scope and controller instantiation with ui router

Question

I am confused about when controllers get instantiated. Also, how do controllers gets instantiated when nesting states. I might be confused how scope gets attached to view an

Answer 1

Controllers get instantiated whenever you visit the specific state. For example, while visiting app.pincode.pincodeLogin for the first time one AppController and two PincodeControllers are constructed, each with its own view assuming you got the templates right. Switching to 'app.pincode.settings' would destroy the innermost controller and replace it with a new one, althought the two controllers higher at the hierarchy will not be touched. Scopes follow the standard AngularJS' inheritance pattern, they are not isolated.

You probably would want to remove the controllers in the sub states (and handle the business logic in the parent controller) or have a distinct controller for each state - the same controller for different templates and views is usually a sign of bad design.