Additional Framework Enhancements

In addition to the items discussed in the preceding sections, the following frameworks have additional enhancements. For a complete list of new interfaces, see iOS 5.0 API Diffs. UIKit The UIKit framework includes the following enhancements: The UIViewController class can now be used to create custom container view controllers; see “Container View Controller Support.” The UIKit framework provides support for loading and using storyboards; see “Storyboards.” Bars and bar button items can now be tinted and customized for your application; see “Custom Appearance for UIKit Controls.” The UIPageViewController class is a new container view controller for creating page-turn transitions between view controllers. The UIReferenceLibraryViewController class adds support for presenting a custom dictionary service to the user. The UIImagePickerController class supports new options for specifying the quality of video recordings. The UIStepper class is a new control for incrementing a floating-point value value up or down within a configurable range. View-based animations now support cross-dissolve, flip-from-top, and flip-from-bottom animations; see UIView Class Reference. The UIApplication class now reports the language directionality of the running application. The exclusiveTouch property of the UIControl class now defaults to YES instead of NO. The UITableView class adds support for automatic row animations, moving rows and sections, multiselection, and copy and paste behaviors for cells. The UIScreen class lets you specify overscan compensation behaviors for video delivered over AirPlay or through an attached HDMI cable. You can also programmatically set a screen’s brightness. The UIScrollView class now exposes its gesture recognizers so that you can configure them more precisely for your application. The UISegmentedControl class now supports proportional segment widths. The UIAlertView class now supports password-style text entry and special configurations for entering text securely. The UIColor class includes support for Core Image and new methods to retrieve individual color values. The UIImage class includes support for Core Image, support for stretching an image by tiling part of its content, and support for looping animations. The UITextInputTraits protocol adds support for a Twitter-specific keyboard and separate spell-checking behavior. The UIAccessibility protocol includes new interfaces that define the activation point within an element and indicate whether an element is modal or contains hidden elements. There are also new notifications that inform you of changes in system-provided accessibility features, such as zoom, audio status, and closed captioning. The UIAccessibilityReadingContent protocol allows you to provide a continuous, page-turning reading experience to VoiceOver users. The UIAccessibilityIdentification protocol allows you to uniquely identify elements in your app so that you can refer to them in automation scripts. The UIWebView class automatically supports the presentation of multimedia content over AirPlay. You can opt out of this behavior by changing the value in the mediaPlaybackAllowsAirPlay property of the class. This class also exposes a scrollView property so that you can access the scrolling properties of your web interfaces. OpenAL The OpenAL framework has two significant extensions: You can get notifications about source state changes and changes regarding the number of audio buffers that have been processed. The Apple Spatial Audio extension in iOS 5.0 adds three audio effects that are especially useful for games: reverberation, obstruction effects, and occlusion effects. Message UI The Message UI framework adds a new notification for tracking changes to the device’s ability to send text messages.