ProMotion Build Status

A new way to easily build RubyMotion apps.

ProMotion is a RubyMotion gem that makes iOS development more like Ruby and less like Objective-C.

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Tutorials

http://www.clearsightstudio.com/insights/ruby-motion-promotion-tutorial

Screencasts

http://www.clearsightstudio.com/insights/tutorial-make-youtube-video-app-rubymotion-promotion/

Sample Apps

This is pretty bare-bones, but we'll be building it out as we go along.

https://github.com/jamonholmgren/promotion-demo

Apps Built With ProMotion

BigDay! Reminder App

Check out the free BigDay! Reminder app on the App Store to see what's possible. ClearSight Studio built the app for Kijome Software, a small app investment company.

TipCounter App

TipCounter was built by Matt Brewer for bartenders and servers to easily track their tips. Used ProMotion and the development was a lot of fun!

Winston-Salem Crime Map

Have an interest in crime statistics and locations? Live in Winston-Salem, NC? This hyper-local and open source RubyMotion app uses a mixture custom UIViewControllers and ProMotion for ease of attribute setting and adding views. Check it out on the App Store or fork it and contribute!

Getting Started

ProMotion is designed to be as intuitive and Ruby-like as possible. For example, here is a typical app folder structure:

app/
  screens/
    events/
      list_events_screen.rb
      show_event_screen.rb
      edit_event_screen.rb
    home_screen.rb
    settings_screen.rb
  models/
    event.rb
  views/
    buttons/
      save_event_button.rb
  app_delegate.rb

Setup

Create a new RubyMotion project.

motion create myapp

Open it in your favorite editor, then go into your Rakefile and modify the top to look like the following:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
$:.unshift("/Library/RubyMotion/lib")
require 'motion/project/template/ios'
require 'bundler'
Bundler.require

Create a Gemfile and add the following lines:

source 'https://rubygems.org'
gem "ProMotion", "~> 0.6.2"

Run bundle install in Terminal to install ProMotion.

Go into your app/app_delegate.rb file and replace everything with the following:

class AppDelegate < ProMotion::Delegate
  def on_load(app, options)
    open HomeScreen.new(nav_bar: true)
  end
end

Make sure you remove the didFinishLoadingWithOptions method or call super in it. Otherwise ProMotion won't get set up and on_load won't be called.

Create a folder in /app named screens. Create a file in that folder named home_screen.rb.

Now drop in this code:

class HomeScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  title "Home"

  def will_appear
    set_attributes self.view, {
      backgroundColor: UIColor.whiteColor
    }
  end
end

Run rake. You should now see the simulator open with your home screen and a navigation bar like the image below. Congrats!

ProMotion Home Screen

What's New?

Version 0.6

  • Will auto-detect if you've loaded motion-xray and enable it.
  • Added open_split_screen for iPad-supported apps (thanks @rheoli for your contributions to this)
  • Added refreshable to TableScreens (thanks to @markrickert) for pull-to-refresh support.
  • ProMotion::AppDelegateParent renamed to ProMotion::Delegate (AppDelegateParent is an alias)
  • set_attributes and add now apply nested attributes recursively
  • set_attributes and add now accept snake_case instead of camelCase methods (e.g., background_color)
  • Added add_to method for adding views to any parent view. remove works with this normally.
  • Deprecated Console.log and replaced with PM::Logger
  • Many improvements to how screens and navigation controllers are loaded, tests

Usage

Creating a basic screen

class HomeScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  title "Home"

  def on_load
    # Load data
  end

  def will_appear
    # Set up the elements in your view with add
    @label ||= add UILabel.alloc.initWithFrame(CGRectMake(5, 5, 20, 20))
  end

  def on_appear
    # Everything's loaded and visible
  end
end

Loading your first screen

# In app/app_delegate.rb
class AppDelegate < ProMotion::Delegate
  def on_load(app, options)
    open MyHomeScreen.new(nav_bar: true)
  end
end

Creating a split screen (iPad apps only)

# In app/app_delegate.rb
class AppDelegate < ProMotion::Delegate
  def on_load(app, options)
    open_split_screen MenuScreen, DetailScreen
  end
end

Creating a tab bar

Creating a tabbed bar with multiple screens. This will set the tab bar as the root view controller for your app, so keep that in mind. It can be done from the AppDelegate#on_load or from a screen (that screen will go away, though).

def on_load(app, options)
  @home     = MyHomeScreen.new(nav_bar: true)
  @settings = SettingsScreen.new
  @contact  = ContactScreen.new(nav_bar: true)

  open_tab_bar @home, @settings, @contact
end

For each screen that belongs to the tab bar, you need to set the tab name and icon in the files. In this example, we would need add the following to the three files (my_home_screen.rb, settings_screen.rb, contact_screen.rb):

def on_load
  set_tab_bar_item title: "Tab Name Goes Here", icon: "icons/tab_icon.png" # in resources/icons folder

  # or...
  set_tab_bar_item system_icon: UITabBarSystemItemContacts
end

To programmatically switch to a different tab, use open_tab.

def some_action
  open_tab "Contacts"
end

Add navigation bar buttons

These two methods add the buttons to the top navigation bar of a screen. The action: lets you specify a method to call when that button is tapped, and you can pass in a UIBarButton style using type:.

set_nav_bar_right_button "Save", action: :save_something, type: UIBarButtonItemStyleDone
set_nav_bar_left_button "Cancel", action: :return_to_some_other_screen, type: UIBarButtonItemStylePlain

If you pass an instance of a UIImage, the UIBarButton will automatically display with that image instead of text. Don't forget retina and landscape versions of your image!

If you pass :system for the title, then you can get a system item. E.g.:

set_nav_bar_right_button nil, action: :add_something, system_icon: UIBarButtonSystemItemAdd

Additionally, if you pass an instance of a UIBarButtonItem, the UIBarButton will automatically display that particular button item.

set_nav_bar_left_button self.editButtonItem

Opening and closing screens

If the user taps something and you want to open a new screen, it's easy. Just use open and pass in the screen class or an instance of that screen.

def settings_button_tapped
  # ...with a class...
  open SettingsScreen

  # ...or with an instance...
  @settings_screen = SettingsScreen.new
  open @settings_screen
end

You can also open a screen as a modal.

open SettingsScreen.new, modal: true

You can pass in arguments to other screens if they have accessors:

class HomeScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  # ...

  def settings_button_tapped
    open ProfileScreen.new(user: some_user)
  end
end

class ProfileScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  attr_accessor :user

  def on_load
    self.user # => some_user instance
  end
end

Closing a screen is as easy as can be.

# User taps a button, indicating they want to close this screen.
def close_screen_tapped
  close
end

You can close a screen (modal or in a nav controller) and pass back arguments to the previous screen's "on_return" method:

class ItemScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  # ...
  def save_and_close
    if @model.save
      close(model_saved: true)
    end
  end
end

class MainScreen < ProMotion::Screen
  # ...
  def on_return(args = {})
    if args[:model_saved]
      self.reload_something
    end
  end
end

Note about split screens and universal apps

It's common to want to open a screen in the same navigation controller if on iPhone but in a separate detail view when on iPad. Here's a good way to do that.

class MenuScreen < ProMotion::TableScreen
  # ...
  def some_action
    open SomeScreen.new, in_detail: true
  end
end

The in_detail option tells ProMotion to look for a split screen and open in the detail screen if it's available. If not, open normally. This also works for in_master:.

Adding view elements

Any view item (UIView, UIButton, custom UIView subclasses, etc) can be added to the current view with add. add accepts a second argument which is a hash of attributes that get applied to the element before it is dropped into the view.

add(view, attr={})

@label = add UILabel.new, {
  text: "This is awesome!",
  font: UIFont.systemFontOfSize(18),
  resize: [ :left, :right, :top, :bottom, :width, :height ], # autoresizingMask
  left: 5, # These four attributes are used with CGRectMake
  top: 5,
  width: 20,
  height: 20
}

@element = add UIView.alloc.initWithFrame(CGRectMake(0, 0, 20, 20)), {
  backgroundColor: UIColor.whiteColor
}

The set_attributes method is identical to add except that it does not add it to the current view. If you use snake_case and there isn't an existing method, it'll try camelCase. This allows you to use snake_case for Objective-C methods.

set_attributes(view, attr={})

@element = set_attributes UIView.alloc.initWithFrame(CGRectMake(0, 0, 20, 20)), {
  # `background_color` is translated to `backgroundColor` automatically.
  background_color: UIColor.whiteColor
}

You can use add_to to add a view to any other view, not just the main view.

add_to(parent_view, new_view, attr={})

add_to @some_parent_view, UIView.alloc.initWithFrame(CGRectMake(0, 0, 20, 20)), {
  backgroundColor: UIColor.whiteColor
}

Table Screens

You can create sectioned table screens easily with TableScreen, SectionedTableScreen, and GroupedTableScreen.

class SettingsScreen < ProMotion::GroupedTableScreen
  title "Settings"

  def on_load
    set_nav_bar_right_button("Save", action: :save)
    set_tab_bar_item(title: "Settings", icon: "settings.png")
  end

  # table_data is automatically called. Use this format in the return value.
  # It's an array of cell groups, each cell group consisting of a title and an array of cells.
  def table_data
    [{
      title: "Your Account",
      cells: [
        { title: "Edit Profile", action: :edit_profile, arguments: { id: 3 } },
        { title: "Log Out", action: :log_out },
        { title: "Notification Settings", action: :notification_settings }
      ]
    }, {
      title: "App Stuff",
      cells: [
        { title: "About", action: :show_about },
        { title: "Feedback", action: :show_feedback }
      ]
    }]
  end

  # This method allows you to create a "jumplist", the index on the right side of the table
  def table_data_index
    # Ruby magic to make an alphabetical array of letters.
    # Try this in Objective-C and tell me you want to go back.
    return ("A".."Z").to_a
  end

  # Your table cells, when tapped, will execute the corresponding actions
  # and pass in the specified arguments.
  def edit_profile(args={})
    puts args[:id] # => 3
  end
end

You can provide remotely downloaded images for cells by including the CocoaPod "SDWebImage" in your Rakefile and doing this:

  cells: [
    {
      title: "Cell with image",
      remote_image: { url: "http://placekitten.com/200/300", placeholder: "some-local-image" }
    }
  ]

Using your own UIViewController

Sometimes you want to inherit from a different UIViewController other than that provided by ProMotion, such as when using Formotion. RubyMotion doesn't currently allow us to override built-in methods when including them as a module. And we really need to override viewDidLoad and others.

Fortunately, there's a workaround for that.

class EventsScreen < Formotion::FormController # Can also be < UIViewController
  include ProMotion::ScreenModule # Not TableScreenModule since we're using Formotion for that

  # Required functions for ProMotion to work properly

  def viewDidLoad
    super
    self.view_did_load if self.respond_to?(:view_did_load)
  end

  def viewWillAppear(animated)
    super
    self.view_will_appear(animated) if self.respond_to?("view_will_appear:")
  end

  def viewDidAppear(animated)
    super
    self.view_did_appear(animated) if self.respond_to?("view_did_appear:")
  end

  def viewWillDisappear(animated)
    self.view_will_disappear(animated) if self.respond_to?("view_will_disappear:")
    super
  end

  def viewDidDisappear(animated)
    self.view_did_disappear(animated) if self.respond_to?("view_did_disappear:")
    super
  end

  def shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation(orientation)
    self.should_rotate(orientation)
  end

  def shouldAutorotate
    self.should_autorotate
  end

  def willRotateToInterfaceOrientation(orientation, duration:duration)
    self.will_rotate(orientation, duration)
  end

  def didRotateFromInterfaceOrientation(orientation)
    self.on_rotate
  end
end

Reference

Screen

Method Description
is_modal? Returns if the screen was opened in a modal window.
self Returns the Screen which is a subclass of UIViewController or UITableViewController
has_nav_bar? Returns if the screen is contained in a navigation controller.
set_tab_bar_item(args) Creates the tab that is shown in a tab bar item.
Arguments: { icon: "imagename", systemIcon: UISystemIconContacts, title: "tabtitle" }
on_appear Callback for when the screen appears.
will_appear Callback for before the screen appears.
This is a good place to put your view constructors, but be careful that you don't add things more than on subsequent screen loads.
will_disappear Callback for before the screen disappears.
will_rotate(orientation, duration) Callback for before the screen rotates.
on_opened **Deprecated** Callback when screen is opened via a tab bar. Please don't use this, as it will be removed in the future
Use will_appear
set_nav_bar_left_button(title, args = {}) Set a left nav bar button.
`title` can be a `String` or a `UIImage`.
set_nav_bar_right_button(title, args = {}) Set a right nav bar button.
`title` can be a `String` or a `UIImage`.
should_autorotate (iOS 6) return true/false if screen should rotate.
Defaults to true.
should_rotate(orientation) (iOS 5) Return true/false for rotation to orientation.
title Returns title of current screen.
title=(title) Sets title of current screen.
You can also set the title like this (not in a method, though):

class SomeScreen
  title "Some screen"

  def on_load
    # ...
  end
end
add(view, attrs = {}) Adds the view to the screen after applying the attributes.
(alias: `add_element`, `add_view`)
Example: add UIInputView.alloc.initWithFrame(CGRectMake(10, 10, 300, 40)), { backgroundColor: UIColor.grayColor }
remove(view) Removes the view from the superview and sets it to nil
(alias: `remove_element`, `remove_view`)
bounds Accessor for self.view.bounds
frame Accessor for self.view.frame
view The main view for this screen.
ios_version Returns the iOS version that is running on the device
app_delegate Returns the AppDelegate
close(args = {}) Closes the current screen, passes args back to the previous screen's on_return method
open_root_screen(screen) Closes all other open screens and opens screen as the root view controller.
open(screen, args = {}) Pushes the screen onto the navigation stack or opens in a modal
Argument options:
nav_bar: true|false
hide_tab_bar: true|false
modal: true|false
close_all: true|false (closes all open screens and opens as root...same as open_root_screen)
animated: true:false (currently only affects modals)
in_tab: "Tab name" (if you're in a tab bar)
Any accessors in screen can also be set in this hash.
open_split_screen(master, detail) *iPad apps only* Opens a UISplitScreenViewController with the specified screens as the root view controller of the current app
open_tab_bar(*screens) Opens a UITabBarController with the specified screens as the root view controller of the current app
open_tab(tab) Opens the tab where the "string" title matches the passed in tab

TableScreen

Has all the methods of Screen

Method Description
searchable(placeholder: "placeholder text") Class method to make the current table searchable. 
refreshable(
  callback: :on_refresh,
  pull_message: "Pull to refresh",
  refreshing: "Refreshing data…",
  updated_format: "Last updated at %s",
  updated_time_format: "%l:%M %p"
)
 Class method to make the current table refreshable.

All parameters are optional. If you do not specify a a callback, it will assume you've implemented an on_refresh method in your tableview.

def on_refresh
  # Code to start the refresh
end

And after you're done with your asyncronous process, call end_refreshing to collapse the refresh view and update the last refreshed time and then update_table_data.

table_data

Method that is called to get the table's cell data and build the table.
Example format using nearly all available options.
Note... if you're getting crazy deep into styling your table cells, you really should be subclassing them and specifying that new class in :cell_class and then providing :cell_class_attributes to customize it.

Performance note... It's best to build this array in a different method and store it in something like @table_data. Then your table_data method just returns that. 

def table_data
  [{
    title: "Table cell group 1",
    cells: [{
      title: "Simple cell",
      action: :this_cell_tapped,
      arguments: { id: 4 }
    }, {
      title: "Crazy Full Featured Cell",
      subtitle: "This is way too huge..see note",
      arguments: { data: [ "lots", "of", "data" ] },
      action: :tapped_cell_1,
      height: 50, # manually changes the cell's height
      cell_style: UITableViewCellStyleSubtitle,
      cell_identifier: "Cell",
      cell_class: ProMotion::TableViewCell,
      masks_to_bounds: true,
      background_color: UIColor.whiteColor,
      selection_style: UITableViewCellSelectionStyleGray,
      cell_class_attributes: {
        # any Obj-C attributes to set on the cell
        backgroundColor: UIColor.whiteColor
      },
      accessory: :switch, # currently only :switch is supported
      accessory_view: @some_accessory_view,
      accessory_type: UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark,
      accessory_checked: true, # whether it's "checked" or not
      image: { image: UIImage.imageNamed("something"), radius: 15 },
      remote_image: {  # remote image, requires SDWebImage CocoaPod
        url: "http://placekitten.com/200/300", placeholder: "some-local-image",
        size: 50, radius: 15
      },
      subviews: [ @some_view, @some_other_view ] # arbitrary views added to the cell
    }]
  }, {
    title: "Table cell group 2",
    cells: [{
      title: "Log out",
      action: :log_out
    }]
  }]
end
update_table_data Causes the table data to be refreshed, such as when a remote data source has been downloaded and processed.

Logger

Accessible from ProMotion.logger or PM.logger ... you can also set a new logger by setting PM.logger = MyLogger.new

Method Description
log(label, message_text, color) Output a colored console message.
Example: PM.logger.log("TESTING", "This is red!", :red)
error(message) Output a red colored console error.
Example: PM.logger.error("This is an error")
deprecated(message) Output a yellow colored console deprecated.
Example: PM.logger.deprecated("This is a deprecation warning.")
warn(message) Output a yellow colored console warning.
Example: PM.logger.warn("This is a warning")
debug(message) Output a purple colored console debug message.
Example: PM.logger.debug(@some_var)
info(message) Output a green colored console info message.
Example: PM.logger.info("This is an info message")

Console [deprecated]

Method Description
log(log, with_color:color)
[DEPRECATED] -- use Logger 		Class method to output a colored console message.
Example: ProMotion::Console.log("This is red!", with_color: ProMotion::Console::RED_COLOR)

Help

If you need help, feel free to ping me on twitter @jamonholmgren or open a ticket on GitHub. Opening a ticket is usually the best and we respond to those pretty quickly.

Contributing

I'm very open to ideas. Tweet me with your ideas or open a ticket (I don't mind!) and let's discuss.

Working on Features

  1. Clone the repos into Your-Project/Vendor/ProMotion
  2. Update your Gemfileto reference the project as gem 'ProMotion', :path => "vendor/ProMotion/"
  3. Run bundle
  4. Run rake clean and then rake
  5. Contribute!

Submitting a Pull Request

  1. Fork the project
  2. Create a feature branch
  3. Code
  4. Update or create new specs
  5. Make sure tests are passing by running rake spec
  6. Submit pull request
  7. Fame, adoration, kudos everywhere

Primary Contributors