The Core iOS Developer’s Cookbook, Fifth Edition

Recipe: Accelerometer-Based Scroll View

Several readers asked that we include a tilt scroller recipe in this edition. A tilt scroller uses a device’s built-in accelerometer to control movement around a UIScrollView’s content. As the user adjusts the device, the material “falls down” accordingly. Instead of a view being positioned onscreen, the content view scrolls to a new offset.

The challenge in creating this interface lies in determining where the device should have its resting axis. Most people would initially suggest that the display should stabilize when lying on its back, with the z-direction pointed straight up in the air. It turns out that’s actually a fairly bad design choice. To use that axis means the screen must actually tilt away ...