IOS Auto Layout Demystified

Book excerpt: Completed Updated for iOS 7 and Xcode 5 Auto Layout transforms the way you create iOS user interfaces. As flexible as it is powerful, Auto Layout gives you unprecedented control over your iOS user interfaces. But Auto Layout has a reputation for difficulty. In iOS Auto Layout Demystified, Second Edition, world-renowned iOS developer and author Erica Sadun strips away the confusion, helping you gain Auto Layout mastery the easiest way possible: by example. Fully updated for iOS 7 and Xcode 5, this tutorial delivers everything Sadun's guides are famous for: clear explanations, expert tips, proven best practices--and, above all, plenty of code to learn from and reuse. Step by step, Sadun explains how Auto Layout "thinks," how it works, where it fits, and why it's more useful (and simpler) than you ever imagined. She offers practical solutions for a wide variety of real-world iOS development challenges, plus innovative ways to use Auto Layout to build interactive elements, animations, and more. If you're an experienced iOS developer, this guide will expand your design possibilities, helping you build apps that are superbly usable and intuitive and stand out even in the most crowded marketplace. Coverage includes Mastering Auto Layout's basic concepts, techniques, and approach Defining unambiguous, satisfiable constraints that express your layout exactly how you intend Overcoming obstacles to constraint-based user interface design in Interface Builder Using visual formatting to express how items are laid out vertically and horizontally Making visual formats more flexible with metrics dictionaries and layout options Debugging constraints and deciphering those bewildering Xcode log messages Using descriptive techniques to uncover and express natural relationships in your design Applying iOS Auto Layout techniques in Mac OS X apps too