SwiftUI Dependency Injection - dependency-injection

I have a SwiftUI app, its a tab based app
struct Tab_View: View {
var body: some View {
TabView{
Main1_View().tabItem {
Text("Blah 1")
Image("TabBar1")
}
Main2_View().tabItem {
Text("Blah 2")
Image("TabBar2")
}
}
}
}
Each view has its own view controller
struct Main1_View: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: Main1_ViewModel = Main1_ViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack(spacing:0){
<<< VIEW CODE >>>
}
}
}
ViewModel Example
class Main1_ViewModel: ObservableObject {
#ObservableObject var settings: GameSettings
func Randomise(){
dataSource = settings.selectedFramework;
}
}
The class GameSettings is used by multiple viewmodels, is an ObservableObject, same instance of the class everywhere.
My background is C# and using CastleWindsor for dependency injection.
My Question: Is there a SwiftUI equivalent to pass around an instance of GameSettings?

Because of your requirement to use an ObservableObject (GameSettings) inside another ObservableObject (the view model) and use dependency injection, things are going to be a little bit convoluted.
In order to get a dependency-injected ObservableObject to a View, the normal solution is to use #EnvironmentObject. But, then you'll have to pass the object from the view to its view model. In my example, I've done that in onAppear. The side effect is that the object is an optional property on the view model (you could potentially solve this by setting a dummy initial value).
Because nested ObservableObjects don't work out-of-the box with #Published types (which work with value types, not reference types), you'll want to make sure that you use objectWillChange to pass along any changes from GameSettings to the parent view model, which I've done using Combine.
The DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter part is there just to show that the view does in fact update when the value inside GameSettings is changed.
(Note, I've also changed your type names to use the Swift conventions of camel case)
import SwiftUI
import Combine
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject private var settings = GameSettings()
var body: some View {
TabView {
Main1View().tabItem {
Text("Blah 1")
Image("TabBar1")
}
Main2View().tabItem {
Text("Blah 2")
Image("TabBar2")
}
}.environmentObject(settings)
}
}
struct Main1View: View {
#EnvironmentObject var settings: GameSettings
#StateObject var viewModel: Main1ViewModel = Main1ViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack(spacing:0){
Text("Game settings: \(viewModel.settings?.myValue ?? "no value")")
}.onAppear {
viewModel.settings = settings
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2) {
settings.myValue = "changed"
}
}
}
}
class GameSettings : ObservableObject {
#Published var myValue : String = "Test"
}
class Main1ViewModel: ObservableObject {
private var cancellable : AnyCancellable?
var settings: GameSettings? {
didSet {
print("Running init on Main1ViewModel")
self.objectWillChange.send()
cancellable = settings?.objectWillChange.sink(receiveValue: { _ in
print("Sending...")
self.objectWillChange.send()
})
}
}
}
struct Main2View : View {
var body: some View {
Text("Hello, world!")
}
}

Dependency injection, DI is the practice of providing an object with the other objects it depends on rather than creating them internally.
My Opinion
For SwiftUI you can use #EnvironmentObject. #EnvironmentObject and the View Model Factory both provide a clean solution to this.
Check this tutorial
https://mokacoding.com/blog/swiftui-dependency-injection/

Related

How to pass by reference in Swift - number incrementing app using MVVM

I've just started learning swift and was going to build this number-incrementing sample app to understand MVVM. I don't understand why is my number on the view not updating upon clicking the button.
I tried to update the view everytime user clicks the button but the count stays at zero.
The View
import SwiftUI
struct ContentView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel = CounterViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("\(viewModel.model.count)")
Button(action: {
self.viewModel.increment()
}) {
Text("Increment")
}
}
}
}
struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
ContentView()
}
}
The ViewModel
import SwiftUI
class CounterViewModel: ObservableObject {
#ObservedObject var model = Model()
func increment() {
self.model.count += 1
}
}
The Model
import Foundation
class Model : ObservableObject{
#Published var count = 0
}
Following should work:
import SwiftUI
struct Model {
var count = 0
}
class CounterViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var model = Model()
func increment() {
self.model.count += 1
}
}
struct ContentView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel = CounterViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("\(viewModel.model.count)")
Button(action: {
self.viewModel.increment()
}) {
Text("Increment")
}
}
}
}
struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
ContentView()
}
}
Please note:
ObservableObject and #Published are designed to work together.
Only a value, that is in an observed object gets published and so the view updated.
A distinction between model and view model is not always necessary and the terms are somewhat misleading. You can just put the count var in the ViewModel. Like:
#Published var count = 1
It makes sense to have an own model struct (or class), when fx you fetch a record from a database or via a network request, than your Model would take the complete record.
Something like:
struct Adress {
let name: String
let street: String
let place: String
let email: String
}
Please also note the advantages (and disadvantages) of having immutable structs as a model. But this is another topic.
Hi it's a bad idea to use MVVM in SwiftUI because Swift is designed to take advantage of fast value types for view data like structs whereas MVVM uses slow objects for view data which leads to the kind of consistency bugs that SwiftUI's use of value types is designed to eliminate. It's a shame so many MVVM UIKit developers (and Harvard lecturers) have tried to push their MVVM garbage onto SwiftUI instead of learning it properly. Fortunately some of them are changing their ways.
When learning SwiftUI I believe it's best to learn value semantics first (where any value change to a struct is also a change to the struct itself), then the View struct (i.e. when body is called), then #Binding, then #State. e.g. have a play around with this:
// use a config struct like this for view data to group related vars
struct ContentViewConfig {
var count = 0 {
didSet {
// could do validation here, e.g. isValid = count < 10
}
}
// include other vars that are all related, e.g. you could have searchText and searchResults.
// use mutating func for logic that affects multiple vars
mutating func increment() {
count += 1
//othervar += 1
}
}
struct ContentView: View {
#State var config = ContentViewConfig() // normally structs are immutable, but #State makes it mutable like magic, so its like have a view model object right here, but better.
var body: some View {
VStack {
ContentView2(count: config.count)
ContentView3(config: $config)
}
}
}
// when designing a View first ask yourself what data does this need to do its job?
struct ContentView2: View {
let count: Int
// body is only called if count is different from the last time this was init.
var body: some View {
Text(count, format: .number)
}
}
struct ContentView3: View {
#Binding var config: ContentViewConfig
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
config.increment()
}) {
Text("Increment")
}
}
}
}
Then once you are comfortable with view data you can move on to model data which is when ObservableObject and singletons come into play, e.g.
struct Item: Identifiable {
let id = UUID()
var text = ""
}
class MyStore: ObservableObject {
#Published var items: [Item] = []
static var shared = MyStore()
static var preview = MyStore(preview: true)
init(preview: Bool = false) {
if preview {
items = [Item(text: "Test Item")]
}
}
}
#main
struct TestApp: App {
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup {
ContentView()
.environmentObject(MyStore.shared)
}
}
}
struct ContentView: View {
#EnvironmentObject store: MyStore
var body: some View {
List($store.items) { $item in
TextField("Item", $item.text)
}
}
}
struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
ContentView()
.environmentObject(MyStore.preview)
}
}
Note we use singletons because it would be dangerous to use #StateObject for model data because its lifetime is tied to something on screen we could accidentally lose all our model data which should have lifetime tied to the app running. Best to think of #StateObject when you need a reference type in a #State, i.e. involving view data.
When it comes to async networking use the new .task modifier and you can avoid #StateObject.

MVVM Passing data from view to another view's viewModel

I'm new to MVVM and i am trying to pass a location data from my ContenView to DetailsView's viewModel which is DetailsViewViewModel.
My Opening View -> ContentView (My data is here)
Second View -> DetailsView
Data must be reach -> DetailsViewViewModel
Here is my sheet in ContentView
.sheet(item: $viewModel.selectedPlace) { place in
DetailsView(location: place) { newLocation in
viewModel.updateLocation(location: newLocation)
}
I know i'm trying to send my data to details view and it's wrong. It was like that before i convert the architecture to the MVVM and this is the only place that i couldn't convert.
Also here is my DetailsViewViewModel
extension DetailsView {
#MainActor class DetailsViewViewModel: ObservableObject {
enum LoadingState {
case loading, loaded, failed
}
var location: Location
#Published var name: String
#Published var description: String
#Published var loadingState = LoadingState.loading
#Published var pages = [Page]()
init() {
self.location = // ??? how should i initialize?
self.name = location.name
self.description = location.description
}
What is the proper way to this. Using another views data in another views viewmodel.
Let me try to put in an example that uses the convenience of #EnvironmentObject:
Your view model is a class that conforms to ObservableObject, so you can have those nice variables #Published that change the state of the views.
Your main view - or also your App - must "own" the view model, meaning it needs to create the one and only instance of your view model that will be used by all views.
You pass the view model from one view to another using #StateObject and #ObservableObject, but in this example I prefer to use another approach. Make your main view inject the instance of your view model in the environment, so all other views will read from that. The main view uses .environmentObject(viewModel) to do that.
The other views read the view model from the environment by calling #EnvironmentObject. They create a variable specifying only the type - there can only be one instance per type in the environment.
This is the way with which all view will read from the same model. See below a functioning example:
Step 1:
class MyViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published private(set) var color: Color = .blue
#Published var showSheet = false
func changeColorTo(_ color: Color) {
self.color = color
}
}
Steps 2 and 3:
struct Example: View {
#StateObject private var viewModel = MyViewModel() // Here is the step (2)
var body: some View {
OneView()
.environmentObject(viewModel) // Here is the step (3)
}
}
Step 4 in two different views:
struct OneView: View {
#EnvironmentObject var viewModel: MyViewModel // Here is step (4)
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("Current color")
.padding()
.background(viewModel.color)
Button {
if viewModel.color == .blue {
viewModel.changeColorTo(.yellow)
} else {
viewModel.changeColorTo(.blue)
}
} label: {
Text("Change color")
}
Button {
viewModel.showSheet.toggle()
} label: {
Text("Now, show a sheet")
}
.padding()
}
.sheet(isPresented: $viewModel.showSheet) {
DetailView()
}
}
}
struct DetailView: View {
#EnvironmentObject var viewModel: MyViewModel // Here is step (4)
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("The sheet is showing")
.padding()
Button {
viewModel.showSheet.toggle()
} label: {
Text("Now, stop showing the sheet")
}
}
}
}
since location data is your business layer data, you need a use-case to provide it to both view models, and to optimize it caching the response is the way to go.
-ViewModel is responsible to hold the latest view states and data
-The domain layer is responsible to handle business logic
-The data layer (networking, cache, persistence, or in-memory) is responsible for providing the most efficient data storage/retrieval solutions
So, if you are okay with these defenitions and think of writing test for these view models you know that it is not right to inject data from another ViewModel because you would not test that view model on making sure it passes the data to the next viewModel and it is not its responsibility, but you write many tests for you data layer to make sure service calls and caching systems are working properly.
#StateObject var viewModel = ViewModel()
struct ParentView: View {
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
}, label: {
Text("btn")
})
.sheet(item: $viewModel.selectedPlace) { place in
DetailView(name: place.name,
location: place.location,
description: place.description)
}
}
}
struct DetailView: View {
var name: String
var location: String
var description: String
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text(name)
Text(location)
Text(description)
}
}
}
You need to initialise DetailsViewModel from ContentView sheet when you are adding the DetailsView like below:
ContentView
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var vm = ViewModel()
var body: some View {
Text("Hello, world!")
.sheet(item: $vm.selectedPlace,
onDismiss: didDismiss) {newLocation in
//Here Initialise the DetailViewModel with a location
DetailsView(detailsVM: DetailsViewModel(location: newLocation))
}
}
func didDismiss(){
}
}
DetailsView:
struct DetailsView: View {
#StateObject var detailsVM : DetailsViewModel
var body: some View {
Text("This is the DetailesView")
}
}
DetailsViewModel:
class DetailsViewModel:ObservableObject{
#Published var location:Location
init(location:Location){
self.location = location
}
}

SwiftUI / Combine Pass data between two models

I have question regarding how to pass data between two models.
struct SettingsCell: View {
#State var isOn: Bool
var body: some View {
Toggle(name, isOn: $isOn)
}
}
class SettingsModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var someValue: Bool = false
}
struct SettingsView: View {
#ObservedObject var model = SettingsModel()
var body: some View {
List {
SettingsCell(isOn: model.someValue)
}
}
}
So i want to pass isOn state from cell, to main model, and react there. Send requests for example.
You need to declare isOn as #Binding in SettingsCell.
#State should only be used for properties initialised inside the View itself and must always be private. If you want to pass in a value that should update the View whenever it changes, but the value is created outside the View, you need to use Binding.
Another really important thing to note is that #ObservedObjects must always be injected into Views, you must not initialise them inside the view itself. This is because whenever an #ObservedObject is updated, it updates the view itself, so if you initialised the object inside the view, whenever the object updates the view, the view would create a new #ObservedObject and hence your changes wouldn't be persisted from the view to the model.
If you are targeting iOS 14 and want to create the model inside the view, you can use #StateObject instead.
struct SettingsCell: View {
#Binding private var isOn: Bool
init(isOn: Binding<Bool>) {
self._isOn = isOn
}
var body: some View {
Toggle(name, isOn: $isOn)
}
}
class SettingsModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var someValue: Bool = false
}
struct SettingsView: View {
#ObservedObject private var model: SettingsModel
init(model: SettingsModel) {
self.model = model
}
var body: some View {
List {
SettingsCell(isOn: $model.someValue)
}
}
}
Binding is used in cases where the data is "owned" by a parent view - i.e. the parent holds the source of truth - and needs the child view to update it:
struct SettingsCell: View {
#Binding var isOn: Bool // change to Binding
var body: some View {
Toggle(name, isOn: $isOn)
}
}
struct SettingsView: View {
// unrelated, but better to use StateObject
#StateObject var model = SettingsModel()
var body: some View {
List {
// pass the binding by prefixing with $
SettingsCell(isOn: $model.someValue)
}
}
}

SwiftUI: Using different property wrappers for the same variable

in iOS13 I do the following to bind my View to my model:
class MyModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var someVar: String = "initial value"
}
struct MyView: View {
#ObservedObject var model = MyModel()
var body: some View {
Text("the value is \(model.someVar)")
}
}
in iOS14 there is a new property wrapper called #StateObject that I can use in the place of #ObservedObject, I need this snippet of code to be compatible with iOS13 and iOS14 while leveraging iOS14's new feature, how can I do that with #StateObject for the same variable ?
Different property wrappers generate different types of hidden properties, so you cannot just conditionally replace them. Here is a demo of possible approach.
Tested with Xcode 12 / iOS 14 (deployment target 13.6)
struct ContentView: View {
var body: some View {
if #available(iOS 14, *) {
MyNewView()
} else {
MyView()
}
}
}
class MyModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var someVar: String = "initial value"
}
#available(iOS, introduced: 13, obsoleted: 14, renamed: "MyNewView")
struct MyView: View {
#ObservedObject var model = MyModel()
var body: some View {
CommonView().environmentObject(model)
}
}
#available(iOS 14, *)
struct MyNewView: View {
#StateObject var model = MyModel()
var body: some View {
CommonView().environmentObject(model)
}
}
struct CommonView: View {
#EnvironmentObject var model: MyModel
var body: some View {
Text("the value is \(model.someVar)")
}
}
ObservableObject and #Published are part of the Combine framework and you should only use those when you require a Combine pipeline to assign the output to the #Published var. What you should be using for your data is #State use it as follows:
struct MyView: View {
#State var text = "initial value"
var body: some View {
VStack{
Text("the value is \(text)")
TextField("", text: $text)
}
}
}
If you have multiple vars or need functions then you should refactor these into their own struct. Multiple related properties in their own struct makes the View more readable, can maintain invariance on its properties and be tested independently. And because the struct is a value type, any change to a property, is visible as a change to the struct (Learn this in WWDC 2020 Data Essentials in SwiftUI ). Implement as follows:
struct MyViewConfig {
var text1 = "initial value"
var text2 = "initial value"
mutating func reset(){
text1 = "initial value"
text2 = "initial value"
}
}
struct MyView: View {
#Binding var config: MyViewConfig
var body: some View {
VStack{
Text("the value is \(config.text1)")
TextField("", text: $config.text1)
Button("Reset", action: reset)
}
}
func reset() {
config.reset()
}
}
struct ContentView {
#State var config = MyViewConfig()
var body: some View {
MyView(config:$config)
}
}
SwiftUI is designed to take advantage of value semantics where all the data is in structs which makes it run super fast. If you unnecessarily create objects then you are slowing it all down.
To answer the question, that use of ObservableObject to init is in correct. Every time the View struct is init a new object will also be init which will slow down SwiftUI. You’ll need to either use a global var or singleton to store the objects and use onAppear to init and onDissapear to destroy. In the WWDC video where StateObject is introduced you’ll hear him say “you don’t need to mess with onDissapear anymore” so that is your clue on how to simulate StateObject. By the way, it is totally fine to update your app with new features only available in the new OS, users that have not yet updated their OS will just stay on the old version of the app and is a much simpler way to work.

SwiftUI MVVM: child view model re-initialized when parent view updated

I'm attempting to use MVVM in a SwiftUI app, however it appears that view models for child views (e.g. ones in a NavigationLink) are re-initialized whenever an ObservableObject that's observed by both the parent and child is updated. This causes the child's local state to be reset, network data to be reloaded, etc.
I'm guessing it's because this causes parent's body to be reevaluated, which contains a constructor to SubView's view model, but I haven't been able to find an alternative that lets me create view models that don't live beyond the life of the view. I need to be able to pass data to the child view model from the parent.
Here's a very simplified playground of what we're trying to accomplish, where incrementing EnvCounter.counter resets SubView.counter.
import SwiftUI
import PlaygroundSupport
class EnvCounter: ObservableObject {
#Published var counter = 0
}
struct ContentView: View {
#ObservedObject var envCounter = EnvCounter()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("Parent view")
Button(action: { self.envCounter.counter += 1 }) {
Text("EnvCounter is at \(self.envCounter.counter)")
}
.padding(.bottom, 40)
SubView(viewModel: .init())
}
.environmentObject(envCounter)
}
}
struct SubView: View {
class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var counter = 0
}
#EnvironmentObject var envCounter: EnvCounter
#ObservedObject var viewModel: ViewModel
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("Sub view")
Button(action: { self.viewModel.counter += 1 }) {
Text("SubView counter is at \(self.viewModel.counter)")
}
Button(action: { self.envCounter.counter += 1 }) {
Text("EnvCounter is at \(self.envCounter.counter)")
}
}
}
}
PlaygroundPage.current.setLiveView(ContentView())
A new property wrapper is added to SwiftUI in Xcode 12, #StateObject. You should be able to fix it by simply changing #ObservedObject for #StateObject as follows.
struct SubView: View {
class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var counter = 0
}
#EnvironmentObject var envCounter: EnvCounter
#StateObject var viewModel: ViewModel // change on this line
var body: some View {
// ...
}
}
To solve this problem I created a custom helper class called ViewModelProvider.
The provider takes a hash for your view, and a method that builds the ViewModel. It then either returns the ViewModel, or builds it if its the first time that it received that hash.
As long as you make sure the hash stays the same as long as you want the same ViewModel, this solves the problem.
class ViewModelProvider {
private static var viewModelStore = [String:Any]()
static func makeViewModel<VM>(forHash hash: String, usingBuilder builder: () -> VM) -> VM {
if let vm = viewModelStore[hash] as? VM {
return vm
} else {
let vm = builder()
viewModelStore[hash] = vm
return vm
}
}
}
Then in your View, you can use the ViewModel:
Struct MyView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: MyViewModel
public init(thisParameterDoesntChangeVM: String, thisParameterChangesVM: String) {
self.viewModel = ViewModelProvider.makeViewModel(forHash: thisParameterChangesVM) {
MOFOnboardingFlowViewModel(
pages: pages,
baseStyleConfig: style,
buttonConfig: buttonConfig,
onFinish: onFinish
)
}
}
}
In this example, there are two parameters. Only thisParameterChangesVM is used in the hash. This means that even if thisParameterDoesntChangeVM changes and the View is rebuilt, the view model stays the same.
I was having the same problem, your guesses are right, SwiftUI computes all your parent body every time its state changes. The solution is moving the child ViewModel init to the parent's ViewModel, this is the code from your example:
class EnvCounter: ObservableObject {
#Published var counter = 0
#Published var subViewViewModel = SubView.ViewModel.init()
}
struct CounterView: View {
#ObservedObject var envCounter = EnvCounter()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Text("Parent view")
Button(action: { self.envCounter.counter += 1 }) {
Text("EnvCounter is at \(self.envCounter.counter)")
}
.padding(.bottom, 40)
SubView(viewModel: envCounter.subViewViewModel)
}
.environmentObject(envCounter)
}
}

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