GenericDataSource
A generic small reusable components for data source implementation for UITableView
/UICollectionView
written in Swift.
Features
-
BasicDataSource
easily bind model to cells with automatic dequeuing. -
SegmentedDataSource
easily build segmented controls or for empty state of yourUICollectionView
/UITableView
data source. -
CompositeDataSource
builds complex cells/models structure with easy to use components (BasicDataSource
SegmentedDataSource
or otherCompositeDataSource
). -
UICollectionView
supplementary,UITableView
header, and footer views support. - Ability to override any data source method from
UIKit
classes. - Comprehensive Unit Test Coverage.
- Complete Documentation
Requirements
- iOS 8.0+
- Xcode 10
- Swift 4.0+
Installation
CocoaPods
To integrate GenericDataSource
into your Xcode project using CocoaPods, specify it in your Podfile
:
pod 'GenericDataSources'
IMPORTANT: The pod name is GenericDataSources with "s" at the end.
Carthage
To integrate GenericDataSource into your Xcode project using Carthage, specify it in your Cartfile:
github "GenericDataSource/GenericDataSource"
Manually
Add GenericDataSource.xcodeproj
to your project file by drag and drop.
You can then consult to Adding an Existing Framework to a Project.
Example
Basic Data Source Example
UITableView
Create a basic data source and bind it to to a table view.
let dataSource = BasicBlockDataSource<Example, BasicTableViewCell>() { (item: Example, cell: BasicTableViewCell, indexPath) -> Void in
cell.titleLabel?.text = item.title
}
// Need to keep a strong reference to our data source.
self.dataSource = dataSource
// register the cell
tableView.ds_register(cellClass: BasicTableViewCell.self)
// bind the data source to the table view
tableView.ds_useDataSource(dataSource)
dataSource.items = <<retrieve items>> // Can be set and altered at anytime
That's it! Your first data source is implemented. No dequeuing! no casting! simple and smart.
UICollectionView
Let's now take it to the next level. Suppose after we implemented it, the requirements changed and we need to implement it using UICollectionView
.
let dataSource = BasicBlockDataSource<Example, BasicCollectionViewCell>() { (item: Example, cell: BasicCollectionViewCell, indexPath) -> Void in
cell.titleLabel?.text = item.title
}
// Need to keep a strong reference to our data source.
self.dataSource = dataSource
// register the cell
collectionView.ds_register(cellClass: BasicCollectionViewCell.self)
// bind the data source to the collection view
collectionView.ds_useDataSource(dataSource)
dataSource.items = <<retrieve items>> // Can be set and altered at anytime
All you need to do is change the cell class and of course the table view to collection view.
Actually this opens the door for so much possibilities. You can inherit from BasicDataSource
and implement your custom generic data source that is based on a protocol implemented by the cell and you don't need to repeat the configuration part. You would create data source like that.
let dataSource1 = CustomDataSource<BasicTableViewCell>() // for table view
let dataSource2 = CustomDataSource<BasicCollectionViewCell>() // for collection view
App store Featured Example
Suppose we want to implement the following screen, the App Store featured tab.
If you want to have a look at the complete source code, it is under Example project -> AppStoreViewController.swift
.
- We will create cells as we do normally.
- Now we need to think about DataSources.
- It's simple, one data source for each cell type (
BasicDataSource
). CompositeDataSource(sectionType: .single)
for the table view rows. Since these rows are of different cell types.SegmentedDataSource
for switching between loading and data views.- Bind the
SegmentedDataSource
data source to the table view and that's it. - See how we think structurally about our UI and data sources instead of one big cell.
One thing we didn't talk about is the UICollectionView
of the featured section cells. It's very simple, just BasicDataSource
.
See how we can implement the screen in the following code:
- Create the cells.
class AppStoreFeaturedSectionTableViewCell: UITableViewCell { ... }
class AppStoreQuickLinkLabelTableViewCell: UITableViewCell { ... }
class AppStoreQuickLinkTableViewCell: UITableViewCell { ... }
class AppStoreFooterTableViewCell: UITableViewCell { ... }
class AppStoreLoadingTableViewCell: UITableViewCell { ... }
- Create
BasicDataSource
s.
class AppStoreLoadingDataSource: BasicDataSource<Void, AppStoreLoadingTableViewCell> {
// loading should take full screen size.
override func ds_collectionView(_ collectionView: GeneralCollectionView, sizeForItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> CGSize {
return collectionView.size
}
}
class AppStoreFooterDataSource: BasicDataSource<Void, AppStoreFooterTableViewCell> { ... }
class AppStoreQuickLinkDataSource: BasicDataSource<FeaturedQuickLink, AppStoreQuickLinkTableViewCell> { ... }
class AppStoreFeaturedAppsDataSource: BasicDataSource<FeaturedApp, AppStoreFeaturedAppCollectionViewCell> { ... }
class AppStoreFeaturedAppsSectionDataSource: BasicDataSource<FeaturedSection, AppStoreFeaturedSectionTableViewCell> { ... }
class AppStoreQuickLinkLabelDataSource: BasicDataSource<String, AppStoreQuickLinkLabelTableViewCell> { ... }
- Create
CompositeDataSource
that holds the featured page.
class AppStoreFeaturedPageDataSource: CompositeDataSource {
init() { super.init(sectionType: .single)] }
var page: FeaturedPage? {
didSet {
// remove all existing data sources
removeAllDataSources()
guard let page = page else {
return
}
// add featured apps
let featuredApps = AppStoreFeaturedAppsSectionDataSource()
featuredApps.setSelectionHandler(UnselectableSelectionHandler())
featuredApps.items = page.sections
add(featuredApps)
// add quick link label
let quickLinkLabel = AppStoreQuickLinkLabelDataSource()
quickLinkLabel.setSelectionHandler(UnselectableSelectionHandler())
quickLinkLabel.items = [page.quickLinkLabel]
add(quickLinkLabel)
// add quick links
let quickLinks = AppStoreQuickLinkDataSource()
quickLinks.items = page.quickLinks
add(quickLinks)
// add footer
let footer = AppStoreFooterDataSource()
footer.setSelectionHandler(UnselectableSelectionHandler())
footer.items = [Void()] // we add 1 element to show the footer, 2 elements will show it twice. 0 will not show it.
add(footer)
}
}
}
- Create the outer most data source.
class AppStoreDataSource: SegmentedDataSource {
let loading = AppStoreLoadingDataSource()
let page = AppStoreFeaturedPageDataSource()
// reload data on index change
override var selectedDataSourceIndex: Int {
didSet {
ds_reusableViewDelegate?.ds_reloadData()
}
}
override init() {
super.init()
loading.items = [Void()] // we add 1 element to show the loading, 2 elements will show it twice. 0 will not show it.
add(loading)
add(page)
}
}
- Register cells.
tableView.ds_register(cellNib: AppStoreFeaturedSectionTableViewCell.self)
tableView.ds_register(cellNib: AppStoreQuickLinkLabelTableViewCell.self)
tableView.ds_register(cellNib: AppStoreQuickLinkTableViewCell.self)
tableView.ds_register(cellNib: AppStoreFooterTableViewCell.self)
tableView.ds_register(cellNib: AppStoreLoadingTableViewCell.self)
- Set data sources to the collection view.
tableView.ds_useDataSource(dataSource)
- Finally set the data when it is available.
// show loading indicator
dataSource.selectedDataSourceIndex = 0
// get the data from the service
service.getFeaturedPage { [weak self] page in
// update the data source model
self?.dataSource.page.page = page
// show the page
self?.dataSource.selectedDataSourceIndex = 1
}
There are many benefits of doing that:
- Lightweight view controllers.
- You don't need to think about indexes anymore, all is handled for us. Only think about how you can structure your cells into smaller data sources.
- We can switch between
UITableView
andUICollectionView
without touching data sources or models. Only change the cells to inherit fromUITableViewCell
orUICollectionViewCell
and everything else works. - We can add/delete/update cells easily. For example we decided to add more blue links. We can do it by just adding new item to the array passed to the data source.
- We can re-arrange cells as we want. Just move around the
add
of data sources calls. - Most importantly no
if
/else
in our code.
Check the Examples application for complete implementations.
Attribution
The main idea comes from [WWDC 2014 Advanced User Interfaces with Collection Views] (https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2014/232/) written in swift with generics.
Author
Mohamed Afifi, [email protected]
License
GenericDataSource is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.