iPhone SDK Application Development

Chapter 10. Advanced UI Kit Design

Chapter 3 introduced the UI Kit framework, which is at the heart of all GUI applications on the iPhone. This chapter covers the more complex and aesthetically rich components of the iPhone’s user interface framework and shows you some advanced techniques to make your own software look as spectacular as Apple’s own preloaded applications.

The following advanced components of UI Kit will be covered:

Common controls

UI Kit provides a set of controls that include switches, buttons, segmented controls, sliders, and more. Controls are used in navigation bars, table cells, and with other visual elements. The UIControl class is the base class for controls, providing standardized events notification, display properties, and values.

Preferences tables and section lists

The UITableView class you were introduced to in Chapter 3 supports alternative layouts to display preferences tables and section lists. Preferences tables are used for managing grouped program settings or displaying structured information. Section lists present a Rolodex-style fashion list of contacts, music, or other indexed data.

Progress and activity indicators

Progress indicators notify the user that an operation is in progress and convey status in the form of spinning icons and thermometers. The application can tell the indicator when to start and stop, and can control the progress bar’s completion.

Activity indicators show the user that an activity is in progress. The application can indicate ...