"Attempt to insert row 0 into section 0, but there are only 0 rows in section 0 after the update" Error

Question

I have an app that is selecting a person from their contacts list and takes their First name, last name and email. It then saves the first name to a nsmutablearray and puts it into a uitableview cell. My problem occurs once the contact is selected in the simulator.

Code:

.h:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#import <AddressBookUI/AddressBookUI.h>

@interface FirstViewController : UIViewController <    ABPeoplePickerNavigationControllerDelegate, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource>

- (IBAction)showPicker:(id)sender;

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet NSString *firstName;

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet NSString *email;

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet NSString *lastName;


@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITableView *myTableView;

@property (strong, nonatomic) NSMutableArray *contacts;

@end

.m:

#import "FirstViewController.h"

@interface FirstViewController ()

@end

@implementation FirstViewController

@synthesize firstName;

@synthesize email;

@synthesize lastName;

@synthesize contacts;

@synthesize myTableView;


- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
    contacts = [[NSMutableArray alloc]initWithObjects:nil];
}

- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
    [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}

#pragma mark - UITableView Datasource

-(NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
    return 1;
} 

-(NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
    return contacts.count;
}

-(UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath  *)indexPath
{
    static NSString *cellIdentifier = @"Cell";

    UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:cellIdentifier];

    if (cell == nil) {
        cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault  reuseIdentifier:cellIdentifier];

    }

    cell.textLabel.text = [contacts objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];

    return cell;
}

- (IBAction)showPicker:(id)sender {

    ABPeoplePickerNavigationController *picker =
    [[ABPeoplePickerNavigationController alloc] init];
    picker.peoplePickerDelegate = self;

    [self presentModalViewController:picker animated:YES];
}

- (void)peoplePickerNavigationControllerDidCancel:
(ABPeoplePickerNavigationController *)peoplePicker
{
    [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}


- (BOOL)peoplePickerNavigationController:
(ABPeoplePickerNavigationController *)peoplePicker
      shouldContinueAfterSelectingPerson:(ABRecordRef)person {

    [self displayPerson:person];
    [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];

    return NO;
}

- (BOOL)peoplePickerNavigationController:
(ABPeoplePickerNavigationController *)peoplePicker
      shouldContinueAfterSelectingPerson:(ABRecordRef)person
                                property:(ABPropertyID)property
                              identifier:(ABMultiValueIdentifier)identifier
{





    return NO;

}


- (void)displayPerson:(ABRecordRef)person
{
    NSString* name = (__bridge_transfer NSString*)ABRecordCopyValue(person,
                                                                    kABPersonFirstNameProperty);
    self.firstName = name;

    NSString* last = (__bridge_transfer NSString*)ABRecordCopyValue(person,
                                                                    kABPersonLastNameProperty);
    self.lastName = last;


    ABMultiValueRef  emails = ABRecordCopyValue(person, kABPersonEmailProperty);
    NSString *emailId = (__bridge NSString *)ABMultiValueCopyValueAtIndex(emails, 0);//0     for "Home Email" and 1 for "Work Email".

    self.email = emailId;

    if (!(contacts))
    {

        contacts = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];

    }

    [contacts insertObject:firstName atIndex:0];

    NSIndexPath * indexPath = [NSIndexPath indexPathForRow:0 inSection:0];

    [self.myTableView insertRowsAtIndexPaths:@[indexPath]  withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationAutomatic];
}




@end

Answer 1

UITableView must be kept in sync with the data source at all times. Special care must be taken if the data source can change in a background thread.

When something is added to the data source, call beginUpdate/insert/endUpdate as soon as possible. You don't have to worry about caching these, the UITableView will cache changes to be executed when it determines there is enough cpu time and resources.

The moment endUpdates is called, the UITable will ask the dataSource for the number of sections and rows again. If your number of sections and row feeds directly from the dataSource, then number sections and rows, plus insertions, minus deletions must equal the numbers returned by the end calls for numberOfSections and numberOfRowsInSection.

One last tip: avoid mixing calls to 'reloadData' and beginUpdate/endUpdate pairs. Use one or the other, not both.