pass different types eg UIView, UIBUtton to a method

[thephotographer]

hi,

i have a method where i perform common tasks such as changing hidden, alpha, tag etc, but the only way i can see how to do it, is to have one of these methods for each type of object i want to pass to it, so one method to pass a UIView to it, another one for UIButton, another one for UIImageView, etc etc. it becomes a heap of code that is completely repeated, other than the type in the method name.

I tried to put the type in the method name as id, but then i get an error in xcode saying "Property 'alpha' not found on object of type 'id'"

is there a way to just have the one lot of code i can pass anything to, eg UIView, UIBUtton, UIImageView, etc

thanks.

-(void)applyAlphaHiddenIDToView:(UIView*)currentView
{
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] != nil)
        currentView.alpha = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] floatValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:khidden] isEqualToString:@"YES"])
        currentView.hidden = YES;
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] != nil)
        currentView.tag = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] integerValue];
}

-(void)applyAlphaHiddenDisabledIDToButton:(UIButton*)currentButton
{
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] != nil)
        currentButton.alpha = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] floatValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:khidden] isEqualToString:@"YES"])
        currentButton.hidden = YES;
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kenabled] isEqualToString:@"NO"])
        currentButton.enabled = NO;
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] != nil)
        currentButton.tag = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] integerValue];
}

[baja_yu]

Actually, UIButton, UIImageView etc are all subclasses of UIView, so your method can be declared as having a UIView type parameter and you can pass it the others. All the properties you mentioned (tag, alpha, hidden) are all inherited from UIView.

[Duncan C]

Originally Posted by thephotographer

hi,

i have a method where i perform common tasks such as changing hidden, alpha, tag etc, but the only way i can see how to do it, is to have one of these methods for each type of object i want to pass to it, so one method to pass a UIView to it, another one for UIButton, another one for UIImageView, etc etc. it becomes a heap of code that is completely repeated, other than the type in the method name.

I tried to put the type in the method name as id, but then i get an error in xcode saying "Property 'alpha' not found on object of type 'id'"

is there a way to just have the one lot of code i can pass anything to, eg UIView, UIBUtton, UIImageView, etc

thanks.

-(void)applyAlphaHiddenIDToView:(UIView*)currentView
{
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] != nil)
        currentView.alpha = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] floatValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:khidden] isEqualToString:@"YES"])
        currentView.hidden = YES;
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] != nil)
        currentView.tag = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] integerValue];
}

-(void)applyAlphaHiddenDisabledIDToButton:(UIButton*)currentButton
{
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] != nil)
        currentButton.alpha = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] floatValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:khidden] isEqualToString:@"YES"])
        currentButton.hidden = YES;
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kenabled] isEqualToString:@"NO"])
        currentButton.enabled = NO;
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] != nil)
        currentButton.tag = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] integerValue];
}

As baja_yu says, the properties you mention are all properties from UIView, so you're good.

If you want to set properties that are not inherited from UIView, cast your pointer to a different type.

If, for example, you want to set the image and title for a button's normal state, or the value for a slider, you could use code like this:

-(void)applyAlphaHiddenIDEnabledTitleImageToView:(UIView*)currentView
{
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] != nil)
        currentView.alpha = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kalpha] floatValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:khidden] isEqualToString:@"YES"])
        currentView.hidden = YES;
    if ([currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] != nil)
        currentView.tag = [[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kID] integerValue];
    if ([[currentConfigItem valueForKey:kenabled] isEqualToString:@"NO"])
        viewAsButton.enabled = NO;

    //Now look for the tags that apply changes to a button.
    if ([currentView isKindOfClass: [UIButton class])
    {
      //Create a pointer to the view, type-cast as a button
      UIButton* viewAsButton = (UIButton*) currentView;

      NSString* buttonTitle = [currentConfigItem valueForKey:kTitle];
      if (buttonTitle != nil)
        [viewAsButton setTitle buttonTitle forState:  UIControlStateNormal];
      UIImage* buttonImage = [currentConfigItem valueForKey:kImage];
      if (buttonImage != nil)
        [viewAsButton setImage buttonImage forState:  UIControlStateNormal];
    } 
    else if ([currentView isKindOfClass: [UISlider class])
    {
      //Now handle the settings for sliders
      NSNumber* sliderValue = [currentConfigItem valueForKey: kValue];

      if (sliderValue != nil)
        //You can also cast the view to a new class in the assignment,
        //but it's harder to read.
        ((UISlider*)currentView).value = [sliderValue floatValue];
    }
}

[thephotographer]

Ah perfect! thanks Duncan, thats exactly what im after! you always seem to have the answers