Nearly two years ago,
Apple introduced a capability that would allow developers to visually create
the interface, navigation, and program flow for an iOS app. Storyboards were
first introduced in the October 2011 release of Xcode 4.2. As with many forward-thinking concepts, the
adoption of storyboards by seasoned developers has been a slow process. Do
storyboards help or hinder the development lifecycle? There are two camps as it
relates to the advantages and usefulness of storyboards for developing the user
interface of an iOS app. After all of the dust has settled, it seems that
storyboards may offer developers a distinct advantage.

Welcome to Camp
Storyboards-are-a-waste-of-time

The group of individuals
that see no real value in Xcode storyboards is comprised mostly of seasoned
developers with a high-level of experience designing a user interface with Interface Builder or by using code. Their adversion to Xcode storyboards stems from two
valid points. First, it would take longer to learn a new approach than to
continue creating user interfaces using the tried-and-true methods. Second, the
storyboard interface cannot possibly support all of the capabilities of
developing an interface using code. In other words, if you want to “dumb
down” your apps, go ahead and use storyboards – right?

Top reasons to not use
storyboards (Cons):

  • Project collaberation is nearly impossible.
  • Storyboard views are not reusable.
  • Storyboards are not git compatible.
  • Not always compatible with other display engines and third-party
    toolkits.

Welcome to Camp Storyboards-make-me-more-productive

Most everyone joining the
iOS developer ranks post Xcode 4.2 is using storyboards for creating the user
interface for an iOS app. The downside is that many developers never get an
opportunity to fully appreciate capabilities that go beyond the limitations of
a user interface created within storyboard. The upside, however, is that a
developer can create prototypes of very complex iOS apps before writing a
single line of code. Traditionally, the prototyping begins with napkin doodles and continues with the development of screens in Adobe Photoshop or
other design application.

Top
reasons to use storyboards (Pros):

  • Supports MVC development.
  • Easier to create prototypes.
  • Simple transition to multiple device support.
  • Visual display of entire interface and program flow.

Should you use storyboards?

Obviously,
you should not do anything that would hinder your ability to deliver an iOS app
within scope, on time, and under budget. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to
accept the short-term challenges in anticipation of the long-term benefits. Learning
Xcode storyboards is not difficult. In fact, there are several good tutorials
for developing your first storyboard app – Google it.

The basics

To
use storyboards in your iOS app, select the “Use Storyboards” option in
the new project dialog (Figure A).

Figure A

When
the new project loads, a new file will appear in the project navigation pane (Figure B).
Storyboard files have a .storyboard extension. Selecting the storyboard file in
the project navigation pane opens the storyboard editor. The editor is where
you design and layout the user interface, navigation, and program flow for your
iOS app.

Figure B

A
storyboard is the visual representations of an iOS app’s user interface.
Specifically, a storyboard is comprised of scenes and the transitions between
them. Using storyboard to layout every possible path through an app greatly
reduces the amount of code required to develop a complex multi-screen app.

  • Scenes – All app screens are referred to as scenes. A
    scene corresponds to a single view controller and related views.
  • Segues – All segues
    manage the transition between scenes (Figure C).

Figure C

Storyboards
are the recommended approach for designing the user interface for an iOS app.
Not only do storyboards allow a developer to prototype and prove the flow of an
app, but also reduce the amount of code necessary to support complex
multi-screen iOS apps. The most compelling reason to use storyboards, however,
is to ensure compatibility with future releases of iOS.

Final thoughts

Anyone
new to iOS development will most likely learn to use Xcode storyboards as part
of the “best practices” training from Apple. Seasoned
developers will be challenged with deciding the right time – if at all – to make the leap into
storyboards. While new projects can begin with storyboards, legacy projects
will need to be completely rewritten to support storyboards. Why should you
consider converting to storyboards?

There
are many depreciated methods in iOS 7. Many of these methods relate to the user
interface. Borderless buttons, full-screen layout, and translucent bars are new
to iOS 7. If a developer used code to create these elements and effects in
legacy apps, he or she will need to find alternate methods to render and
control these objects. There will be no shortage of new iOS devices in our
future. Using Xcode storyboards to develop the user interface makes it easier
to support multiple devices. In this particular case, best practices makes best
sense.

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