Compare method
Either you implement a compare-method for your object:
- (NSComparisonResult)compare:(Person *)otherObject {
return [self.birthDate compare:otherObject.birthDate];
}
NSArray *sortedArray = [drinkDetails sortedArrayUsingSelector:@selector(compare:)];
NSSortDescriptor (better)
or usually even better:
NSSortDescriptor *sortDescriptor;
sortDescriptor = [[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:@"birthDate"
ascending:YES];
NSArray *sortedArray = [drinkDetails sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:@[sortDescriptor]];
You can easily sort by multiple keys by adding more than one to the array. Using custom comparator-methods is possible as well. Have a look at the documentation.
Blocks (shiny!)
There's also the possibility of sorting with a block since Mac OS X 10.6 and iOS 4:
NSArray *sortedArray;
sortedArray = [drinkDetails sortedArrayUsingComparator:^NSComparisonResult(Person *a, Person *b) {
return [a.birthDate compare:b.birthDate];
}];
Performance
The -compare: and block-based methods will be quite a bit faster, in general, than using NSSortDescriptor as the latter relies on KVC. The primary advantage of the NSSortDescriptor method is that it provides a way to define your sort order using data, rather than code, which makes it easy to e.g. set things up so users can sort an NSTableView by clicking on the header row.
There is also an easier way to access the view instead of dealing with the nib as an array.
1) Create a custom View subclass with any outlets that you want to have access to later. --MyView
2) in the UIViewController that you want to load and handle the nib, create an IBOutlet property that will hold the loaded nib's view, for instance
in MyViewController (a UIViewController subclass)
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIView *myViewFromNib;
(dont forget to synthesize it and release it in your .m file)
3) open your nib (we'll call it 'myViewNib.xib') in IB, set you file's Owner to MyViewController
4) now connect your file's Owner outlet myViewFromNib to the main view in the nib.
5) Now in MyViewController, write the following line:
[[NSBundle mainBundle] loadNibNamed:@"myViewNib" owner:self options:nil];
Now as soon as you do that, calling your property "self.myViewFromNib" will give you access to the view from your nib!
Best Answer
Have you considered Core Animation layers? You can create a single view with a grid of layers each with their own bounds and position within the view. It sounds like it might give you what you need. On the phone, setting a layer's contents with an image is as simple as this:
The variable gridImage is a UIImage* you've allocated somewhere. You would just need to calculate your layer rects and positions and place them accordingly.