Create a view from a .xib file easily

I always forget the underlying details of creating a view from a .xib file.

Bundle.instantiateNibWithName("MyNibName") as! MyNib // uhhh, what??

😩 That is what I normally end up writing on the first stab... Clearly that is completely wrong. I wish there was a way to get the .xib to a UIView subclass in a much less complicated way. And THERE IS! 😁

Just have your UIView subclass conform to NibInstantiating and you just have to remember the very intuitive words viewFromNib rather than Bundle(for: TheClass.self).loadNibNamed("UghAString", owner: nil, options: nil).

class TextInputBar: UIView, NibInstantiating {

to instantiate, just call viewFromNib

let inputBar = TextInputBar.viewFromNib()

Isn't that so much nicer on the brain!?

Here's the protocol and extension:

protocol NibInstantiating: class {

    static var nibName: String { get }

}

extension NibInstantiating {

    

    static func viewFromNib() -> Self! {

        var view: Self!

        let objects = Bundle(for: self).loadNibNamed(nibName, owner: nil, options: nil)

        for object in objects! {

            guard let foundView = object as? Self else { continue }

            view = foundView

            break

        }

        assert(view != nil, "Could not find object of type: \(Self.self) \(#function)")

        return view

    }

    

    static var nibName: String { return String(describing: Self.self) }

}

To download the code, click here: NibInstantiating.