UIStoryboard Best Practice

Are you familiar the this syntax when you try to initiate a view controller programmatically?

if let homeViewController = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "HomeViewController") as? HomeViewController {
    present(homeViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
}

guard let homeViewController = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "HomeViewController") as? HomeViewController
else {
    return
}

present(homeViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)

Sometimes we may found that a typo mistake on the string will crash the app. So with objective-C background we may improve it in a better version. :)

guard let homeViewController = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: String(describing: HomeViewController.self)) as? HomeViewController
    else {
        return
}

It seems to be better but still not what we want.

Introducing UIViewController Protocol Extension

With the protocol and extension in the example project, now you can use a much cleaner way to instantiate your view controller. :)

A good practice may be create only one view controller in one storyboard, sound silly but it will reduce a lot of pain when comes to git control.

For example, the storyboard will has the same name as the view controller.

Way to instantiate

let viewController: SecondViewController = instantiateViewController()
viewController.identifier = SecondViewController.viewControllerIdentifier

present(viewController, animated: true, completion: nil)

You also can create multiple view controller in a storyboard.

Example: Enter your storyboard name in UIStoryboard Extension

enum Storyboard: String {
        case main
        ...

Now you can instatiate your view controller by this way

let viewController: ViewControllerA = instantiateViewController(withParentStoryboard: .main)
viewController.viewAIdentifier = ViewControllerA.viewControllerIdentifier

navigationController?.pushViewController(viewController, animated: true)

Not only view controller can use the protocol, UITableViewCell can fully utilized the protocol.

UITableViewCell

Replace

tableView.register(CustomTableViewCell.self(), forCellReuseIdentifier: String(describing: CustomTableViewCell.self))

and

tableView.register(UINib(nibName: String(describing: CustomTableViewCell.self), bundle: nil), forCellReuseIdentifier: String(describing: CustomTableViewCell.self))

with

tableView.registerCell(CustomTableViewCell.self)

and

tableView.registerCellNib(CustomTableViewCell.self)

Replace

guard let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: String(describing: CustomTableViewCell.self), for: indexPath) as? CustomTableViewCell else { return UITableViewCell() }

with

let cell: CustomTableViewCell = tableView.dequeueCell(forIndexPath: indexPath)

Neat and easy right? : ) wish you like it.

Not only this! Now you are able to get view from nib file easily!!!

replace

let view = Bundle.main.loadNibNamed(String(describing: CustomNibView.self), owner: nil, options: nil)!.first as! CustomNibView

with

let view: CustomNibView = UIView.instantiateNib()

Ideas come from

AndyyHope - UIStoryboard: Safer with Enums, Protocol Extensions and Generics
Stan Ostrovskiy - Xcode: A Better Way to Deal with Storyboards
Natasha The Robot - Swift 3.0 Refactoring Cues

Thanks.

jasonchan91 / uistoryboard_best_practice Goto Github PK