trying to animate a constraint in swift

Question

You need to first change the constraint and then animate the update.
This should be in the superview.

self.nameInputConstraint.constant = 8

Swift 2

UIView.animateWithDuration(0.5) {
    self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
}

Swift 3, 4, 5

UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.5) {
    self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
}

SWIFT 4 and above:

self.mConstraint.constant = 100.0
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3) {
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
}

Example with completion:

self.mConstraint.constant = 100
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3, animations: {
        self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
    }, completion: {res in
        //Do something
})

It's very important to point out that view.layoutIfNeeded() applies to the view subviews only.

Therefore to animate the view constraint, it is important to call it on the view-to-animate superview as follows:

    topConstraint.constant = heightShift

    UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3) {

        // request layout on the *superview*
        self.view.superview?.layoutIfNeeded()
    }

An example for a simple layout as follows:

class MyClass {

    /// Container view
    let container = UIView()
        /// View attached to container
        let view = UIView()

    /// Top constraint to animate
    var topConstraint = NSLayoutConstraint()


    /// Create the UI hierarchy and constraints
    func createUI() {
        container.addSubview(view)

        // Create the top constraint
        topConstraint = view.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.topAnchor, constant: 0)


        view.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

        // Activate constaint(s)
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
           topConstraint,
        ])
    }

    /// Update view constraint with animation
    func updateConstraint(heightShift: CGFloat) {
        topConstraint.constant = heightShift

        UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3) {

            // request layout on the *superview*
            self.view.superview?.layoutIfNeeded()
        }
    }
}

With Swift 5 and iOS 12.3, according to your needs, you may choose one of the 3 following ways in order to solve your problem.

---

#1. Using UIView's animate(withDuration:animations:) class method

animate(withDuration:animations:) has the following declaration:

Animate changes to one or more views using the specified duration.

class func animate(withDuration duration: TimeInterval, animations: @escaping () -> Void)

The Playground code below shows a possible implementation of animate(withDuration:animations:) in order to animate an Auto Layout constraint's constant change.

import UIKit
import PlaygroundSupport

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    let textView = UITextView()
    lazy var heightConstraint = textView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 50)

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        view.backgroundColor = .white
        view.addSubview(textView)

        textView.backgroundColor = .orange
        textView.isEditable = false
        textView.text = "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

        textView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        textView.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: view.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        textView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
        textView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.trailingAnchor).isActive = true
        heightConstraint.isActive = true

        let tapGesture = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(doIt(_:)))
        textView.addGestureRecognizer(tapGesture)
    }

    @objc func doIt(_ sender: UITapGestureRecognizer) {
        heightConstraint.constant = heightConstraint.constant == 50 ? 150 : 50
        UIView.animate(withDuration: 2) {
            self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
        }
    }

}

PlaygroundPage.current.liveView = ViewController()

---

#2. Using UIViewPropertyAnimator's init(duration:curve:animations:) initialiser and startAnimation() method

init(duration:curve:animations:) has the following declaration:

Initializes the animator with a built-in UIKit timing curve.

convenience init(duration: TimeInterval, curve: UIViewAnimationCurve, animations: (() -> Void)? = nil)

The Playground code below shows a possible implementation of init(duration:curve:animations:) and startAnimation() in order to animate an Auto Layout constraint's constant change.

import UIKit
import PlaygroundSupport

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    let textView = UITextView()
    lazy var heightConstraint = textView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 50)

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        view.backgroundColor = .white
        view.addSubview(textView)

        textView.backgroundColor = .orange
        textView.isEditable = false
        textView.text = "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

        textView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        textView.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: view.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        textView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
        textView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.trailingAnchor).isActive = true
        heightConstraint.isActive = true

        let tapGesture = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(doIt(_:)))
        textView.addGestureRecognizer(tapGesture)
    }

    @objc func doIt(_ sender: UITapGestureRecognizer) {
        heightConstraint.constant = heightConstraint.constant == 50 ? 150 : 50
        let animator = UIViewPropertyAnimator(duration: 2, curve: .linear, animations: {
            self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
        })
        animator.startAnimation()
    }

}

PlaygroundPage.current.liveView = ViewController()

---

#3. Using UIViewPropertyAnimator's runningPropertyAnimator(withDuration:delay:options:animations:completion:) class method

runningPropertyAnimator(withDuration:delay:options:animations:completion:) has the following declaration:

Creates and returns an animator object that begins running its animations immediately.

class func runningPropertyAnimator(withDuration duration: TimeInterval, delay: TimeInterval, options: UIViewAnimationOptions = [], animations: @escaping () -> Void, completion: ((UIViewAnimatingPosition) -> Void)? = nil) -> Self

The Playground code below shows a possible implementation of runningPropertyAnimator(withDuration:delay:options:animations:completion:) in order to animate an Auto Layout constraint's constant change.

import UIKit
import PlaygroundSupport

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    let textView = UITextView()
    lazy var heightConstraint = textView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 50)

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        view.backgroundColor = .white
        view.addSubview(textView)

        textView.backgroundColor = .orange
        textView.isEditable = false
        textView.text = "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

        textView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        textView.topAnchor.constraint(equalToSystemSpacingBelow: view.layoutMarginsGuide.topAnchor, multiplier: 1).isActive = true
        textView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
        textView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.layoutMarginsGuide.trailingAnchor).isActive = true
        heightConstraint.isActive = true

        let tapGesture = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(doIt(_:)))
        textView.addGestureRecognizer(tapGesture)
    }

    @objc func doIt(_ sender: UITapGestureRecognizer) {
        heightConstraint.constant = heightConstraint.constant == 50 ? 150 : 50
        UIViewPropertyAnimator.runningPropertyAnimator(withDuration: 2, delay: 0, options: [], animations: {
            self.view.layoutIfNeeded()
        })
    }

}

PlaygroundPage.current.liveView = ViewController()

In my case, I only updated the custom view.

// DO NOT LIKE THIS
customView.layoutIfNeeded()    // Change to view.layoutIfNeeded()
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.5) {
   customViewConstraint.constant = 100.0
   customView.layoutIfNeeded() // Change to view.layoutIfNeeded()
}