Refactor iOS ViewController to work without needing a nib

Question

I wrote a nice gallery view controller .h .m and .xib that work fine for my purposes. Tap a programmatically created button and load an image, play a movie or view a pdf or website - while in an existing uinavigationcontroller. I want to change it so I can add the contents of the xib in code - without using the nib file. In this way it will be more useable (I think).

The problem is the functions in the .m that reference, for instance - [self presentMoviePlayerViewControllerAnimated:YES] etc do not work. I tried making a property of the rootviewcontroller in this new .h and .m and replacing self with myController (property name). But my view controller code relies on uinavigation existing to push new content or things like that. How can I remove/tweak these references to self or a reliance on uinavigationcontrollers so it will work like when it has a view controller for a nib?

Edit: Code added below. In the nib there is just a uiscrollview called uis_thumbScrollView. I would like to add this anywhere by simply calling something like:

[self.view addSubview:[[ebThumbScroller alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1024, 733)]];

Everyone's comments reminded me that the uiview this will be put in exists within the rootviewcontroller, over the top. Maybe this is why I can hear the movie playing - but not see it.

Note: The code creates a series of uiviews with buttons inside of a uiscrollview. .h #import #import "ebAppDelegate.h" #import "MediaPlayer/MediaPlayer.h"

@interface HomeGalleryViewController : UIViewController <UIScrollViewDelegate, UIGestureRecognizerDelegate, UIDocumentInteractionControllerDelegate> {

    BOOL pageControlBeingUsed;
    int buttonCount;

    CGFloat         _minimumColumnGap;
    UIEdgeInsets    _contentInsets;
    NSInteger       _colCount;
    NSInteger       _rowCount;
    CGFloat         _rowGap;
    CGFloat         _colGap;
    UIEdgeInsets    _effectiveInsets;
    //int iGalleryThumbs;
    //int iPlanThumbs;
    int iTotalButtons;
    ebAppDelegate *ebappdelegate;
    ebGalleryItem *ebgalleryItem;
    NSDictionary *gallDict;
    NSArray *gallerySections;
    NSArray *galleryArray;
    NSMutableArray *nsm_gallArray;
    UIDocumentInteractionController *controller;
}

//@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIButton *bItem;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *galleryNameString;
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIScrollView* scrollView;
@property (retain, nonatomic) NSMutableArray *arr_Views;
@property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIScrollView* uis_thumbScrollView;
@property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIPageControl* uis_pageControl;
@property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *uiv_thumbView;
@property (strong, nonatomic) MPMoviePlayerController *player;
@property (strong, nonatomic) MPMoviePlayerViewController *playerViewController;


- (IBAction)changePage;
- (IBAction) clickOpen:(id)sender;
- (void)playMovie:(NSString*)movieName;
- (void)movieFinishedCallback:(NSNotification*)_notification;

@end

.m

#import "HomeGalleryViewController.h"
#import "ebAppDelegate.h"
#import "GalleryImagesViewController.h"
#import "Gallery.h"
#import "GalleryThumbnailsViewController.h"
#import "GalleriesListViewController.h"
#import <QuartzCore/CoreAnimation.h>
#import "ebGalleryItem.h"
#import "WebViewController.h"

@implementation HomeGalleryViewController
// buttons
#define hGutter 17
#define vGutter 13
#define btnSize 130
#define topSpace 50
#define leftMargin 100

@synthesize uiv_thumbView;

@synthesize uiv_gallCat0, uiv_gallCat1, uiv_gallCat2,uiv_gallCat3, uiv_gallCat4, uiv_gallCat5,uiv_gallCat6;
@synthesize uis_thumbScrollView, uis_pageControl;

@synthesize galleryNameString,scrollView,arr_Views;
@synthesize player, playerViewController;

// Implement viewDidLoad to do additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
- (void)viewDidLoad {

    [super viewDidLoad];    

    ebappdelegate = (ebAppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
    arr_Views = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];

    self.scrollView.contentSize = CGSizeMake(1024, 1005);

    // nsarray of dictionaries (galleries)
    gallerySections = ebappdelegate.arr_galleryData;
    NSLog(@"gallerySections count:%i",[gallerySections count]);
    nsm_gallArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:1];

    [self layoutGalleryThumbs];
}

#pragma mark 
#pragma mark Layout Gallery Thumbs

-(void)layoutGalleryThumbs {

    NSUInteger numGallSections = [gallerySections count];
    NSLog(@"gallerySections data:%@",gallerySections);
    NSLog(@"numGallSections count:%i",numGallSections);

    // Window bounds.
    CGRect bounds = CGRectMake(0, 0, 1024, 215);

    for (int i=0; i<numGallSections; i++) {

        // Create a view and add it to the window.
        UIView* vview = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame: CGRectMake(0, bounds.size.height*i-1, bounds.size.width, bounds.size.height)];
        [vview setBackgroundColor: [UIColor whiteColor]];
        [vview setTag:i];
        //vview.backgroundColor = (UIColor (i % 2 == 0 ? cyanColor : whiteColor];
        vview.backgroundColor =  (i % 2 == 0)? [UIColor lightGrayColor] : [UIColor whiteColor];

        [arr_Views addObject:vview];

        // add line below at bottom
        UIView* lineView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame: CGRectMake(280, bounds.size.height, 700, 2)];
        [lineView setBackgroundColor: [UIColor grayColor]];
        lineView.alpha = 0.5;
        [vview addSubview:lineView];

        [uis_thumbScrollView addSubview: vview];

        NSLog(@"start===============i:%i",i);

        // grab a gallery
        gallDict = [gallerySections objectAtIndex:i];       // grab dict
        galleryArray = [gallDict objectForKey:@"gallSectionData"]; // grab array from dict
        NSLog(@"galleryArray:%@",[galleryArray description]);
        NSString *secTitle = [gallDict objectForKey:@"gallSectionName"];

        iTotalButtons = [galleryArray count];
        NSLog(@"iTotalButtons count:%i",iTotalButtons);

        _minimumColumnGap = 5;

        _colCount = floorf((uis_thumbScrollView.bounds.size.width - _contentInsets.left - _contentInsets.right) / btnSize);

        while (1) {
            _colGap = (uis_thumbScrollView.bounds.size.width - _contentInsets.left - _contentInsets.right - btnSize * _colCount) / (_colCount + 1);
            if (_colGap >= _minimumColumnGap)
                break;
            --_colCount;
        };

        _rowCount = (iTotalButtons + _colCount - 1) / _colCount;
        _rowGap = _colGap;

        _effectiveInsets = UIEdgeInsetsMake(_contentInsets.top + _rowGap,
                                            _contentInsets.left + _colGap,
                                            _contentInsets.bottom + _rowGap,
                                            _contentInsets.right + _colGap);

        NSLog(@"row count:%i",_rowCount);
        NSLog(@"col count:%i",_colCount);

        buttonCount=0;

        for (int e=0; e<iTotalButtons; e++) {
            NSLog(@"e:%i",e);

            ebgalleryItem = [galleryArray objectAtIndex:e];
            UIImage *thumbImg = [UIImage imageNamed:ebgalleryItem.gallThumb];

            UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType: UIButtonTypeCustom];

            CGRect frame = CGRectMake (btnSize*e+leftMargin, topSpace,
                                       btnSize-hGutter, btnSize-vGutter );
            [button setFrame: frame];
            NSLog(@"added button");

            //[button setBackgroundImage:thumbImg forState:UIControlStateNormal];
            [button setImage:thumbImg forState:UIControlStateNormal];
            [button setTitle:ebgalleryItem.gallName forState:UIControlStateNormal];
            NSLog(@"%@",button.titleLabel.text);

            [button addTarget: NULL action:@selector(clickOpen:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
            UILongPressGestureRecognizer *tapAndHold = [[UILongPressGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(longclickOpen:)];
            [tapAndHold setMinimumPressDuration:0.33];
            [button addGestureRecognizer:tapAndHold];
            [button setTag:e];
            //[button setTag:i*_colCount+e];

            NSLog(@" button tag=%i", button.tag);

            button.alpha=1.0;
            [[arr_Views objectAtIndex:i] addSubview:button];
            NSLog(@"middle====i:%i",i);

            // caption label
            CGRect labelFrame = CGRectMake( btnSize*e+leftMargin, 125,
                                           btnSize-hGutter, btnSize-vGutter );
            UILabel* label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame: labelFrame];
            [label setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:@"Arial" size:14]];
            label.numberOfLines = 0;
            [label setText:ebgalleryItem.gallCaption];
            [label setTextColor: [UIColor blackColor]];
            [label setTextAlignment:UITextAlignmentCenter];
            [label setBackgroundColor:[UIColor clearColor]];
            [[arr_Views objectAtIndex:i] addSubview: label];
            NSLog(@"middle2====i:%i",i);

            buttonCount++;
        }

        // Section Title label
        CGRect titleLabelFrame = CGRectMake(btnSize,0,250,50);
        UILabel* titlelabel = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame: titleLabelFrame];
        [titlelabel setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:@"Arial" size:16]];
        [titlelabel setText:secTitle];
        [titlelabel setTextColor: [UIColor blackColor]];
        [titlelabel setTextAlignment:UITextAlignmentLeft];
        [titlelabel setBackgroundColor:[UIColor clearColor]];
        [[arr_Views objectAtIndex:i] addSubview: titlelabel];
        NSLog(@"end====i:%i",i);


        CGFloat scrollViewHeight = 0.0f;
        for (UIView* view in self.uis_thumbScrollView.subviews)
        {
            if (!view.hidden)
            {
                CGFloat y = view.frame.origin.y;
                CGFloat h = view.frame.size.height;
                if (y + h > scrollViewHeight)
                {
                    scrollViewHeight = h + y;
                }
            }
        }


        [self.uis_thumbScrollView setContentSize:(CGSizeMake(self.uis_thumbScrollView.frame.size.width, scrollViewHeight+74))]; //74 is space from top in IB of scroll
        }
    uiv_thumbView.alpha = 1.0;
}


#pragma mark Scrollview

- (void)scrollViewDidScroll:(UIScrollView *)sender {
    // Update the page when more than 50% of the previous/next page is visible
    CGFloat pageWidth = self.uis_thumbScrollView.frame.size.width;
    int page = floor((self.uis_thumbScrollView.contentOffset.x - pageWidth / 2) / pageWidth) + 1;
    self.uis_pageControl.currentPage = page;

    // nslogs zoomsacle/bounds
    CGRect visibleRect;
    visibleRect.origin = uis_thumbScrollView.contentOffset;
    visibleRect.size = uis_thumbScrollView.bounds.size;

    float theScale = 1.0 / [uis_thumbScrollView zoomScale];
    visibleRect.origin.x *= theScale;
    visibleRect.origin.y *= theScale;
    visibleRect.size.width *= theScale;
    visibleRect.size.height *= theScale;

    NSLog( @"Visible rect: %@", NSStringFromCGRect(visibleRect) );
}

- (IBAction)changePage {
    // update the scroll view to the appropriate page
    CGRect frame;
    frame.origin.x = self.uis_thumbScrollView.frame.size.width * self.uis_pageControl.currentPage;
    frame.origin.y = 0;
    frame.size = self.uis_thumbScrollView.frame.size;
    [self.uis_thumbScrollView scrollRectToVisible:frame animated:YES];
}

- (void)scrollViewWillBeginDragging:(UIScrollView *)scrollView {
    pageControlBeingUsed = NO;
}

- (void)scrollViewDidEndDecelerating:(UIScrollView *)scrollView {
    pageControlBeingUsed = NO;
}

//===================================================================
// Override to allow orientations other than the default portrait orientation.
- (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation {
    return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeLeft | interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationLandscapeRight); 
}

- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning {
    // Releases the view if it doesn't have a superview.
    [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];

    // Release any cached data, images, etc that aren't in use.
}

- (void)viewDidUnload {
    [self setUiv_thumbView:nil];
}

- (void)viewDidDisappear:(BOOL)animated {
}

- (void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {
    [UIApplication sharedApplication].statusBarHidden = YES;
    self.view.frame = [UIScreen mainScreen].applicationFrame;
    CGRect frame = self.navigationController.navigationBar.frame;
    frame.origin.y = 0;
    self.navigationController.navigationBar.frame = frame;
    [self.navigationController setNavigationBarHidden:YES animated:animated];
    self.navigationController.navigationBar.translucent = YES;
}

- (void)viewWillDisappear:(BOOL)animated {
    [UIApplication sharedApplication].statusBarHidden = NO;
    CGRect frame = self.navigationController.navigationBar.frame;
    frame.origin.y = 20.0;
    self.navigationController.navigationBar.frame = frame;
}

- (void)viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated {
    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] setStatusBarHidden:YES];
    [self.navigationController setNavigationBarHidden:YES animated:animated];
    [self.navigationController setToolbarHidden:YES animated:YES];
    [super viewDidAppear:animated];
}

//======================================================================    
-(IBAction)clickOpen:(id)sender {

    UIButton *tmpBtn = (UIButton*)sender;
    NSLog(@"sender tag: %i", [sender tag]);

    int superviewTag = [sender superview].tag;  
    NSLog(@"sender superview tag: %i", superviewTag);

    gallDict = [gallerySections objectAtIndex:superviewTag];        // grab dict
    galleryArray = [gallDict objectForKey:@"gallSectionData"];      // grab array from dict

    tmpBtn.alpha = 0.6;

    ebgalleryItem = [galleryArray objectAtIndex:[sender tag]];

    NSLog(@"%@",ebgalleryItem.gallType);
    NSLog(@"%@",ebgalleryItem.gallName);

    NSLog(@"gallDict %@",gallDict);

    if ([ebgalleryItem.gallType isEqualToString:@"movie"]) {

        [self playMovie:ebgalleryItem.gallFilm];

    } else if ([ebgalleryItem.gallType isEqualToString:@"image"]) {

        [self imageViewer:sender];

    } else if ([ebgalleryItem.gallType isEqualToString:@"pdf"]) {

        [self viewPDF:ebgalleryItem.gallName];

    }  else if ([ebgalleryItem.gallType isEqualToString:@"web"]) {

        [self openWeb:ebgalleryItem.gallName];
    }
}

#pragma mark 
#pragma mark Open Websites 

- (IBAction)openWeb:(NSString*)thisWEB {

    WebViewController *webViewController = [[WebViewController alloc] 
                                            initWithNibName:@"WebViewController" 
                                            bundle:nil];
    [webViewController socialButton:thisWEB];
    webViewController.title = thisWEB;
    [self presentModalViewController:webViewController animated:YES];
}

#pragma mark 
#pragma mark Image Viewer

-(void)imageViewer:(id)sender {

    UIButton *tmpBtn = (UIButton*)sender;

    galleryNameString = tmpBtn.titleLabel.text;
    tmpBtn.alpha = 0.6;

    GalleryImagesViewController *vc = [[GalleryImagesViewController alloc] initWithGallery:[Gallery galleryNamed:galleryNameString]];
    [vc goToPageAtIndex:0 animated:NO];

    CATransition* transition = [CATransition animation];
    transition.duration = 0.33;
    transition.type = kCATransitionFade;
    transition.subtype = kCATransitionFromTop;

    [self.navigationController.view.layer
     addAnimation:transition forKey:kCATransition];
    [self.navigationController pushViewController:vc animated:NO];
}

#pragma mark 
#pragma mark PDF Viewer

-(void)viewPDF:(NSString*)thisPDF {
    NSString *fileToOpen = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:thisPDF ofType:@"pdf"];
    NSURL *url = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:fileToOpen];

    NSLog(@"%@",fileToOpen);
    controller = [UIDocumentInteractionController interactionControllerWithURL:url];
    [self previewDocumentWithURL:url];
}


- (IBAction) clickClose:(id)sender {
    [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}

- (void)previewDocumentWithURL:(NSURL*)url
{
    UIDocumentInteractionController* preview = [UIDocumentInteractionController interactionControllerWithURL:url];
    preview.delegate = self;
    [preview presentPreviewAnimated:YES];
}

//======================================================================    
- (void)documentInteractionControllerDidDismissOptionsMenu:(UIDocumentInteractionController *)controller{
}

//===================================================================
- (UIViewController *)documentInteractionControllerViewControllerForPreview:(UIDocumentInteractionController *)controller
{
    return self;
}

- (UIView *)documentInteractionControllerViewForPreview:(UIDocumentInteractionController *)controller
{
    return self.view;
}

- (CGRect)documentInteractionControllerRectForPreview:(UIDocumentInteractionController *)controller
{
    return self.view.frame;
}


-(IBAction)longclickOpen:(UILongPressGestureRecognizer*)gesture {

    if (gesture.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateBegan ) {

        [self.navigationController setNavigationBarHidden:NO];

        ebAppDelegate *appDelegate = (ebAppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
        appDelegate.isFromLongPress=YES;

        //NSUInteger i = [gesture.view tag];

        //galleryNameString = [appDelegate.arr_galleryData objectAtIndex:i];

        NSLog(@"load %@",galleryNameString);

        UIButton *btn = (UIButton*)gesture.view;

        galleryNameString = btn.titleLabel.text;        btn.alpha = 0.6;

        //NSLog(@"Long Press");
        //NSLog(@"llongclickOpen");
        UIViewController *vc = [[GalleryThumbnailsViewController alloc] initWithGallery:[Gallery galleryNamed:galleryNameString]];
        CATransition* transition = [CATransition animation];
        transition.duration = 0.33;
        transition.type = kCATransitionFade;
        transition.subtype = kCATransitionFromTop;

        [self.navigationController.view.layer
         addAnimation:transition forKey:kCATransition];
        [self.navigationController pushViewController:vc animated:NO];
    }
}


-(void)playMovie:(NSString*)movieName {

    NSString *url = [[NSBundle mainBundle] 
                     pathForResource:movieName
                     ofType:@"m4v"];

    NSLog(@"%@",movieName);

    playerViewController = [[MPMoviePlayerViewController alloc] 
                                                         initWithContentURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:url]];

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:playerViewController
                                                    name:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification
                                                  object:playerViewController.moviePlayer];

    // Register this class as an observer instead
    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                             selector:@selector(movieFinishedCallback:)
                                                 name:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification
                                               object:playerViewController.moviePlayer];

    [self.view insertSubview:playerViewController.view atIndex:50];

    //---play movie---
    player = [playerViewController moviePlayer];
    player.controlStyle = MPMovieControlStyleFullscreen;
    player.repeatMode=MPMovieRepeatModeOne;

    [self presentMoviePlayerViewControllerAnimated:playerViewController];
    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] setStatusBarHidden:YES];

    [super viewDidLoad];
}

- (void)movieFinishedCallback:(NSNotification*)aNotification {
    // Obtain the reason why the movie playback finished
    NSNumber *finishReason = [[aNotification userInfo] objectForKey:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishReasonUserInfoKey];

    // Dismiss the view controller ONLY when the reason is not "playback ended"
    if ([finishReason intValue] != MPMovieFinishReasonPlaybackEnded)
    {
        MPMoviePlayerController *moviePlayer = [aNotification object];

        // Remove this class from the observers
        [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:self
                                                        name:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification
                                                      object:moviePlayer];
        // Dismiss the view controller
        [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
    }
}


@end

Answer 1

If your only problem is the not working [self presentMoviePlayerViewControllerAnimated:YES] method, the problem is that presentMoviePlayerViewControllerAnimated: requires the actual moviePlayerViewController as an argument not a boolean value. (assuming you're refering to this method of the UIViewController category) UIViewController MediaPlayer Additions Reference

So if you replace that by say presentMoviePlayerViewControllerAnimated:self.moviePlayerVC, it should work as expected.

Answer 2

I'm not sure I understand your question, but if you need to wrap your controller to some UINavigationController you can do it like this:

UINavigationController *navController = [[UINavigationController alloc] initWithRootViewController:myController];
    navController.modalTransitionStyle = UIModalTransitionStyleCoverVertical;
    navController.navigationBar.barStyle = UIBarStyleBlack;
    [self presentViewController:navController animated:YES completion:^{
        //
    }];

later on any child controller will have the navigation hierarchy.