Can't get UITableViewController to dynamically populate

Question

I'm following some basic tutorials on how to populate a table view. I have had success with a UITableView and dynamic populating, but following the same steps is not working for me with a UITableViewController.

Any explanation as to why I am having difficulties with the controller?

There doesn't seem to be as much information out there on UITableViewController as there is just UITableView. Is there a reason why everyone seems to be gravitating towards just the UITableView?

For the record, here is the tutorial I am following: http://www.ioscreator.com/tutorials/tableview-tutorial-in-ios8-with-swift

import UIKit

class TestTableViewController: UITableViewController, UITableViewDelegate {

    let tableData = ["One", "Two", "Three"]

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        // Uncomment the following line to preserve selection between presentations
        // self.clearsSelectionOnViewWillAppear = false

        // Uncomment the following line to display an Edit button in the navigation bar for this view controller.
        // self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = self.editButtonItem()
    }

    override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
        super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
        // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
    }

    // MARK: - Table view data source

    override func numberOfSectionsInTableView(tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
        // #warning Potentially incomplete method implementation.
        // Return the number of sections.
        return 0
    }

    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
        // #warning Incomplete method implementation.
        // Return the number of rows in the section.
        return countElements(tableData)
    }


    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
        let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("reuseIdentifier", forIndexPath: indexPath) as UITableViewCell

        // Configure the cell...
        cell.textLabel?.text = tableData[indexPath.row]

        return cell
    }


    /*
    // Override to support conditional editing of the table view.
    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, canEditRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> Bool {
        // Return NO if you do not want the specified item to be editable.
        return true
    }
    */

    /*
    // Override to support editing the table view.
    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, commitEditingStyle editingStyle: UITableViewCellEditingStyle, forRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) {
        if editingStyle == .Delete {
            // Delete the row from the data source
            tableView.deleteRowsAtIndexPaths([indexPath], withRowAnimation: .Fade)
        } else if editingStyle == .Insert {
            // Create a new instance of the appropriate class, insert it into the array, and add a new row to the table view
        }    
    }
    */

    /*
    // Override to support rearranging the table view.
    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, moveRowAtIndexPath fromIndexPath: NSIndexPath, toIndexPath: NSIndexPath) {

    }
    */

    /*
    // Override to support conditional rearranging of the table view.
    override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, canMoveRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> Bool {
        // Return NO if you do not want the item to be re-orderable.
        return true
    }
    */

    /*
    // MARK: - Navigation

    // In a storyboard-based application, you will often want to do a little preparation before navigation
    override func prepareForSegue(segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: AnyObject?) {
        // Get the new view controller using [segue destinationViewController].
        // Pass the selected object to the new view controller.
    }
    */

}

After changing numberOfSectionsInTableView to return 1, this is the error I am receiving.

2015-01-11 18:30:11.557 TableViewTest[30788:8219862] * Assertion failure in -[UITableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:forIndexPath:], /SourceCache/UIKit_Sim/UIKit-3318.16.14/UITableView.m:6116 2015-01-11 18:30:11.560 TableViewTest[30788:8219862] * Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInternalInconsistencyException', reason: 'unable to dequeue a cell with identifier reuseIdentifier - must register a nib or a class for the identifier or connect a prototype cell in a storyboard'

Can you add the code for your table view methods so we can see what you're doing? — Matt Cooper
Just added. Someone else added an answer (which seems to have been deleted) suggesting to add UITableViewDelegate. Still does not populate when I run, however. — Mathieson
Set delegate and dataSource for your table view. And I think you should return 1 in numberOfSectionsInTableView method — Nhut Duong
delegate and dataSource are both connected to the view controller. Entered 1 in numberOfSectionsInTableView method and am getting an error. Investigating the error further. Looks like its complaining about the 'reuseIdentifier' used in the dequeueing call. — Mathieson

ericgu ericgu · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-12T02:42:49

Based on your error message, this is the solution:

In ViewDidLoad(), add:

self.tableView.registerClass(UITableViewCell.self, forCellReuseIdentifier: "reuseIdentifier")

See my example project here: https://github.com/ericcgu/EGSwiftTableViewController

Can't get UITableViewController to dynamically populate

2 Answers