How to Create layout constraints programmatically

To fix a view to the bottom of the screen you need following constraints to set.

1. Leading Constraint with respect of Parent View for - X
2. Trailing Constraint with respect of Parent View for - Width
3. Bottom Constraint with respect of Parent View for - Y
4. Height Constraint attached to self for - Height.

Lets add.

UIView *subView=bottomView;
UIView *parent=self.view;

subView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;

//Trailing    
NSLayoutConstraint *trailing =[NSLayoutConstraint
                                constraintWithItem:subView
                                attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTrailing
                                relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                toItem:parent   
                                attribute:NSLayoutAttributeTrailing
                                multiplier:1.0f
                                constant:0.f];

//Leading

NSLayoutConstraint *leading = [NSLayoutConstraint
                                   constraintWithItem:subView
                                   attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                   relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                   toItem:parent
                                   attribute:NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                   multiplier:1.0f
                                   constant:0.f];

//Bottom
NSLayoutConstraint *bottom =[NSLayoutConstraint
                                 constraintWithItem:subView
                                 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom
                                 relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                 toItem:parent
                                 attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom
                                 multiplier:1.0f
                                 constant:0.f];

//Height to be fixed for SubView same as AdHeight
NSLayoutConstraint *height = [NSLayoutConstraint
                               constraintWithItem:subView
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeHeight
                               relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                               toItem:nil
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute
                               multiplier:0
                               constant:ADHeight];

    //Add constraints to the Parent
    [parent addConstraint:trailing];
    [parent addConstraint:bottom];
    [parent addConstraint:leading];

    //Add height constraint to the subview, as subview owns it.
    [subView addConstraint:height];

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Small extension for previous answer because addConstraint will be deprecated in future. Here is an extension for UI view. Use these functions after you added view to hierarchy.

OBJC

@implementation UIView (Constraints)

-(void)addConstaintsToSuperviewWithLeftOffset:(CGFloat)leftOffset topOffset:(CGFloat)topOffset {

    self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false;

    [[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem: self
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                  relatedBy: NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                     toItem: self.superview
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeLeading
                                 multiplier: 1
                                   constant: leftOffset] setActive:true];

    [[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem: self
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeTop
                                  relatedBy: NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                     toItem: self.superview
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeTop
                                 multiplier: 1
                                   constant: topOffset] setActive:true];
}

-(void)addConstaintsWithWidth:(CGFloat)width height:(CGFloat)height {

    self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false;


    [[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem: self
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeWidth
                                  relatedBy: NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                     toItem: nil
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute
                                 multiplier: 1
                                   constant: width] setActive:true];

    [[NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem: self
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeHeight
                                  relatedBy: NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                     toItem: nil
                                  attribute: NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute
                                 multiplier: 1
                                   constant: height] setActive:true];
}

@end

Swift 3

extension UIView {

    public func addConstaintsToSuperview(leftOffset: CGFloat, topOffset: CGFloat) {

        self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

        NSLayoutConstraint(item: self,
                           attribute: .leading,
                           relatedBy: .equal,
                           toItem: self.superview,
                           attribute: .leading,
                           multiplier: 1,
                           constant: leftOffset).isActive = true

        NSLayoutConstraint(item: self,
                           attribute: .top,
                           relatedBy: .equal,
                           toItem: self.superview,
                           attribute: .top,
                           multiplier: 1,
                           constant: topOffset).isActive = true
    }

    public func addConstaints(height: CGFloat, width: CGFloat) {

        self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

        NSLayoutConstraint(item: self,
                           attribute: .height,
                           relatedBy: .equal,
                           toItem: nil,
                           attribute: .notAnAttribute,
                           multiplier: 1,
                           constant: height).isActive = true


        NSLayoutConstraint(item: self,
                           attribute: .width,
                           relatedBy: .equal,
                           toItem: nil,
                           attribute: .notAnAttribute,
                           multiplier: 1,
                           constant: width).isActive = true
    }
}

Also since iOS 9 it could be done super simple with anchors:

Swift 3

extension UIView {

    func addConstaintsToSuperview(leadingOffset: CGFloat, topOffset: CGFloat) {

        guard superview != nil else {
            return
        }

        translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

        leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: superview!.leadingAnchor,
                                 constant: leadingOffset).isActive = true

        topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: superview!.topAnchor,
                             constant: topOffset).isActive = true
    }

    func addConstaints(height: CGFloat, width: CGFloat) {

        heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: height).isActive = true
        widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: width).isActive = true
    }

}

OBJC category

@implementation UIView (Constraints)

-(void)addConstaintsToSuperviewWithLeadingOffset:(CGFloat)leadingOffset topOffset:(CGFloat)topOffset
{
    if (self.superview == nil) {
        return;
    }

    self.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false;

    [[self.leadingAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:self.superview.leadingAnchor
                                        constant:leadingOffset] setActive:true];

    [[self.topAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:self.superview.topAnchor
                                   constant:topOffset] setActive:true];
}

-(void)addConstaintsWithHeight:(CGFloat)height width:(CGFloat)width
{
    [[self.heightAnchor constraintEqualToConstant:height] setActive:true];
    [[self.widthAnchor constraintEqualToConstant:width] setActive:true];
}

@end

You can use autolayout constraints programmatically like below

fileprivate func setupName(){
        let height = CGFloat(50)

        lblName.text = "Hello world"
        lblName.backgroundColor = .lightGray

        //Step 1
        lblName.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false

        //Step 2
        self.view.addSubview(lblName)

        //Step 3
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([

            lblName.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.leadingAnchor),
            lblName.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.trailingAnchor),
            lblName.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.bottomAnchor,constant: -height),
            lblName.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.bottomAnchor),
            ])

    }

Output screenshot