A while ago I noticed an interesting API for creating a UINib object from data:
+ (UINib *)nibWithData:(NSData *)data bundle:(NSBundle *)bundleOrNil
At the time I didn’t have a use for it, until this exchange occurred on Twitter:
The resulting exchange was very fruitful, including this gem from ex-Apple employee Michael Jurewitz :
So I wouldn’t recommend using this in a shipping application, but I wanted to see if it worked. I created a simple app that loads a nib from a website, then tries to initialize a view controller’s view using it. You can view the whole project on GitHub , but here’s the relevant code:
//
// JKAppDelegate.m
// RemoteNibLoading
//
// Created by Jeff Kelley on 1/2/13.
// Copyright (c) 2013 Jeff Kelley. All rights reserved.
//
#import "JKAppDelegate.h"
#import "JKLoadingViewController.h"
#import "JKRemoteNibViewController.h"
static NSString * const kRemoteNibURL = @"http://www.slaunchaman.com/JKRemoteNibViewController.nib";
@implementation JKAppDelegate
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
[self setWindow:[[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]]];
[[self window] setBackgroundColor:[UIColor whiteColor]];
[[self window] makeKeyAndVisible];
JKLoadingViewController *loadingViewController = [[JKLoadingViewController alloc] initWithNibName:nil
bundle:nil];
[[self window] setRootViewController:loadingViewController];
// Load the remote nib
NSURL *remoteNibURL = [NSURL URLWithString:kRemoteNibURL];
NSURLRequest *nibRequest = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:remoteNibURL
cachePolicy:NSURLRequestReloadIgnoringLocalCacheData
timeoutInterval:60.0];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] setNetworkActivityIndicatorVisible:YES];
[NSURLConnection sendAsynchronousRequest:nibRequest
queue:[NSOperationQueue mainQueue]
completionHandler:^(NSURLResponse *response,
NSData *data,
NSError *error) {
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] setNetworkActivityIndicatorVisible:NO];
if (data) {
UINib *remoteNib = [UINib nibWithData:data bundle:nil];
if (remoteNib) {
JKRemoteNibViewController *remoteNibViewController =
[[JKRemoteNibViewController alloc] init];
// Load the nib, which will set up the view controller bindings
[remoteNib instantiateWithOwner:remoteNibViewController options:nil];
[[self window] setRootViewController:remoteNibViewController];
}
else {
[[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error"
message:@"Could not create nib from data."
delegate:nil
cancelButtonTitle:@"Aww, shucks."
otherButtonTitles:nil] show];
}
}
else {
if (error) {
[[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error"
message:[error localizedDescription]
delegate:nil
cancelButtonTitle:@"OK"
otherButtonTitles:nil] show];
}
}
}];
return YES;
}
@endWould I recommend using this in a shipping app? Absolutely not, given Jury’s recommendations. But it is an interesting idea for enterprise, in-house, or jailbreak apps, and I can see the possibility for some very cool stuff to come out of it.
