AutolayoutExtension

A light weight, clutter-free, declarative syntax to Autolayout. (⚠️ Requires Swift 5.7)

Overview

We all use Autolayout to arrange and position UI components in UIKit. And doing in code is quite an exercise to brain to imagine how this piece of code will take reflect on screen.

We need to think about buttons, labels, various controls, child views. All UI componenets and their relation in between, parent, child, siblings, safe area, layout guides, size classes 🤯.

Let’s try to make this little simpler with some inspiration from SwiftUI and a lesser known friend Swift KeyPaths.

The Point

We all have written code like this.

self.view.addSubview(otherView)
otherView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = true

otherView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
otherView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.trailingAnchor, constant: -16).isActive = true
...

In above code, just to add the leadingAnchor to otherView with respect to view the whole line is very lengthy and wordy.

otherView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.leadingAnchor).isActive = true

What if we just write the same line using.

self.view.anchor(otherView) {
    EqualTo(\.leadingAnchor)
    EqualTo(\.trailingAnchor).constant(-16)
}

Much more clear, concise and readable at a glance.

Map

Native	AutolayoutExtension	Anchor Type
.constraint(equalTo:)	EqualTo	NSLayoutAnchor<Axis>
.constraint(equalTo:constant)	EqualToConstant	NSLayoutDimension
.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualTo:)	GreaterThanOrEqualTo	NSLayoutAnchor<Axis>
.constraint(greaterThanOrEqualTo:constant)	GreaterThanOrEqualToConstant	NSLayoutDimension
.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo:)	LessThanOrEqualTo	NSLayoutAnchor<Axis>
.constraint(lessThanOrEqualTo:Constant)	LessThanOrEqualToConstant	NSLayoutDimension

Modifiers

There 3 in-built constraint modifiers available.

1. .constant(_ constant: CGFloat)
2. .priority(_ priority : UILayoutPriority)
3. .id<ID: Hashable>(_ id: ID)

Example

import AutolayoutExtension
import UIKit

class AView: UIView {
    var condition: Bool = false {
        didSet {
            self.updateLayout()
        }
    }
    
    private var labelTopConstraint: NSLayoutConstraint?
    private var imageBottomConstraint: NSLayoutConstraint?
    
    private lazy var titleLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        return label
    }()
    
    private lazy var imageView: UIImageView = {
        let imageView = UIImageView()
        return imageView
    }()
    
    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)
        configureSubviews()
    }
    
    required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
        super.init(coder: coder)
        configureSubviews()
    }
    
    private func configureSubviews() {
        self.addSubview(titleLabel)
        self.addSubview(imageView)
        
        let topAnchorID = UUID()
        let bottomAnchorID = UUID()
        
        let labelConstraints = self.constraint(titleLabel) {
            EqualTo(\.leadingAnchor)
            EqualTo(\.trailingAnchor)
            EqualTo(\.topAnchor)
                .constant(24)
                .id(topAnchorID)
            EqualToConstant(\.heightAnchor, constant: 32)
        }
        
        let imageConstraints = self.constraint(imageView) {
            EqualTo(\.centerXAnchor)
            GreaterThanOrEqualTo(\.leadingAnchor)
                .constant(12)
            EqualTo(\.topAnchor, with: titleLabel.bottomAnchor)
                .constant(12)
            EqualTo(\.bottomAnchor)
                .priority(.defaultHigh)
                .id(bottomAnchorID)
        }
        
        self.labelTopConstraint = labelConstraints[topAnchorID]
        self.imageBottomConstraint = imageConstraints[bottomAnchorID]
    }
    
    private func updateLayout() {
        self.labelTopConstraint?.constant = condition ? 24 : 32
        self.imageBottomConstraint?.constant = condition ? 24 : 0
        self.layoutIfNeeded()
    }
}