Programmatic UIKit Layout with Auto Layout

Overview

Programmatic UIKit layout with anchors provides type-safe, maintainable UI code used by production apps at scale. Stack views solve 50%+ of layout problems, anchors provide compile-time safety, design systems ensure consistency.

Core principle: Anchors-only (no Visual Format Language), stack-first composition, reusable components with centralized spacing/colors.

Foundation Setup

Step 1: Disable Storyboards

Remove Main.storyboard:

1. Delete Main.storyboard file
2. In Info.plist, delete "Main storyboard file base name" entry
3. Delete "Storyboard Name" in Target → Info → Custom iOS Target Properties