Ios Development Questions Medium
In iOS development, delegates and protocols are used to establish communication and define a set of methods that a class can implement to handle specific events or tasks.
A delegate is an object that acts on behalf of another object, responding to events or performing tasks on its behalf. It allows one object to communicate and interact with another object without knowing the specific class or implementation details of that object. Delegates are commonly used in iOS development to implement the delegation design pattern.
A protocol, on the other hand, is a set of methods that a class can adopt to define a specific behavior or functionality. It acts as a contract, specifying a list of methods that a class must implement to conform to the protocol. Protocols define a blueprint for methods that can be used by any class that adopts the protocol.
Delegates and protocols work together to enable communication between objects. The delegating object sets itself as the delegate of another object and calls specific methods defined in the protocol when certain events occur or tasks need to be performed. The delegate object then implements these methods to provide the desired behavior or handle the events.
By using delegates and protocols, iOS developers can achieve loose coupling between objects, making their code more modular, reusable, and easier to maintain. Delegates and protocols are extensively used in various iOS frameworks, such as UIKit and Core Location, to handle user interactions, data retrieval, and other system events.