Why is my delegate method not called? - iphone

Question

this is probably simple but I'm stuck!
Basically I have a parent and child view controller, and I'm trying to pass data from the child to the parent.
//Child VC interface
#protocol ANSearchGetawayFilterDelegate
-(void)selectedCell:(NSString *)cellTitle;
#end
#interface ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController : UIViewController <UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource, UISearchBarDelegate>
{
NSString* cellTitle;
}
#property (nonatomic, assign) id<ANSearchGetawayFilterDelegate> delegate;
#end
//Child VC implementation
#implementation ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController
#synthesize delegate = _delegate;
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
UITableViewCell *selectedCell = [tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
cellTitle = selectedCell.textLabel.text;
[[self delegate] selectedCell:cellTitle];
[self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}
//Parent VC interface
#import "ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController.h"
#interface ANGetawayFilterViewController : UIViewController <ANSearchGetawayFilterDelegate>
{
NSString* _cellText;
}
//Parent VC Implementation
- (id)initWithNibName:(NSString*)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle*)nibBundleOrNil
{
self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil];
if (self)
{
// Custom initialization
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
search.delegate = self;
}
return self;
}
//delegate method
-(void)selectedCell:(NSString *)cellTitle
{
_cellText = cellTitle;
NSLog(#"cell text %#", _cellText);
}
the delegate method is never called and when is NSLog the _cellText else where it comes up as null...what am I doing wrong? Thanks!

Answer 1

You are most likely creating a new instance of ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController when you present it and not configuring the delegate on it.
When you called
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
search.delegate = self;
you created an instance of ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController and then set the delegate up correctly, but you never stored this instance of ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController anywhere. So later on when you come to present it you call again
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
which gives you a completely different instance, which you then need to configure again. For example
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search1 = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
NSLog(#"%d", search1 == search);
#=> 0
To fix update your code to be
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldBeginEditing:(UITextField*)textField;
{
BOOL shouldBeginEditing = YES;
NSLog(#"text field should begin editing");
ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *myANSearchGetawayFilterViewController = [[[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init] autorelease];
myANSearchGetawayFilterViewController.delegate = self; // <--- configure the delegate
[self presentModalViewController:myANSearchGetawayFilterViewController animated:YES];
[self closeAllPickers];
return shouldBeginEditing;
}
I wouldn't make it an ivar as the likelihood is you will present this viewController momentarily just to select some data and then get rid of it, so it is probably safe to discard it and make a new one each time.

Answer 2

Au contraire, the delegate method is being called (hence the NSLog()). However, _cellText is (null) because the value being passed in is nil, ergo selectedCell.textLabel.text.

Answer 3

Firstly, are you sure that the -selectedCell method is being called?
You can do this by putting an NSLog() before or after -tableViewDidSelectRow...
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
...
NSLog(#"TABLEVIEW DID SELECT ROW BEFORE -> %# <-", cellTitle);
[[self delegate] selectedCell:cellTitle];
NSLog(#"TABLEVIEW DID SELECT ROW DELEGATE CALLED");
...
}
Also, you might want to do some cleanup (optional)
Firstly, you are leaking in your initialisation method. Either set the ANGetawayFilterViewController as a property of the parent class using the delegate, or release it after you set the delegate.
Secondly, in the -tableViewDidSelectRow, your code assumes that the delegate has the -selectedCell method coded. If you don't have the method implemented, then the application will result in a crash. You can prevent this by checking to see if the delegate -respondsToSelector...:
if ([self.delegate respondsToSelector:#selector(selectedCell:)]) {
[self.delegate selectedCell:cellTitle];
}
Thirdly, the method of which is being called by the delegate to notify the parentViewController doesn't follow the general schema that delegate methods use, with the exception of -numberOfRowsInSection (UITableViewDelegate). Your method should contain the actual ANFilterGetawayViewController instance too:
- (void) filterGetawayViewController:(ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *) controller didSelectCellWithTitle:(NSString *) title {
...
}
It can be called as such:
[self.delegate filterGetawayViewController:self didSelectCellWithTitle:cellTitle];

Answer 4

Are you using ARC? Because when the init function ends, your object (and it's reference to the delegate) are cleaned up. What happens if you make the search variable a global one (defining it in your header and initializing it in your code)?

Answer 5

Assuming you are using ARC:
You need to make a retained #property for your ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController instance. It will have been released by ARC by the time the delegate method is called. Do something like this.
#property (strong, nonatomic) ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController *search;
...
#synthesize search = _search;
- (id)initWithNibName:(NSString*)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle*)nibBundleOrNil
{
self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil];
if (self)
{
// Custom initialization
self.search = [[ANSearchGetawayFilterViewController alloc] init];
self.search.delegate = self;
}
return self;
}
Not related to your problem, but best practice is to check if the delegate actually implements the method you expect it to before calling it, like so:
if ([self.delegate respondsToSelector:#selector(selectedCell:)]) {
[self.delegate selectedCell:cellTitle];
}