface and implementation like this:
- (Player *)currentPlayerForConfiguration:(NSInteger)configuration;
You could decide to use a number, string, or something else to differentiate between different configurations of your data. If you use a number, 0 could be local, 1 could be remote, 2 could be either (for example, check local data first, and if not there, then check remote). If you only have two options, you could use a BOOL and define your method like this:
- (Player *)currentPlayerUsingLocalData:(BOOL)useLocalData;

Adding a property to all of my UIControls

Im trying to make it so that every single UIControl in my application (UIButton, UISlider, etc) all have special extra properties that I add to them.
I tried to accomplish this by creating a UIControl Category and importing it where needed but I have issues.
Here is my code.
My setSpecialproperty method gets called but it seems to be getting called in an infinite loop until the app crashes.
Can you tell me what Im doing wrong or suggest a smarter way to add a property to all of my UIControls?
#interface UIControl (MyControl)
{
}
#property(nonatomic,strong) MySpecialProperty *specialproperty;
-(void)setSpecialproperty:(MySpecialProperty*)param;
#end
////////
#import "UIControl+MyControl.h"
#implementation UIControl (MyControl)
-(void)setSpecialproperty:(MySpecialProperty*)param
{
self.specialproperty=param;
}
///////////////
#import "UIControl+MyControl.h"
#implementation ViewController
UIButton *abutton=[UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
MySpecialProperty *prop=[MySpecialProperty alloc]init];
[abutton setSpecialproperty:prop];
While you can't add an iVar to UIControl via a category, you can add Associated Objects, which can be used to perform much the same function.
So, create a category on UIControl like this:
static char kControlNameKey;
- (void) setControlName: (NSString *) name
{
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &kControlNameKey, name, OBJC_ASSOCIATION_COPY);
}
- (NSString *) controlName
{
return (NSString *)objc_getAssociatedObject(array, &kControlNameKey);
}
There's more to it than that, I guess you'll need to check if an association exists before setting a new one, otherwise it will leak, but this should give you a start.
See the Apple Docs for more details
self.specialproperty=param is exactly the same as calling [self setSpecialproperty] (see here for some totally non biased coverage of Obj-C dot notation), which makes your current usage infinitely recursive.
What you actually want to do is:
-(void)setSpecialproperty:(MySpecialProperty*)param
{
_specialproperty = param;
}
Where _specialproperty is the implicitly created ivar for your property.
I'm assuming there's some reason why you've implemented your setSpecialproperty setter? Why not just use the one that is implicitly created for you?
the problem is that you can not add a property to a category, you can add behavior (methods) but not properties or attributes, this can only be done to extensions, and you can not create extensions of the SDK classes
use your method as
change your method name to
-(void)setSpecialproperty:(MySpecialProperty *)specialproperty
-(void)setSpecialproperty:(MySpecialProperty*)specialproperty
{
if(_specialproperty!=specialproperty)
_specialproperty = specialproperty;
}
and synthesize your specialProperty as
#synthesize specialproperty=_specialproperty;

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