Trying to set UIControl objects' frames through a function - objective-c

Question

I'm trying to create a function to change the size of something like a UILabel or UIButton without having to type the three lines out every time. This is what I have.
-(void)setObject:(UIControl*)object SizeWidth:(NSInteger)width Height:(NSInteger)height
{
CGRect labelFrame = object.frame;
labelFrame.size = CGSizeMake(width, height);
object.frame = labelFrame;
}
However, when I give (UIControl*)object a UILabel, it says "incompatible pointer types". How can I fix this to work for anything I can put on a UIView?

Answer 1

UILabel is not a subclass of UIControl, it inherits from UIView.
Try changing UIControl to UIView:
-(void)setObject:(UIView*)object SizeWidth:(NSInteger)width Height:(NSInteger)height
{
CGRect labelFrame = object.frame;
labelFrame.size = CGSizeMake(width, height);
object.frame = labelFrame;
}
(UIControl inherits from UIView anyway, and frame is a UIView property)

Answer 2

Label is not a subclass of UIControl. You can use UIView in place of UIControl.
Here is the hierarchy for UILabel
UILabel: UIView : UIResponder : NSObject
-(void)setObject:(UIView*)object SizeWidth:(NSInteger)width Height:(NSInteger)height
{
CGRect labelFrame = object.frame;
labelFrame.size = CGSizeMake(width, height);
object.frame = labelFrame;
}
One suggestion for you is, the method name seems kind of odd to me. You can write a simple category to update the size for UIView. With the following category you can simply call
[myLabel setWidth:20 andHeight:20];
In UIView + MyCategory.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#interface UIView (MyCategory)
- (void)setWidth:(NSInteger)aWidth andHeight:(NSInteger)aHeight;
#end
In UIView + MyCategory.m
#import "UIView + MyCategory.h"
#implementation UIView (MyCategory)
- (void)setWidth:(NSInteger)aWidth andHeight:(NSInteger)aHeight;
{
CGRect frameToUpdate = self.frame;
frameToUpdate.size = CGSizeMake(aWidth, aHeight);
self.frame = frameToUpdate;
}
#end

Answer 3

And to address the actual problem you're trying to solve, I highly recommend using this set of helpers https://github.com/kreeger/BDKGeometry

Answer 4

Following Obj-C style conventions (as selecting the right tools for the job) make it more efficient for others to read and comprehend our code. The Objective-C style here needs a bit of cleanup. See my notes after the source if you're interested. On to a more concise way to do this:
You can go the class method route (perhaps in a view manipulation class)
#implementation CCViewGeometry
+ (void)adjustView:(UIView *)view toSize:(CGSize)size
{
CGRect frame = view.frame;
frame.size = size;
view.frame = frame;
}
#end
or the UIView category route
#implementation UIView (CCGeometry)
- (void)resize:(CGSize)size
{
CGRect frame = self.frame;
frame.size = size;
self.frame = frame;
}
#end
Style notes pertinent to code found on this page:
All method params should begin with a lower-case char.
setFoo: is used in #property synthesis & by convention your method name indicates setting a property named object to the value of object. You're setting the size, not the object itself.
Be explicit. Why have a method called setObject: when you know the general type of object being passed?
Width & height in UIKit are represented (rightly) by CGFloat, not NSInteger. Why pass width + height instead of CGSize anyway?
Try using class methods when state is not required. + is your friend. Don't fire up instances for every little thing (most singleton methods I see in ObjC code should be refactored as class methods).
The programmers that don't care about the little things end up with unmaintainable code—code that will slow them and those that come after them down. Convention and style matter a lot on any decent-sized project.