Looking to understand the iOS UIViewController lifecycle

Question

Could you explain me the correct manner to manage the UIViewController lifecycle?

In particular, I would like to know how to use Initialize

Answer 1

iOS 10,11 (Swift 3.1,Swift 4.0)

According to UIViewController in UIKit developers,

1. loadView()

This is where subclasses should create their custom view hierarchy if they aren't using a nib. Should never be called directly.

2. loadViewIfNeeded()

Loads the view controller's view if it has not already been set.

3. viewDidLoad()

Called after the view has been loaded. For view controllers created in code, this is after -loadView. For view controllers unarchived from a nib, this is after the view is set.

4. viewWillAppear(_ animated: Bool)

Called when the view is about to made visible. Default does nothing

5. viewWillLayoutSubviews()

Called just before the view controller's view's layoutSubviews method is invoked. Subclasses can implement as necessary. Default does nothing.

6. viewDidLayoutSubviews()

Called just after the view controller's view's layoutSubviews method is invoked. Subclasses can implement as necessary. Default does nothing.

7. viewDidAppear(_ animated: Bool)

Called when the view has been fully transitioned onto the screen. Default does nothing

8. viewWillDisappear(_ animated: Bool)

Called when the view is dismissed, covered or otherwise hidden. Default does nothing

9. viewDidDisappear(_ animated: Bool)

Called after the view was dismissed, covered or otherwise hidden. Default does nothing

10. viewWillTransition(to size: CGSize, with coordinator: UIViewControllerTransitionCoordinator)

Called when the view is Transitioning.

11. willMove(toParentViewController parent: UIViewController?)

12. didMove(toParentViewController parent: UIViewController?)

These two methods are public for container subclasses to call when transitioning between child controllers. If they are overridden, the overrides should ensure to call the super.

The parent argument in both of these methods is nil when a child is being removed from its parent; otherwise it is equal to the new parent view controller.

13. didReceiveMemoryWarning()

Called when the parent application receives a memory warning. On iOS 6.0 it will no longer clear the view by default.