Zhi

Swift Library for Live Reloading Auto Layout Constraints on iOS

Adjust Auto Layout constraints and watch your app update immediately without a rebuild + run cycle.

Save precious time.

Usage

This library allows you to specify your auto layout constraints in separate .styles files. It supports:

• Live reloading of Auto Layout constraints as you save the .styles files, without a rebuild + run cycle
• Apple's Visual Format Language: H:[p(==v2)]|
• Support an equations-based syntax: v1.width = v2.width + 10

In addition, the .styles files also support:

• Metrics can be specified
• Colors — rgb(), rgba() or named colors in UIColor, e.g. red
• Image filenames
• Button title and label text
• Font name, size
• Dynamic type style names, e.g. callout or caption1
• and more

This means that you can tweak these properties without rebuilding your app during development.

WARNING: Setting of properties like colors are best used in style files only during development. Ship style files that only contains instructions for Auto Layout.

There is an example app included in the repository.

Setup

The library works best if you style based on UIViewController subclasses.

Refer to Installation to install the library

1. Create a UIViewController subclass

2. Add a property: lazy var styler = zhiCreateStyler()

3. Override viewDidLoad() and create a mainView and add it to the view controller's view. You will add all other subviews to mainView instead of the view controller's view directory:

    mainView.frame = view.bounds
    mainView.autoresizingMask = [.flexibleWidth, .flexibleHeight]
    view.addSubview(mainView)
   

4. Add the following to the end of viewDidLoad() (replacing the value for views and metrics accordingly):

    styler.views = ["celf": mainView, "v1": v1, "v2": v2]
    styler.metrics = ["m": 100, "k": 50]
    styler.keepTranslateAutoResizingMaskForView = mainView
    styler.liveReload(view: view)
    view.setNeedsUpdateConstraints()
   

5. Override updateViewConstraints():

    override func updateViewConstraints() {
        styler.style(view: mainView)
        super.updateViewConstraints()
    }
   

6. In your app delegate, add (during development):

   Zhi.Styler.logEnabled = true

7. Create a directory call Styles and create 1 style file for each view controller. If your view controller called MyViewController, name the file MyViewController.styles

This is enough to get the library to style your view controller.

To get live reload to work, you need to pass in the path of the directory containing your styles to the library. The cleanest way to do this without duplication is to specify it in your Info.plist file.

1. In Xcode project settings for your target, click Build Settings
2. Click the + button to add a User-Defined Setting.
3. Name the setting STYLES_DIRECTORY
4. Set the value to the Styles/ directory. eg.: $(SRCROOT)/ZhiExample/Styles/
5. Delete the value for all release builds. (When this value is empty, the library will not attempt to live reload styles). See example.
6. Open your Info.plist file (or click Info in project settings)
7. Add a property called STYLES_DIRECTORY
8. Set the value to: $(STYLES_DIRECTORY). See example.

Styles Files Syntax

---

Styles files are line-based. Empty lines are ignored

Comments start with a single #

# This is a comment

Metrics start with ##

##m1=80

Visual Format Language:

H:|[v1][v2]-m1-|

Equation-based syntax:

v1.width = v2.width*2

Properties:

v1.backgroundColor = rgb(90, 200, 250)

i.backgroundColor = gray
i.contentMode = scaleAspectFill
i.clipsToBounds = true
i.image = color.jpeg

b.title = Tap Me
b.textStyle = largeTitle

l.fontName = Thonburi
l.fontSize = 30
l.numberOfLines = 0

Quirks & Gotchas

Constraints especially those written in Visual Format Language are passed directly to to Auto Layout, so errors might crash the app like it normally does.

This library is currently only for iOS.

Installation

Zhi is available through CocoaPods.

CocoaPods

In order to install Zhi using CocoaPods, add the following line to your Podfile:

pod "Zhi"

Dependencies

• KZFileWatchers

License

BSD 2-clause. See LICENSE file.

More

Zhi is based on my previous library purplish-layout written in RubyMotion. It's also inspired by @twerth's rmq (also in RubyMotion). Some of the parsing code is shamelessly lifted from @marcoarment's CompactConstraint

Questions

• Email: hboon@motionobj.com
• Web: http://hboon.com/zhi
• Twitter: @hboon