Why aren't UITabBarItems' titles displaying? - iphone

Question

First time poster. Thanks in advance.
I want to use a UITabBar in my iPhone app. I have been led to believe that I cannot use UITabViewController because I would be nesting it inside a UINavigationController. I read that you can do this, but you have to use UITabBar instead of the full-fledged controller. I can make this work with Interface Builder, but I've got a lot of redundant XIBs and I'd rather do it in code anyway. I want to know how the magic works, as it were.
Here's the .m of my controller:
#import "DumbViewController.h"
#implementation DumbViewController
-(void) loadView {
UIView *view = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]];
UILabel *label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(10, 100, 150, 30)];
[label setText:#"hello world"];
[view addSubview:label];
[label release];
UITabBar *tb = [[UITabBar alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, [view frame].size.height - 64, [view frame].size.width, 64)];
[tb setDelegate:self];
[tb setItems:[NSArray arrayWithObject:[[[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:#"bob" image:[UIImage imageNamed:#"21-skull.png"] tag:0] autorelease]]];
[view addSubview:tb];
[tb release];
[self setView:view];
[view release];
}
- (void)tabBar:(UITabBar *)tabBar didSelectItem:(UITabBarItem *)item {
NSLog(#"selected item %#", item);
}
#end
When I run the app, I get my label and a tab bar at the bottom. I get the goofy little skull icon, but "bob" never displays. Clicking the skull works as you would expect.
Why isn't that title showing?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Try the following code....
UITabBarItem *someTabBarItem = [[UITabBarItem alloc] initWithTitle:#"bob" image:[UIImage imageNamed:#"21-skull.png"] tag:0];
NSArray *tabBarItems = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:someTabBarItem,nil];
[tabBar setItems:tabBarItems animated:NO];
[tabBar setSelectedItem:someTabBarItem];
[tabBarItems release];
[someTabBarItem release];

Answer 2

The problem was that I was setting the frame of the UITabBar outside the frame of the parent view.
I added this line after the UITabBar alloc line.
[tb setAutoresizingMask:UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleWidth | UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleTopMargin];
The advantage here is that even if I rotate or if the app is running on an iPad, the tab bar stays at the bottom of the screen.
I also changed from a 64 pixel height to a 44 pixel height because it looks much more like how the XIB did originally.