Adding a search bar to iPhone application that uses alphabetical sections? - iphone

Question

I have an application that uses a UITableView which contains the names of products, these products are also split up into their respective sections based on their first letter.
Here is my code:
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
//Initialize alphabet array
m_Alphabet = [[NSArray alloc]initWithObjects:#"A",#"B",#"C",#"D",#"E",#"F",#"G",#"H",#"I",#"J",#"K", #"L",#"M",#"N",#"O",#"P",#"Q",#"R",#"S",#"T",#"U",#"V",#"W",#"X",#"Y",#"Z",#"Other", nil];
//Initialize alphabet distionary of arrays
m_AlphabetDictionary = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];
//Populate distionary with a mutable array for each character
//in the alphabet (plus one "Other" category)
for (int i = 0; i < 27; i++)
[m_AlphabetDictionary insertObject:[[NSMutableArray alloc] init] atIndex: i];
// The number of products in the database
appDelegate = (AppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
NSMutableArray *tempArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
//For each product in the appDelgates products
for (Product *product in appDelegate.m_Products){
if ([product.category isEqualToString:productType]){
[tempArray addObject:product];
//firstLetter is equal to the first letter of the products name
NSString * l_FirstLetter = [product.name substringToIndex:1];
//convert firstString to uppercase
l_FirstLetter = [l_FirstLetter uppercaseString];
//The added flag ensures objects whose first letter isn't a letter
//are added to array 26
bool added = NO;
for(int i=0; i<[m_Alphabet count]; i++){
//If the first letter of product name is equal to the letter at index i in theAlphabet
if ([l_FirstLetter isEqualToString:[m_Alphabet objectAtIndex:i]]) {
//Add product to section array for that letter
[[m_AlphabetDictionary objectAtIndex:i] addObject:product];
added = YES;
}
}
//If product hasn't been added to array, add it to "Others" category
if(!added)
[[m_AlphabetDictionary objectAtIndex:26] addObject:product];
}
}
//Set navigation controller title
self.title = productType;
}
//Number of sections is equal to the length of the m_Alphabet array
//Letters A-Z plus "Other"
- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
return [m_Alphabet count];
}
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
return [[m_AlphabetDictionary objectAtIndex:section] count];
}
- (NSArray *)sectionIndexTitlesForTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
return m_Alphabet;
}
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView sectionForSectionIndexTitle:(NSString *)title atIndex:(NSInteger)index
{
return [m_Alphabet indexOfObject:title];
}
- (NSString *)tableView:(UITableView *)aTableView titleForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
if ([[m_AlphabetDictionary objectAtIndex:section] count]==0)
return nil;
return [m_Alphabet objectAtIndex:section];
}
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
NSLog(#"Cell for row");
static NSString *CellIdentifier = #"Cell";
UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
if (cell == nil) {
cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
}
if([self.productType isEqualToString:#"All"]){
Product *product = (Product *) [appDelegate.m_Products objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
cell.textLabel.text = product.name;
// Configure the cell.
return cell;
}
else {
//Instead of using appDelegate.products use the new array that will be filled
//by the numberOfReowsInSection method
Product *product = (Product *)[[m_AlphabetDictionary objectAtIndex:indexPath.section] objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];
cell.textLabel.text = product.name;
// Configure the cell.
return cell;
}
}
What I'm looking to do is add a search bar to the top of my table view that behaves just like the search bar in the "All Contacts" section in the iPhones contacts application. I.E. When I search, all the sections disappear and just the search results are displayed until the search bar is blank again.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Jack

Answer 1

Looks like you need to uses UISearchDisplayController, which is most likely what the contacts application uses (along with mail, maps, safari, and music). It presents itself as a table view overlay that may or may not contain a scope bar (your choice) and filters results based on the search bar's text. A simple tutorial involving interface builder may be found here, and an apple example sans-IB may be found here.