The Core iOS Developer’s Cookbook, Fifth Edition

Tab Bar Controllers

The UITabBarController class lets you control parallel presentations in your application. These are like stations on a radio. A tab bar helps users select which view controller to “tune in to,” without there being a specific navigation hierarchy. Each parallel world operates independently, and each can have its own navigation hierarchy. You build the view controller or navigation controller that inhabits each tab, and Cocoa Touch handles the multiple-view details.

For example, when tab bar instances offer more than a certain number of view controller choices at a time (five on the iPhone family of devices, more on tablets), users can customize them through the More > Edit screen. The More > Edit screen lets users drag their ...