Picker Controls

Abstract

In Chapter 7, you looked at a number of basic controls that allow your user to input data to your app. Ultimately, controls are all about either putting data in or rendering data out. In this chapter, you’ll explore some more sophisticated data entry controls in which the user is given the ability to enter complex information by choosing it from a list. This process, in iOS generally called “picking,” presents the user with a list of information from which the user picks what they want. A common form of picking is to choose a date using separate spinners for day, month, and year, instead of having the user type them in. Xcode provides a control for that, which you’ll look at first. You’ll then learn how to use the generic “UIPicker” control to create your own set of input options, rendered in the same way, and how to catch the user’s input from it.