Upgrading custom view list mvvmcross touch - xamarin.ios

Question

Hi I am trying to upgrade our ios app from mvvmcross v1 to v3. I can't figure out how to make my custom buttonrow work.
My view ViewDidLoad it is the button items that binds to the button row
public override void ViewDidLoad()
{
base.ViewDidLoad();
SortingView.ViewModel = ViewModel;
_shown = false;
// Setup View Animatons
Buttons.OnClick = () => { AnimationTransition = ViewTransitionAnimation.TransitionFade; };
TopRightButton.TouchDown +=
(sender, args) => {
AnimationTransition = ViewTransitionAnimation.TransitionCrossDissolve;
};
// Setup Bindings
this.AddBindings(
new Dictionary<object, string>
{
{this.BackgroundImage, "{'ImageData':{'Path':'BackgroundImage','Converter':'ImageItem'}}"},
{this.TopbarBackground, "{'ImageData':{'Path':'TopBarImage','Converter':'ImageItem'}}"},
{this.TopLogo, "{'ImageData':{'Path':'Logo','Converter':'ImageItem'}}"},
{this.Buttons, "{'ItemsSource':{'Path':'ButtonItems'}}"},
{this.SlideMenu, "{'ItemsSource':{'Path':'VisibleViews'}}"},
{
this.SortingView,
"{'ItemsSource':{'Path':'CategoriesName'},'SelectedGroups':{'Path':'SelectedGroups'},'ForceUbracoUpdateAction':{'Path':'ForceUbracoUpdateAction'}}"
},
{this.SettingsButton, "{'TouchDown':{'Path':'TopRightButtonClick'},'Hide':{'Path':'HideTopbarButton'},'ImageData':{'Path':'TopButtonImage','Converter':'ImageItem'}}" },
{this.TopRightButton, "{'TouchDown':{'Path':'SecondaryButtonButtonPushed'},'Hide':{'Path':'HideTopbarButton2'},'ImageData':{'Path':'SettingsButtonImage','Converter':'ImageItem'}}" }
});
// Perform any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver(UIApplication.DidBecomeActiveNotification, ReEnableSlideMenu);
this.SortingView.Hidden=true;
ViewModel.SettingButtonEvent += HandleSettingButtonPushed;
}
Here is my custom control "ButtonRow
[Register("ButtonRow")]
public class ButtonRow : CustomListViewController
{
private int _width = 0;
private UIImage _backgroundImage = null;
public ButtonRow(IntPtr handle)
: base(handle)
{
_width = (int)this.Frame.Width;
UseImageAsIcon = false;
FontSize=0;
}
public bool UseImageAsIcon { get; set; }
public UIImage BackgroundImage
{
get { return _backgroundImage; }
set { _backgroundImage = value; }
}
public int FontSize
{
get;set;
}
private Action _onClickAction;
private int _spacing = 0;
public Action OnClick
{
get
{
return _onClickAction;
}
set
{
_onClickAction = value;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// The add views.
/// </summary>
/// custom implementation for adding views to the button row
protected override void AddViews()
{
if (ItemsSource == null)
{
Hidden = true;
return;
}
base.AddViews();
foreach (UIView uiView in Subviews)
{
uiView.RemoveFromSuperview();
}
if (ItemsSource.Count == 0)
{
Hidden = true;
return;
}
if (_backgroundImage != null)
{
var frame = new RectangleF(0, 0, Frame.Width, Frame.Height);
var background = new UIImageView(frame) { Image = _backgroundImage };
AddSubview(background);
}
_width = _width - ((ItemsSource.Count - 1) * Spacing);
var buttonWidth = (int)Math.Ceiling (((double)_width) / ItemsSource.Count);
int index = 0;
foreach (ViewItemModel item in ItemsSource)
{
// creating custom button with needed viewmodel, nib etc is loaded in the class constructor
var button = new ButtonWithLabel(item, OnClick);
if (FontSize > 0)
{
button.FontSize(FontSize);
}
if (UseImageAsIcon)
{
button.AddBindings(
new Dictionary<object, string>
{
{ button, "{'IconLabel':{'Path':'Title'},'TitleFontColor':{'Path':'TitleFontColor'}}" },
{ button.icon, "{'ImageData':{'Path':'ImageIcon','Converter':'ImageItem'}}" }
});
}
else
{
// bindings created between the button and its viewmodel
button.AddBindings(
new Dictionary<object, string>
{
{button, "{'Label':{'Path':'Title'},'TitleFontColor':{'Path':'TitleFontColor'},'BackgroundColor':{'Path':'BackgroundColor'}}" },
{button.Background, "{'ImageData':{'Path':'ImageIcon','Converter':'ImageItem'}}" }
});
button.icon.Hidden = true;
}
// new frame of button is set, as the number of buttons is dynamic
int x = index == 0 ? 0 : index * (buttonWidth + Spacing);
button.SetFrame(new RectangleF(x, 0, buttonWidth, Frame.Height));
// the view of the button is added to the buttonrow view
AddSubview(button.View);
index++;
}
}
public int Spacing
{
get
{
return this._spacing;
}
set
{
this._spacing = value;
}
}
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
public override void Cleanup()
{
if(Subviews!=null)
{
foreach (var view in Subviews)
{
view.RemoveFromSuperview();
}
}
if(_backgroundImage!=null)
{
_backgroundImage.Dispose();
}
ItemsSource = null;
}
}
Here is my CustomListViewController
public class CustomListViewController: UIView
{
private IList _itemsSource;
private CustomViewSource _viewSource;
public CustomListViewController(MvxShowViewModelRequest showRequest)
{
ShowRequest = showRequest;
}
protected CustomListViewController()
{
}
public CustomListViewController(IntPtr handle)
: base(handle)
{
}
public bool IsVisible
{
get
{
return this.IsVisible;
}
}
public IList ItemsSource
{
get { return _itemsSource; }
set { _itemsSource = value; if(value!=null){CreateViewSource(_itemsSource); }}
}
public virtual void CreateViewSource(IList items)
{
if (_viewSource == null)
{
_viewSource = new CustomViewSource();
_viewSource.OnNewViewsReady += FillViews;
}
_viewSource.ItemsSource = items;
}
private void FillViews(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
AddViews();
}
protected virtual void AddViews()
{
// get views from source and do custom allignment
}
public virtual void Cleanup()
{
if(_viewSource!=null)
{
_itemsSource.Clear();
_itemsSource=null;
_viewSource.OnNewViewsReady -= FillViews;
_viewSource.ItemsSource.Clear();
_viewSource.ItemsSource = null;
_viewSource=null;
}
}
public MvxShowViewModelRequest ShowRequest { get;
private set;
}
}
And My CustomViewSource
public class CustomViewSource
{
private IList _itemsSource;
private List<UIView> _views=new List<UIView>();
public event EventHandler<EventArgs> OnNewViewsReady;
public CustomViewSource ()
{
}
public List<UIView> Views { get { return _views; } }
public virtual IList ItemsSource
{
get { return _itemsSource; }
set
{
// if (_itemsSource == value)
// return;
var collectionChanged = _itemsSource as INotifyCollectionChanged;
if (collectionChanged != null)
collectionChanged.CollectionChanged -= CollectionChangedOnCollectionChanged;
_itemsSource = value;
collectionChanged = _itemsSource as INotifyCollectionChanged;
if (collectionChanged != null)
collectionChanged.CollectionChanged += CollectionChangedOnCollectionChanged;
ReloadViewData();
}
}
protected object GetItemAt(int position)
{
if (ItemsSource == null)
return null;
return ItemsSource[position];
}
protected void CollectionChangedOnCollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs notifyCollectionChangedEventArgs)
{
ReloadViewData();
}
protected virtual void ReloadViewData()
{
if(ItemsSource==null){return;}
foreach (var VARIABLE in ItemsSource)
{
//call create view and add it to Views
}
//event new views created
if(OnNewViewsReady!=null)
OnNewViewsReady(this,new EventArgs());
}
protected virtual UIView CreateUIView(int position)
{
UIView view = null;
/*
//create view from nib
UIView newView=null;
return newView;
* */
return view;
}
}
Any one have any clues on how to make this work in mvvmcross v3 ?
I would like to make it so i can add x number of buttons and load the buttons from nib files. Have looked at the Kittens collection view example, but have not figured out how to make it work for my buttonRow, not sure if the collectionView is the right one to use as base.

Answer 1

The most common way to show a list is to use a UITableView.
There are quite a few samples around that show how to load these in MvvmCross:
n=2 and n=2.5 in http://mvvmcross.wordpress.com/
n=6 and n=6.5 in http://mvvmcross.wordpress.com/
Working with Collections in https://github.com/MvvmCross/MvvmCross-Tutorials/tree/master/Working%20With%20Collections
In your case, it looks like the previous coder has implemented some sort of custom control with custom layout. Adapting this to v3 shouldn't be particularly difficult, but you are going to need to read through and understand the previous code and how it works (this is nothing to do with MvvmCross - it's just app UI code).
One sample on dealing with custom views like this in iOS is the N=32 tutorial - http://slodge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/n32-truth-about-viewmodels-starring.html