Over the years, there have been many different approaches to graphical interface builders. Imagine how long it would take to build interfaces with text, buttons, images, and dozens of other controls, and think of all the code you’d need to wade through just to make small changes. textColor = [ UIColor colorWithPatternImage:

For example, in Hour 2, “Introduction to Xcode and the iOS Simulator,” you entered this listing into Xcode to make your iDevice display the text Hello Xcode in the corner of the screen: UILabel *myMessage Using Xcode and the Cocoa toolset, you can program iOS interfaces by hand-instantiating interface objects, defining where they appear on the screen, setting any attributes for the object, and finally, making them visible. In Hour 6, “Model-View-Controller Application Design,” you combine what you’ve learned about Xcode projects, the code editor, Interface Builder, and iOS Simulator for the first time. This hour focuses on navigating Interface Builder and will be key to your success in the rest of the book. Without Interface Builder, creating the most basic interactive applications would be an exercise in frustration. An understanding of IB and its use is as fundamentally important to iOS development as Objective-C. This is a bit of an oversimplification of a tool that previously existed as a standalone application in the Apple Developer Suite.

If you read through Apple’s developer documentation, you’ll see Interface Builder referred to as an “editor” within Xcode. This translates to fewer bugs, less development time, and easier-to-maintain projects. Let’s get it out of the way up front: Yes, Interface Builder (or IB for short) does help you create interfaces for your applications, but it isn’t a just a drawing tool for GUIs it helps you symbolically build application functionality without writing code. Interface Builder provides a visual approach to application interface design that is fun, intuitive, and deceptively powerful. This hour introduces you to Interface Builder: the remarkable user interface editor integrated into Xcode. Although these are certainly important skills for becoming a successful developer, there’s nothing quite like laying out your first iOS application interface and watching it come to life in your hands. Over the past few hours, you’ve become familiar with the core iOS technologies, Xcode projects, and iOS Simulator. How to link interfaces to code with outlets and actions.Ways to make your interface accessible to the visually impaired.Common attributes that can be used to customize interface elements.How to build a user interface using the Object Library.Where Xcode’s Interface Builder fits in the development process.

Ios app interface builder