autolayout - 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 element on a Storyboard even slightly, it breaks half of the constraints, nullifying all the benefits of Auto Layout.

Till now I've been utilising Springs & Struts quite successfully, and in conjunction with KVO observing frame path for view, handled most of rotation realignments gracefully, with just couple lines of code.

So now with iOS 7 coming out, I got a question: Can I keep successfully utilising Springs & Struts only for iOS 7 apps and avoid using Auto Layout? Or am I losing out on anything by doing so? Learning and mastering skill of using Auto Layout in different scenarios would probably take couple of days to me, so I'd really appreciate some argumented advice.

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RESOLVED: Thanks to Max's answer, I started to dig into Auto Layout; while Null is right in his answer - you actually can use Springs & Struts on iOS 7 without too much trouble, Auto-Layout is powerful.

Apparently in Xcode 5, the following things are fixed:

• To delete a constraint you don't actually need to perform ancient shamanic dance of rain. You delete it and layout goes into warning mode, indicating issues you need to resolve to make Auto Layout work.

• When you move things around, your constraints does not change; only view frame in Interface Builder changes.

• When frame in Interface Builder is actually different from calculated with layout constraints frame, Interface Builder will indicate the runtime frame of that element with red dotted line. Finally it is done right. Thanks, Apple.

• Here's a link to WWDC 2013 session that demonstrates how to utilise all of that in Xcode 5. You'd need apple developer account to view that.

  • https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/videos/index.php?id=406

So my choice now is Auto Layout. Thank you everybody.

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.