I'm writing code that will allow my iphone-app to have a "configuration page".
A grouped, scrolling, UITableView... with cells that contain the needed textFields, switches, sliders, etc.
It is an ENOURMOUS amount of code. Is there an easier way?
Is there a way I could create a simple text-file, contain all my desired design choices and have my (reusable) code build the TableView for me?
Or... can I just do the whole thing quicker/easier in Interface Builder instead of code?
Basically there are two approaches here :
you rely on what Apple gives you and implement a Bundle Settings (basically a dictionary that describes how the settings screen should look like), and then , your settings will be in the "Settings" application of the iPhone.
The drawback here is that what apple provides is quite limited and you won't be able to implement some of the most complicated settings you can see in "standard" (pre-installed) apple application settings.
That's why many developers are switching to "inapp" settings thanks to open source FWK or they reimplement everythingh from scratch but it can be a lot of code as you said.
You reimplement your own UIViewController for settings or you rely on some framework that will provide you the UIViewController to extend from and ease your implementation.
There are 2 good frameworks for that (Jesse cited one of them, but there's another one )
InAppSettings ( http://inscopeapps.com/blog/inappsettings-10/ )
InAppSettingsKit ( http://inappsettingskit.com/ )
A comparison of the two framework can be found here : http://inscopeapps.com/blog/inappsettings-vs-inappsettingskit/
(ok that's from one of the two authors but at least this gives an idea ;)
If you can live with the limitations of the standard application preferences in iPhone, you can actually create this using a settings bundle which only needs a plist and optionally a localized strings file.
You can check out Apple documentations for this:
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/iPhone/Conceptual/iPhoneOSProgrammingGuide/ApplicationSettings/ApplicationSettings.html
Claus
If you're looking for a ready made and reusable solution, you can check
http://www.inappsettingskit.com/
It's open source too, so it's useful as a base.
I never found an easy and efficient way to build complicated table view by using Interface Builder, so I think programming the settings view is more preferable.
If you're talking about using a text file or plist, you may want to mimic the Settings Bundle design of Settings app.
Load the plist data upon the app launch.
I've built something like what you're looking for. Going off Claus's answer as well, it basically just duplicates the interface of the Settings application using the same settings.plist file as the settings app. The only difference is that it's a view controller that you can put inside the app. There's a surprisingly small amount of coding involved, it was just a lot of looking at the settings app to see exactly how things were laid out.
Related
I'm going to developer two very similar apps, the logic is absolutely the same, but api calls base URLs, texts and UI graphics( such as backgrounds etc) will be different, but the all views will be the same (buttons, labels in the same places). It's quizes apps.
How to do it in the smart way? To not duplicate code etc.
I thought about to setup workspace, add bundles with UI, plists with texts and URL's, and than based on project name or identifier use one of the bundles, etc.
Maybe somebody can share smth else? More efficient way.
Thx.
I thought about [...] adding bundles with UI, plists texts and URL's
You wrote your own answer. Additionally you setup two targets. One for each project. Within the target you define an envorinment variable, which you can use in your code to switch between the bundles / URLs.
You should write a Helper Class to get the Ressources. That helper class checks the environment variable and gives back the correct ressource.
(You may want to write categories for UIImage and NSURL and write your own NSLocalizedString version. With that you don't need to check any conditions/settings anywhere else in your code.)
Compared to Android iPhone does not support many languages, even though the MAC seems to do so ( simply because I learned that the possibility of adding these languages in xCode is for MAC Apps and not for iOS).
Now I added the Localizable.strings file for languages that are not available in the language list of the iPhone settings for languages.
Is there a way using the standard approach like:
[onOffSC setTitle:NSLocalizedString(#"On","Off") forSegmentAtIndex:0];
if I just put a selection menu in my app ?
Otherwise I would have to add a special logic - lets say MYNSLocalizedString, checking first if the user wants to select a non supported language, getting this some other way (probably putting these translations into a NSDictionary) and otherwise calling the standard NSLocalizedString.
I guess I would have to put a language selection menu in the app anyways - but can the calls to NSLocalizedString be used or do I have to add a meta-method MYNSLocalizedString like mentioned?
Or is there any other good solution for this ?
Many thanks!
I think better would be to use the language which is set in Settings, instead of user selecting from menu. Refer to this tutorial might help you understand How Localization is done.
http://www.raywenderlich.com/2876/how-to-localize-an-iphone-app-tutorial
For localization of your iPhone app:
Use the approach described here...
http://www.raywenderlich.com/2876/how-to-localize-an-iphone-app-tutorial
The UITextView has a method named setContentToHTMLString that displays html inside a UITextView.
But this is a private API and probably gets my app rejected by apple.
Is there any way around this to somehow set the content to an htm string without calling this method directly? or any other way to allow html content in a view that is editable (Keyboard accessible)?
I absolutely loath the Three20 framework. It adds huge bulk to your apps, adds a ton of class categories that you probably don't need, multiplies your compiling time many times on a clean compile, and can cause issues if you accidentally don't set all of the sub-projects settings correctly -- personal horror story, I had an app update in the app store broken on all arm6 devices for 3 weeks after adding Three20 while Apple took their sweet time approving my simple fix.
Anyway, enough bashing on Three20. Here's another option if you want something much more compact that is a simple drop in replacement for UITextView with basic HTML support: http://www.cocoacontrols.com/platforms/ios/controls/bctextview. I don't know if that one supports editing though. This one: http://www.cocoacontrols.com/platforms/ios/controls/egotextview supports rich text editing, but I'm not sure if it's in HTML format. They're both worth a look though to see if you can utilize them for your needs. I would only use Three20 as an absolute last resort, and then still probably wouldn't use it.
The closest thing I know to what you are asking are TTStyledText and TTStyledTextLabel, two classes from the Three20 framework that allows you to treat HTML content. They only support a limited subset of HTML, though, so I don't know if this fit your needs.
If you simply want to display/edit some unformatted text taken from the web, have a look at: +stringWithContentsOfURL:encoding:error:
[UITextView setValue:textString forKey:#"contentToHTMLString"];
I need to make an application in which the user can toggle between two languages on triggering a click event on a button.
The problem here is that I have seen examples in which, if we want to load our localized nib file, then we need to change the language from the settings options and we can get the proper nib file loaded according to language selected.
I want to do this within my application, meaning I don't want to go to the settings menu and change the language and then reload the application.
I just want the above effect within my application (that is, through a button click event the app should be able to toggle between two languages).
Is it possible, and does Apple allow it?
Nobody here can tell you whether Apple will allow it, but if your app is well designed and there's a good reason for this departure from the usual way of doing things, you've probably got a good shot.
There's nothing to prevent you from loading a nib file localized for a different region. I'd probably avoid trying to use Apple's automatic mechanism, though. Just name your nib files using some pattern and load the appropriate one.
If you want your life to easy, you will take advantage of the Localization built into the operating system. Otherwise, you will have write your own methods to load localized strings or nib files.
There is no reason for Apple to reject an app that shows localized text based on an in-app setting. I work to help developers localize apps and, although I don't suggest this approach, they have done it and I've never heard of a rejection from Apple.
What you won't be able to do is use Apple's built-in tools, which rely on the system settings to determine a user's language and push the text from a Localizable.strings file. But it honestly won't take you too long to implement a similar system yourself using functions akin to gettext.
You essentially need to implement the same basic logic as any localization system:
1) Surround your in-app texts in a function that will display the proper language based on the user's chosen settings
2) Export your source texts (probably English into file
3) Translate the English strings into each language in a separate file
The function you write can follow the lines of gettext, which has examples in many programming languages. If the settings is "French" grab the equivalent string from the French file. If the setting is English, just print the English.
You won't be able to use Apple's tools, but you CAN do it on your own and Apple won't really care as far as I know. However, if you choose to localize into an Apple-supported language, follow this app localization tutorial for iOS using the standard Localizable.strings method.
what if i have ecommerce application?
like i have
1)sale page
2)list of product page(grid view and list view)
3)detail of product
4) zoom images for that product.
what kind of template should i use?
i refer this post but its not clear.
New iPhone App - How to Choose which Xcode Template to Use?
Thanks
If you have a hierarchy of views in which you go from general to specific information, then you want the navigation template.
However, most of the time, the templates are just starting points for learning. In most cases, you will have an app that is a combination so you start with the generic windows-based template and then flesh it out yourself.
If there is a similar application on the AppStore you may like to see how they have approached it, generally there is something similar that can help you clarify how you would like your application to function.
From the sounds of your application idea you would probably be best served by the Navigation template. But after all it is only a template, you can completely change the structure of the application later without needing to start another project.