Question

I’m wondering if there is any difference between these two approaches of setting properties on a UITableViewCell.

Option A:
In your storyboard file, on your UITableViewCell, drag your UIElements onto the UITableViewCell, tag each UIelement. Then in:

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
   UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReuseableCellIdentifier:@"MyCell"];

   UILabel *aLabel = [cell viewWithTag:TAG_FROM_IB];
   aLabel.text = @"my text";

   UIImageView *aImageView = [cell viewWithTag:TAG_FROM_IB];
   aImageView.image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"myImage.png"];

   return cell;
}  

option B:
Drag the UIElements onto the UITableViewCell in the storyboard. Create a custom subclass of UITableViewCell, change the class of the UITableViewCell to your new custom subclass, access the properties by:

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
   MyTableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReuseableCellIdentifier:@"MyTableViewCell"];

   cell.aLabel.text = @"my text";

   cell.aImageView.image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"myImage.png"];

   return cell;
}  

I was just wondering if there was a “preferred” or “better” way to create custom UITableViewCells. Thanks!

Answer 1

definitly no. two!

it much more concise: cleaner and clearer to use then! performance wise it is also superior BUT thats not a measurable amount…

+(IMHO) performance should never be the initial reason for a design decision.