When the iPhone SDK was released, just over 2 years ago, open source projects specifically targeting the iPhone OS were few and far between. Over the past year there has been a significant uptick in iPhone/iOS open source projects, and with that, I’d like to share various projects as I come across them. Should a good Cocoa library cross my radar, one that is applicable to iOS, I’ll pass that on as well.

Heads Up Display – MBProgressHUD

The inaugural iOS open source project is MBProgressHUD, you can find source code here on git: MBProgressHUD

For those unfamiliar with HUD, it refers to Heads Up Display, a view that is overlayed on another view, typically to show an activity indicator and/or offer a means to interact with the UI. A good example of an HUD is when playing a movie with the built in movie player. When you tap the screen, the movie player will show a series of controls on the display. Another common example, and one that is pertinent to MBProgressHUD, is showing progress indicators on top of an existing view. For example, when accessing a remote service, to provide feedback to the user you may opt to display a “Please Wait” message.

MBProgressHUD offers a number of interesting options from a simple activity indicator to a mode switching display that can show multiple messages, in sequence. See the figures below for a few examples:

MBProgressHUD includes a demo project that you compile and run in the simulator to get a feel for how things work.

Open Source Code / Project Recommendations ?

If you have written, worked with or otherwise know of an interesting open source project, one that is focused on iOS or Cocoa, feel free to send me a note. Even a simple class/category that is open source is welcome – for example MBProgressHUD is only two files, an interface (.h) and implementation (.m) . You can reach me here.