Displaying UIStackView in UITableView cell programmatically

Question

I want to display horizontal UIStackView with 3 labels in it, but I can't see the labels...

override init(style: UITableViewCellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
    super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)
    let stackView = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [label1,label2,label3])
    stackView.distribution = .fill
    stackView.axis = .horizontal
    stackView.spacing = 8
    stackView.alignment = .center
    backgroundColor = .black
    addSubview(stackView)


    stackView.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leftAnchor, constant: 8).isActive = true
    stackView.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: rightAnchor, constant: 8).isActive = true
    stackView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: topAnchor, constant: 8).isActive = true
    stackView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: bottomAnchor, constant: 8).isActive = true
}

I've tried with anchors, but also unsuccessfully. How to do it?

Answer 1

Couple notes...

1. You should add subviews to the cell's contentView, not to the cell itself.

2. From the code you've shown, you're not setting stackView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

3. You should be using leadingAnchor and trailingAnchor rather than left/right

Here is a starter cell that should get you on your way:

class BogdanCell: UITableViewCell {

    let label1: UILabel = {
        let v = UILabel()
        v.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        v.backgroundColor = .yellow
        v.text = "Label 1"
        v.textAlignment = .center
        return v
    }()

    let label2: UILabel = {
        let v = UILabel()
        v.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        v.backgroundColor = .yellow
        v.text = "Label 2"
        v.textAlignment = .center
        return v
    }()

    let label3: UILabel = {
        let v = UILabel()
        v.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        v.backgroundColor = .yellow
        v.text = "Label 3"
        v.textAlignment = .center
        return v
    }()

    let theStackView: UIStackView = {
        let v = UIStackView()
        v.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        v.axis = .horizontal
        v.alignment = .center
        v.distribution = .fill
        v.spacing = 8
        return v
    }()

    override init(style: UITableViewCell.CellStyle, reuseIdentifier: String?) {
        super.init(style: style, reuseIdentifier: reuseIdentifier)
        commonInit()
    }

    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        super.init(coder: aDecoder)
        commonInit()
    }

    func commonInit() -> Void {

        backgroundColor = .black

        theStackView.addArrangedSubview(label1)
        theStackView.addArrangedSubview(label2)
        theStackView.addArrangedSubview(label3)

        contentView.addSubview(theStackView)

        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            theStackView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor, constant: 0.0),
            theStackView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.layoutMarginsGuide.bottomAnchor, constant: 0.0),
            theStackView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.layoutMarginsGuide.leadingAnchor, constant: 0.0),
            theStackView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.layoutMarginsGuide.trailingAnchor, constant: 0.0),
            ])

    }

}