JPAttributedString 1.0.0-beta.1

You want to add pod 'JPAttributedString', '1.0.0-beta.1' similar to the following to your Podfile:

target 'MyApp' do
  pod 'JPAttributedString', '1.0.0-beta.1'
end

Then run a pod install inside your terminal, or from CocoaPods.app.

Alternatively to give it a test run, run the command:

pod try JPAttributedString

JPAttributedString 1.0.0-beta.1

By
James Paolantonio
jPaolantonio

A DSL for creating, changing, and using NSAttributedStrings

Installation

Install with CocoaPods:

pod 'JPAttributedString'

Usage

NSAttributedString Creation

What's the biggest issue when creating NSAttributedStrings?

NSAttributedString *attributedString =
    [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"James"
                                    attributes:@{
                                                 NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:22.f],
                                                 NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor blackColor],
                                                 }];
self.label.attributedText = attributedString;

The code is rather verbose and not very reusable. Let's try extracting the dictionary.

JPStringAttribute *attribute = [[JPStringAttribute alloc] init];
attribute.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:22.f];
attribute.foregroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
self.label.attributedText = [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"James"
                                                            attributes:attribute.attributedDictionary];

NSParagraphStyle

NSParagraphStyle is a property of NSAttributedString that allows further configuration of paragraph or ruler attributes. With JPStringAttribute, paragraph style is easier to modify.

NSMutableParagraphStyle *mutableStyle = [[NSMutableParagraphStyle alloc] init];
mutableStyle.paragraphSpacing = 8.f;
mutableStyle.lineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByTruncatingMiddle;

NSAttributedString *attributedString =
    [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"James"
                                    attributes:@{
                                                 NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:22.f],
                                                 NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor blackColor],
                                                 NSParagraphStyleAttributeName : mutableStyle,
                                                 }];
self.label.attributedText = attributedString;

Compared to

JPStringAttribute *attribute = [[JPStringAttribute alloc] init];
attribute.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:22.f];
attribute.foregroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
attribute.paragraphSpacing = 8.f;
attribute.lineBreakMode = NSLineBreakByTruncatingMiddle;
self.label.attributedText = [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"James"
                                                                attributes:attribute.attributedDictionary];
}

Other helpers

Have you ever had to append a bunch of NSAttributedStrings, then assign them to a UILabel?

NSMutableAttributedString *string = [[NSMutableAttributedString alloc] init];

[string appendAttributedString:
     [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"James"
                                     attributes:@{
                                                  NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFont:22.f],
                                                  NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor blackColor]
                                                  }]];

[string appendAttributedString:
     [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"\nEngineer"
                                     attributes:@{
                                                  NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFont:16.f],
                                                  NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor darkGrayColor]
                                                  }]];

[string appendAttributedString:
     [[NSAttributedString alloc] initWithString:@"New York City"
                                     attributes:@{
                                                  NSFontAttributeName : [UIFont boldSystemFont:12.f],
                                                  NSForegroundColorAttributeName : [UIColor grayColor]
                                                  }]];

self.label.text = string;

Is this better?

[self.label jp_appendString:@"James" attributesBlock:^(JPStringAttribute *make) {
    make.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:22.f];
    make.foregroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
}];

[self.label jp_appendString:@"\nEngineer" attributesBlock:^(JPStringAttribute *make) {
    make.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:16.f];
    make.foregroundColor = [UIColor darkGrayColor];
}];

[self.label jp_appendString:@"\nNewYork" attributesBlock:^(JPStringAttribute *make) {
    make.font = [UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:12.f];
    make.foregroundColor = [UIColor grayColor];
}];

Examples

There is an example included with the project. To install,

cd Example/
pod install
open JPAttributedString.xcworkspace/

Contribute

Send me pull requests!

Authors

James Paolantonio - @jpaolantonio

Extra

Let me know if you are using this or want anything changed!! :)