How do you draw a line programmatically from a view controller?

Question

I have a UIViewController. How do I draw a line in one of its programmatically created views?

Answer 1

There are two common techniques.

1. Using CAShapeLayer:

   • Create a UIBezierPath (replace the coordinates with whatever you want):

     UIBezierPath *path = [UIBezierPath bezierPath];
     [path moveToPoint:CGPointMake(10.0, 10.0)];
     [path addLineToPoint:CGPointMake(100.0, 100.0)];
     

   • Create a CAShapeLayer that uses that UIBezierPath:

     CAShapeLayer *shapeLayer = [CAShapeLayer layer];
     shapeLayer.path = [path CGPath];
     shapeLayer.strokeColor = [[UIColor blueColor] CGColor];
     shapeLayer.lineWidth = 3.0;
     shapeLayer.fillColor = [[UIColor clearColor] CGColor];
     

   • Add that CAShapeLayer to your view's layer:

     [self.view.layer addSublayer:shapeLayer];
     

   In previous versions of Xcode, you had to manually add QuartzCore.framework to your project's "Link Binary with Libraries" and import the <QuartzCore/QuartzCore.h> header in your .m file, but that's not necessary anymore (if you have the "Enable Modules" and "Link Frameworks Automatically" build settings turned on).

2. The other approach is to subclass UIView and then use CoreGraphics calls in the drawRect method:

   • Create a UIView subclass and define a drawRect that draws your line.

     You can do this with Core Graphics:

     - (void)drawRect:(CGRect)rect {
         CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();
     
         CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor(context, [[UIColor blueColor] CGColor]);
         CGContextSetLineWidth(context, 3.0);
         CGContextMoveToPoint(context, 10.0, 10.0);
         CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, 100.0, 100.0);
         CGContextDrawPath(context, kCGPathStroke);
     }
     

     Or using UIKit:

     - (void)drawRect:(CGRect)rect {
         UIBezierPath *path = [UIBezierPath bezierPath];
         [path moveToPoint:CGPointMake(10.0, 10.0)];
         [path addLineToPoint:CGPointMake(100.0, 100.0)];
         path.lineWidth = 3;
         [[UIColor blueColor] setStroke];
         [path stroke];
     }
     

   • Then you can either use this view class as the base class for your NIB/storyboard or view, or you can have your view controller programmatically add it as a subview:

     PathView *pathView = [[PathView alloc] initWithFrame:self.view.bounds];
     pathView.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];
     
     [self.view addSubview: pathView];
     

---

The Swift renditions of the two above approaches are as follows:

1. CAShapeLayer:

   // create path
   
   let path = UIBezierPath()
   path.move(to: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 10))
   path.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: 100, y: 100))
   
   // Create a `CAShapeLayer` that uses that `UIBezierPath`:
   
   let shapeLayer = CAShapeLayer()
   shapeLayer.path = path.cgPath
   shapeLayer.strokeColor = UIColor.blue.cgColor
   shapeLayer.fillColor = UIColor.clear.cgColor
   shapeLayer.lineWidth = 3
   
   // Add that `CAShapeLayer` to your view's layer:
   
   view.layer.addSublayer(shapeLayer)
   

2. UIView subclass:

   class PathView: UIView {
   
       var path: UIBezierPath?           { didSet { setNeedsDisplay() } }
       var pathColor: UIColor = .blue    { didSet { setNeedsDisplay() } }
   
       override func draw(_ rect: CGRect) {
           // stroke the path
   
           pathColor.setStroke()
           path?.stroke()
       }
   
   }
   

   And add it to your view hierarchy:

   let pathView = PathView()
   pathView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
   view.addSubview(pathView)
   
   NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
       pathView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor),
       pathView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor),
       pathView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.topAnchor),
       pathView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.bottomAnchor)
   ])
   
   pathView.backgroundColor = .clear
   
   let path = UIBezierPath()
   path.move(to: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 10))
   path.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: 100, y: 100))
   path.lineWidth = 3
   
   pathView.path = path
   

   Above, I'm adding PathView programmatically, but you can add it via IB, too, and just set its path programmatically.