iOS Auto Layout vs Springs & Struts

Question

A year ago I\'ve seen couple of Apple WWDC keynotes about benefits of Auto Layout, but when I tried them in real world projects, I experienced that when you move some UI ele

Answer 1

Auto Layout is the future and Springs & Struts is the past. If you continue to use Springs & Struts you will be at a disadvantage as the new standard - Auto Layout - becomes prevalent.

Also, Springs & Struts isn't effective for complex views. Auto Layout is considerably more powerful.

With iOS 7, it's early days, and although I'm not sure exactly what the implications are, the iOS 7 UI Transition Guide specifically mentions that using Auto Layout will ease the transition process:

If your app uses Auto Layout, your job is easier. In Xcode 5, Auto Layout can help an app accommodate new UI element metrics and respond appropriately to dynamic changes in text size. Auto Layout is particularly helpful if you’re transitioning an iOS 6 app or you need to support both iOS 6 and iOS 7.

If you didn’t use Auto Layout, now may be the perfect time to start, especially if you need to support more than one version of an app. If you use manual or programmatic layout techniques, you're responsible for ensuring that the layout adjusts appropriately when text size changes.

Personally, I've been using Auto Layout since Xcode 4.6.3. The initial learning curve is painful, but after that it really becomes a joy to use. I'd definitely never go back to Springs & Struts or manually calculating metrics using frames.