SBLayoutManager

A minimalist layout manager to augment Struts and Springs

Struts and springs - used correctly - can take you pretty far in most iOS interfaces. However, there are times where more complex UIs need data-centric layouts that require manual code to support. This is why I developed SBLayoutManager. It is NOT a complete layout manager like Core Animations constraints based manager or the new - and super cool - Cocoa Autolayout manager (which, unfortunately, neither are available on iOS). It is, however, a simple library that can handle some common use cases to augment your use of Struts and Springs.

Example Usage

Variable Height Data with elements below

This is a really common use case which is not handled by struts and springs: you have a UILabel that spans multiple lines with other elements below. Your only option is to manage this programmatically. Not the end of the world, but a pain, nonetheless. SBLayoutManager handles this with minimal hassle: (note: ARC code sample)

-(void) viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];

    _layoutManager = [SBLayoutManager layoutManagerWithRootView: [self view]];
    [_layoutManager viewIsVariableHeight: self.descriptionLabel];
    [_layoutManager view: self.footerLabel isBelowView: self.descriptionLabel];
}

- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
    [super viewDidAppear:animated];
    [_layoutManager layout];
}

-(void) didRotateFromInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)fromInterfaceOrientation
{
    [_layoutManager layout];
}

-(void) someMethodThatUpdatesTheDataBeingDisplayed
{
    self.descriptionLabel.text = @"New Long Text Goes Here"];
    [_layoutManager layout];
}

Now, everything is rearranged properly when the device is rotated and your data being displayed changes.

Example Project

An iPhone sample project illustrating some common techniques is included. Checkout the viewDidLoad of the ViewController class to see how the layout manager is configured.

Dependencies

• [iOS 4.0+]
• No other external dependencies. Copy the SBLayoutManager folder into your project and go.

ARC Support

If you are using Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) enabled, you will need to set the -fno-objc-arc compiler flag on all of the SBLayoutManager. To do this in Xcode, go to your active target and select the "Build Phases" tab. In the "Compiler Flags" column, set -fno-objc-arc for each of the SBLayoutManager source files.

Contact

Steve Breen - [email protected]

License

SBLayoutManager is available under the BSD license.