Question or problem with Swift language programming:
I am trying to create two UITableViews in one view controller using two custom UITableViewCells. I have the following:
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
if tableView == self.tableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomOne") as! CustomOneTableViewCell
return cell
}
if tableView == self.autoSuggestTableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomTwo") as! CustomTwoTableViewCell
return cell
}
}
But I keep getting the error:
Missing return in a function expected to return 'UITableViewCell'
What do I have to return in the end of the method?
How to solve the problem:
Solution 1:
The error appears because if for any reason, the table view is non of the two options that you wrote, then it doesn’t have any value to return, just add a default value at the end:
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
if tableView == firstTableView,
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomOne") as? CustomOneTableViewCell {
return cell
} else if tableView == autoSuggestTableView,
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomTwo") as? CustomTwoTableViewCell {
return cell
}
return UITableViewCell()
}
Updated to swift 4.1.2:
I’ve updated this answer to version 4.1.2, also, because the return value of the method cannot be nil, modified to a default, dummy UITableViewCell.
Solution 2:
Your issue is that the compiler looks at the possibility that both if statements might be false and you don’t return anything in that case, hence the error.
If you only have the two tables, the easiest change is this:
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
if tableView == self.tableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomOne") as! CustomOneTableViewCell
return cell
} else {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomTwo") as! CustomTwoTableViewCell
return cell
}
}
Solution 3:
My preferred solution to this problem would be to do the following:
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
var cellToReturn = UITableViewCell() // Dummy value
if tableView == self.tableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomOne") as! CustomOneTableViewCell
cellToReturn = cell
} else if tableView == self.autoSuggestTableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("CustomTwo") as! CustomTwoTableViewCell
cellToReturn = cell
}
return cellToReturn
}
I think this method maintains readability and clarity whilst also solving the error. I don’t like having (dangerous) code written only for compatibility like return nil.
Solution 4:
If you try two or more than two table in ViewController.then you must be identify tableView in all delegates and dataSource methods. for example
extension ViewController: UITableViewDataSource {
func numberOfSections(in tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
return 1
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
return tableView == firstTableView ? first.count: second.count
//return second.count
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
var returnCell = UITableViewCell()
if tableView == firstTableView {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "firstCell", for: indexPath)
cell.textLabel?.text = first[indexPath.row]
returnCell = cell
} else {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "secondCell", for: indexPath)
cell.textLabel?.text = second[indexPath.row]
returnCell = cell
}
return returnCell
}
}
Solution 5:
Building off of Fantini’s answer, I would suggest using a switch statement to clean it up a bit:
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
switch tableView {
case firstTableView:
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomOne") as? CustomOneTableViewCell {
return cell
case autoSuggestTableView:
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "CustomTwo") as? CustomTwoTableViewCell {
return cell
default:
return UITableViewCell()
}
}
Just in case you plan on adding more tableView’s later.
