Can I create a UITableViewController that inherits from a custom subclass of UIViewController?

Question

I have common functionality that I need to access from all screens of my app: a right bar button item and associated action.

So as not to repeat the code I would like to set this up in a custom UIViewController and have all my view controllers inherit from it.

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    UIBarButtonItem *rightBarButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemPlay target:self action:@selector(lightsCamera)];
    self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = rightBarButton;
}

- (void)lightsCamera {
    …
}

However, I have a number of UITableViewControllers however and I would like to know if it is possible for them to inherit the functionality too?

Answer 1

It's fairly trivial to recreate you own UITableViewController from your custom UIViewController subclass.

The controller must have a UITableView property, which is also set to its view property, set the proper resizing masks, set yourself as the table's delegate and datasource, and remember to flash the scrollbar indicators in -viewDidAppear: and you've more or less got it.

More here.

Answer 2

If you're not adding any new attributes to the view controller, you can implement the two methods in a category on UIViewController and all the subclasses will inherit it by default.