UITableView vs. UITableViewController

Question

Hi,

Can someone explain to me the advantages of a UITableViewController over a UITableView. Generally I use the controller but the basic table view seems alot more flexible.

Answer 1

I don't think you understand your own question.

The UITableViewController is a controller.

The UITableView is a view.

One isn't better than the other, they're completely different objects, used for completely different things.

I'd spend some time learning the Model-View-Controller pattern so prevalent throuought Cocoa and the iPhone SDK.

The Model-View-Controller Design Pattern

Answer 2

The link above returns a "Page Not Found." For some reason, even the corrected link returns a "Page Not Found" when hyperlinked (perhaps Apple doesn't allow linking into their developer site).

To find the relevant information, go to Apple's Developer Connection (http://developer.apple.com/index.html) and search on "cocoa model-view-controller design pattern".

In the table of results, select the "Cocoa Fundamentals Guide: Cocoa Design Patterns." On that page scroll down the Table of Contents on the left side until you see the item "The Model-View-Controller Design Pattern." Select that item to read more details about that particular design pattern.

Answer 3

The idea is that ViewControllers hold a tree of subviews (and sub viewcontrollers) and manages dispatching events to/from its subviews. For example, you might have a view that holds an image, and that view lives in a view controller that handles orientation changes and memory warnings, etc.