Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
In general, you can use the iOS application templates to get started with app design, but the templates provide a
small sample of many possible alternative app architectures. You can create simple applications by working with
them as is, but to create more complex apps, you need to understand how to modify, customize, and extend the
default nib files.
So it's important to think of IB as an object manager and not just as a UI design tool. You use IB to define an ob-
ject hierarchy, with optional elements that can be loaded when needed. If you think of IB as the equivalent of a
desktop publishing package for UI design, you'll miss this key feature, and app design will remain more chal-
lenging than it needs to be.
TIP
A good rule of thumb for a custom hierarchy is to put the main navigation controller object in the
MainWin-
dow.xib
file with the UIWindow and create separate nibs for other views and view controllers as needed. Re-
member to set subclasses correctly in IB and create links, and the application should work as expected. Sub-
classing is explained in Chapter 8.
Getting Started with IB
To begin exploring IB, create a new project using an OS X or iOS application template, as described in Chapter
3. In this example, I use the iOS view-based application as a starting point. Save the application as “IB.” Open
