The New Features of

UIKIT - The User Interface Kit Where Curiosity Meets Cocoa!


UIKit is the largest iPhone framework in terms of file size, and rightly so-it`s responsible for all user interface functions from creating windows and text boxes to reading multitouch gestures and hardware sensors. All of the graphical pleasantries that make the iPhone seem easy-to-use rely on the UIKit framework to deliver a polished and unified interface. The same UIKit APIs are available to all iPhone applications, and understanding how to use this framework will allow you to take advantage of the same tools that make Apple`s own stock apps spectacular.UIKit is more than a mere user interface kit; it is also the runtime foundation for iPhone GUI applications. When an application is launched, its main function instantiates a UIApplication object within UIKit. This class is the base class for all applications having a user interface on the iPhone, and it provides the application access to the iPhone`s higher-level functions. In addition to this, common application-level services such as suspend, resume, and termination are functions of the UIApplication object. To tap into the UIKit, your application must be linked to the UIKit framework. As a framework, UIKit is a type of shared library. So, using the compiler tool chain, UIKit can be linked to your application by adding arguments to the compiler arguments. UIKit supports the following basic user interface elements: Windows and Views Windows and views are the base classes for creating any type of user interface. A window represents a geometric space on a screen, while a view acts like a container for other objects. Smaller user interface components, such as navigation bars, buttons, and text boxes are all attached to a view, and that view is anchored to a window. Think of a window as the frame of a painting and the view as the actual canvas. A window can only frame up one view, but views can contain smaller subviews, including other views. A controlling view is a view that controls how other views are displayed on the screen. The controlling view performs transitions to other views and responds to events occurring on the screen.Text Views Text views are specialized view classes for presenting editor windows to view or edit text or HTML. The Notepad application is a good example of a simple text view. They are considered humble and are rarely used in light of ui kit repertoire of more spectacular user interface tools.