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#RBSmartTableViewCell

##Summary

Producing custom table view cells can be tedious, error-prone work. RBSmartTableViewCell is an Interface Builder-compliant, customizable UITableViewCell designed to take the pain out of the process by:

  1. Encapsulating automatic cell reuse.

  2. Encapsulating custom cell production. Cells constructed using UIStoryboard, XIBs, or straight code are all treated the same.

  3. Handle nib management (if applicable).

The design is based on recipes 15-16 from iOS Recipes.

##Dependencies

RBSmartTableViewCell requires UIKit and runs on iOS 4.0+.

##How to use

Using RBSmartTableViewCell is a two-step process. First, creating a custom cell through subclassing. Second, using the cell in your table view code.

###Creating custom cells

RBSmartTableViewCell should be subclassed rather than used directly. To create a new subclass, follow these steps:

  1. Create a class for your custom cell (ex. <#Prefix#><#Name#>Cell.m and <#Prefix#><#Name#>Cell.h).
  2. If using XIBs, create a XIB for your custom cell (ex. <#Prefix#><#Name#>Cell.xib). The name must match the class name.
  3. In your header file, subclass RBSmartTableViewCell.
  4. In your XIB or UIStoryboard, customize the cell as desired. If using a XIB, you must have a UITableViewCell as the first root (and probably only) UI element in Interface Builder.
  5. In your XIB or UIStoryboard, set the Cell Identifier in the Attributes Inspector (must be the same as the name of the class).
  6. In the Identity Inspector of your XIB or UIStoryboard, set the custom class to your new class.
  7. Add the necessary IBOutlets to your class. Be sure to include @synthesize and -dealloc (if not using ARC).
  8. Connect the XIB or UIStoryboard to the class. Connections must be made to the UITableViewCell object in the left-hand view hierarchy window rather than "File's Owner." Cells have no owner.
  9. (Optional but recommended) In your header and implementation files, add a designated setup method. For example -setupWithPerson:(Person *)aPerson;. This method should set up the cell's subviews with the given parameter(s).

###Using custom cells

In order to get an RBSmartTableViewCell subclass, use +cellForTableView: and pass in the table view you are going to put the cell in. From there, you can customize the cell by using it's designated customizer method, if any, or by modifying its IBOutlets directly.

If you use a setup method, then your -tableView:cellForRowAtIndexPath: method should look something like this:

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)aTableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {

    RBPersonCell * cell = [RBPersonCell cellForTableView:aTableView];
    Person * person = (Person *)[self personForRowAtIndexPath:indexPath];
    [cell setupCellWithPerson:person];
    
    return cell;
}

As you can see from the above code snippet, RBSmartTableViewCells can be created and set up for use in as little as three to four lines of code. This is possible because all the production code has been abstracted away into the cell itself.

##Extras

I have included some RBSmartTableViewCell subclasses for samples and for use as is. Since these classes are generic, they do not have a designated setup methods. They are also created from XIBs, so they do not have an -init method either. These provided table view cells may be used to replace the standard UITableViewCells.

##License

RBSmartTableViewCell is licensed under the MIT license, which is reproduced in its entirety here:

Copyright (c) 2012 Robert Brown

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.