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Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

jona.than.biz

1–10 of 13 posts

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#2
It seems like a neat project, but I don't really hate Interface Builder that much.

Getting rid of all the glue code is a really nice part of interface builder and this makes it so every UI element I want to use requires at least a couple lines of code.

I also don't like the idea of randomly tweaking numbers and rebuilding to see my whole interface.

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#3
Developer of Pegasus here:

I hear what you say. The idea is not to necessary replace IB, but to provide an alternative.

Next step is to include layout managers (similar to Android/Swing) which will automatically lay out views based on some pre-defined templates (e.g. i*j grid, horizontal, vertical, etc.) which will remove the need for randomly tweaking numbers as you say ;-)

(Said so, this is how a lot of developers tend to work already...)

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#4
Just to add: I'm seeing a lot of click-thrus from Ycombinator onto my site.

This is fantastic and I'm glad people are checking it out. I'm also looking to gather requests and feedback for how it can be improved further.

Right now it's little more than a proof-of-concept with a handful of adapters for the most basic UIKit classes (UILabel, UITextField, etc. but support for UITableView, UIPickerView, etc. is still in the works).

If anyone has any feedback, suggestions and/or criticisms please do leave a comment on the site or post here and I will look into it.

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#6
post #5

Interesting. Have you thought about using JSON to describe views (like in QML)?

It's already something I'm considering for a future release.

Having said that, I'm not sure that the readability of JSON (when producing an interface like in QML) is as straightforward as XML.

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#7
post #3

Developer of Pegasus here: I hear what you say. The idea is not to necessary replace IB, but to provide an alternative. Next step is to include layout managers (similar to Android/Swing) which will automatically lay out views based on some pre-defined templates (e.g. i*j grid, horizontal, vertical, etc.) which will remove the need for randomly tweaking numbers as you say ;-) (Said so, this is how a lot of developers…

Love it. I can't stand IB.

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#8
post #7
post #3

Developer of Pegasus here: I hear what you say. The idea is not to necessary replace IB, but to provide an alternative. Next step is to include layout managers (similar to Android/Swing) which will automatically lay out views based on some pre-defined templates (e.g. i*j grid, horizontal, vertical, etc.) which will remove the need for randomly tweaking numbers as you say ;-) (Said so, this is how a lot of developers…

Love it. I can't stand IB.

Thanks. Please do follow the repo and check back on the site in the coming days and weeks as I will be providing a LOT of updates which will (hopefully!) make writing an interface in XML just as functional (if not more so) as writing it in ObjC/designing it in IB.

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#9
I'll bite.. why describe your UI in XML when interface builder does it for you? How does pegasus deal with localizing your UI in different languages? This seems a bit like reinventing the wheel for very little benefit.

Who is the target developer? A new developer to the platform or an experienced one?

Re: Pegasus for Cocoa Touch - Framework to build UIKit view hierarchies in XML

#10
post #6
post #5

Interesting. Have you thought about using JSON to describe views (like in QML)?

It's already something I'm considering for a future release. Having said that, I'm not sure that the readability of JSON (when producing an interface like in QML) is as straightforward as XML.

Well I personally find JSON easier to read and write than XML. Though it might be different for some people, I don't know. It would differentiate the whole thing a bit more from the usual XML approach by interface builder.
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