I have a tableView, it is populated with car names. User can add, delete cells.
CarData.swift:
struct CarData {
var name: String
}
Cars.swift:
class Cars{
var list = [
CarData(name: "Toyota Corolla"),
CarData(name: "BMW 3")
]
}
ListViewController.swift:
class ListViewController: UIViewController {
#IBOutlet weak var tableView: UITableView!
var carsList = Cars()
var cars = [CarData]()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
cars = carsList.list
.
.
.
When a segue brings user to the ListViewController, the list is always going to be the same due to the way cars array is initialized. What I want is the list to save its data in-between segues and not to be rewritten every time. I have a lot of segues, so sending cars array all around doesn't seem to be a great idea. What should I do?
Global Access!
For your begging level, you can create a singleton object to access it globally across the entire application.
class CarsManager
{
// MARK: Init
private init() { }
// MARK: Properties
static var shared = CarsManager()
private var cars: [CarData] = []
// MARK: Methods
func addNewCar(_ car: CarData)
{
cars.append(car)
}
func getCars() -> [CarData]
{
return cars
}
}
Usage
You can add cars to your list on any screen:
let someCar = CarData(name: "Toyota Corolla")
CarsManager.shared.addNewCar(someCar)
Then you can easily access your list from all screens:
CarsManager.shared.getCars()
What to do next?
You should read more about the pros and cons of the singleton design pattern to know when to use and when not:
What Is a Singleton and How To Create One In Swift
Singleton in Swift
Swift Singletons: A Design Pattern to Avoid (With Examples)
Related
I am new to Swift and am building an app to learn. Right now I am making the registration section of the app.
I thought the UX would be better if there were multiple VC's asking a single question, i.e. one for your name, one for your birthdate, etc as opposed to jamming all that into a single view controller. The final view controller collects all of that information and sends a dictionary as FUser object to be saved on Firebase.
I figured I could instantiate the final view controller on each of the previous five view controllers and pass that data directly to the end. I kept getting errors and figured out that the variables were nil. It works just fine if I pass the data directly to the next view controller but it doesn't seem to let me send it several view controllers down. Obviously there's a nuance to how the memory is being managed here that I'm not tracking.
Is there a way to do what I am trying to do or do I have to pass the data through each view controller along the way?
import UIKit
class FirstViewController: UIViewController {
//MARK: - IBOutlets
#IBOutlet weak var firstNameTextField: UITextField!
//MARK: - ViewLifeCycle
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
}
//MARK: - IBActions
#IBAction func continueToMiddleViewController(_ sender: Any) {
let vcFinal = storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier:
"finalVC") as! finalViewController
vcFinal.firstName = firstNameTextField.text
let vc = storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier:
"middleVC") as! middleViewController
vc.modalPresentationStyle = .fullScreen
present(vc, animated: false)
}
...
}
import UIKit
class FinalViewController: UIViewController {
var firstName: String?
...
//MARK: - ViewLifeCycle
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
}
...
}
TL;DR: The fastest one that would solve your problem is creating a singleton
There are many strategies for this. For a starter, it might be a good idea to read some begginer articles, like this one. I can update this answer if you don't find it useful, but it'd look just like the article
Viewcontroller's variable can't be initiated until any of the init method is called.
There are detailed answers on this thread.
Passing Data between ViewControllers
Another way to approach this problem could be to make use of closures. Note that personally I've moved away from using storyboards but I'll try to explain still. Closures are also referred to as callbacks, blocks, or in some context like here - completions.
You can declare a closure like let onSubmitInfo: (String?) -> Void below, it stores a reference to a block of code that can be executed at a later stage just like a function and it takes an optional string as a parameter just like a function can.
The closures are specified in the initialisers where a block of code is passed into the respective classes below and the closures are then called in the IBActions that will trigger the block of code that is defined where the below classes are initialised:
class First: UIViewController {
// MARK: - IBOutlets
#IBOutlet weak var firstNameTextField: UITextField!
// MARK: - Properties
private let onSubmitInfo: (String?) -> Void
init(onSubmitInfo: (String?) -> Void) {
self.onSubmitInfo = onSubmitInfo
}
// MARK: - IBActions
#IBAction func continue(_ sender: Any) {
onSubmitInfo(firstNameTextField.text)
}
}
class Second: UIViewController {
// MARK: - IBOutlets
#IBOutlet weak var lastNameTextField: UITextField!
// MARK: - Properties
private let onSubmitInfo: (String?) -> Void
init(onSubmitInfo: (String?) -> Void) {
self.onSubmitInfo = onSubmitInfo
}
// MARK: - IBActions
#IBAction func continue(_ sender: Any) {
onSubmitInfo(lastNameTextField.text)
}
}
To manage showing the above views and collecting the values returned by their closures (i.e. onSubmitInfo) we create a FlowController class that will also show the next view when the closure is called.
In FlowController we define the closures or blocks of code to be executed when it is called inside the IBAction in the respective First and Second classes above.
The optional string that is provided in the respective First and Second classes is used as the (firstName) and (secondName) closure properties below:
class FlowController: UIViewController {
private var fistName: String?
private var lastName: String?
...
private func showFirstView() {
let firstViewController = First(onSubmitInfo: { (firstName) in
self.firstName = firstName
showSecondView()
})
navigationController?.pushViewController(
firstViewController,
animated: true)
}
private func showSecondView() {
let secondViewController = Second(onSubmitInfo: { (lastName) in
self.lastName = lastName
showFinalView()
})
navigationController?.pushViewController(
secondViewController,
animated: true)
}
private func showFinalView() {
let finalViewController = Final(
firstName: firstName,
lastName: lastName)
navigationController?.pushViewController(
finalViewController,
animated: true)
}
}
The FlowController finally shows the Final view controller after it has collected the firstName form the First view controller and the lastName form the Second view controller in the showFinalView function above.
class Final: UIViewController {
let firstName: String
let lastName: String
...
}
I hope this is a shove in the right direction. I have moved away from storyboards because I find creating views in code is more verbose and clear on peer reviews and it was also easier for me to manage constraints and just to manage views in general.
PetInfo.class
class PetInfo {
static let shared: PetInfo = PetInfo()
lazy var petArray: [PetInfo] = []
var PetID:Int
var PetName:String
...
init(){ .. }
}
ViewController.swift
class ViewController: UIViewController {
var PetArray = PetInfo.shared.petArray
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let pet = PetInfo()
pet.PetName = "Jack"
PetArray.append(pet). **Create Object and gave a name**
print(PetArray[0].PetName) //works!
}
}
secondViewController.swift
class secondViewController: UIViewController {
var PetArray = PetInfo.shared.petArray
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let label: UILabel = {
let label = UILabel()
...
label.text = PetArray[0].PetName **tried to print**
return label
}()
view.addSubview(label)
}
}
I want to share PetArray array in all of the view controllers.(It's more than two.)
It put data in the first VC, but doesn't work in the Second VC.
How can I share this array using a Singleton pattern?
Except for the array, It works perfect.(like String.. PetID, PetName.. )
Array in swift is implemented as Struct, which means Array is a value type and not a reference type. Value types in Swift uses copy on write (COW) mechanism to handle the changes to their values.
So in your ViewController when you assigned
var PetArray = PetInfo.shared.petArray
your PetArray was still pointing to the same array in your PetInfo.shared instance (I mean same copy of array in memory) . But as soon as you modified the value of PetArray by using
PetArray.append(pet)
COW kicks in and it creates a new copy of petArray in memory and now your PetArray variable in your ViewController and PetInfo.shared.petArray are no longer pointing to same instances instead they are pointing to two different copies of array in memory.
So all the changes you did by using PetArray.append(pet) is obviously not reflected when you access PetInfo.shared.petArray in secondViewController
What can I do?
remove PetArray.append(pet) and instead use PetInfo.shared.petArray.append(pet)
What are the other issues in my code?
Issue 1:
Never use Pascal casing for variable name var PetArray = PetInfo.shared.petArray instead use camel casing var petArray = PetInfo.shared.petArray
Issue 2:
class PetInfo {
static let shared: PetInfo = PetInfo()
lazy var petArray: [PetInfo] = []
var PetID:Int
var PetName:String
...
init(){ .. }
}
This implementation will not ensure that there exists only one instance of PetInfo exists in memory (I mean it cant ensure pure singleton pattern), though you provide access to instance of PetInfo using a static variable named shared there is nothing which stops user from creating multiple instances of PetInfo simply by calling PetInfo() as you did in let pet = PetInfo()
rather use private init(){ .. } to prevent others from further creating instances of PetInfo
Issue 3:
You are holding an array of PetInfo inside an instance of PetInfo which is kind of messed up pattern, am not really sure as to what are you trying to accomplish here, if this is really what you wanna do, then probably you can ignore point two (creating private init) for now :)
I think the best solution to use Combine and Resolver frameworks. Works perfectly in my case with shared arrays.
In your case it could be
import Combine
import Resolver // need to add pod 'Resolver' to Podfile and install it first
// Data Model
struct PetInfo: Codable {
var PetID:Int
var PetName:String
...
}
// Repository to read manage data (read/write/search)
class PetRepository: ObservableObject {
#Published var petArray = Array<PetInfo>()
override init() {
super.init()
load()
}
private func load() {
// load pets info from server
}
}
Need to add AppDelegate+Injection.swift that will contain repository registration:
import Foundation
import Resolver
extension Resolver: ResolverRegistering {
public static func registerAllServices() {
// Services
register { PetRepository() }.scope(application)
}
}
Then use it in any controllers
import UIKit
import Combine
import Resolver
class ViewController: UIViewController {
#LazyInjected var petRepository: PetRepository
private var cancellables = Set<AnyCancellable>()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
petRepository.$petArray
.receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)
.debounce(for: 0.8, scheduler: RunLoop.main)
.sink { [weak self] petInfos in
// set UI here
}
.store(in: &cancellables)
}
}
If you want PetInfo to be a singleton, make its initializer private:
class PetInfo {
static let shared: PetInfo = PetInfo()
lazy var petArray: [PetInfo] = []
var PetID:Int
var PetName:String
...
private init(){ .. } // !!
}
This way, any attempt to create new instances (like you do in your first ViewController) will fail, and will remind you to always use PetInfo.shared to access the singleton.
I have VCs in an iOS app which have quite a lot of UI controls. I would now need to replace or "mock" some of these controls when in a specific state. In some cases this would be just disabling button actions, but in some cases the actions that happen need to be replaced with something completely different.
I don't really like the idea of having this sort of check littered all around the codebase.
if condition {
...Special/disabled functionality
} else {
...Normal functionality
}
In Android, I can just subclass each Fragment/Activity and build the functionality there, and then doing the if/else when inserting Fragments or launching activities.
But on iOS with Storyboards/IBActions and Segues, UIs and VCs are really tightly coupled. You either end up duplicating UI views or adding a lot of finicky code to already large VCs.
What would be the best way to handle this in iOS?
Sample code of what I want to avoid doing:
//Before:
class SomeViewController : UIViewController {
#IBAction onSomeButton() {
checkSomeState()
doANetworkRequest(() -> {
someCompletionHandler()
updatesTheUI()
}
updateTheUIWhileLoading()
}
#IBAction onSomeOtherButton() {
checkAnotherState()
updateUI()
}
}
//After:
class SomeViewController : UIViewController {
#IBAction onSomeButton() {
if specialState {
doSomethingSimpler()
} else {
checkSomeState()
doANetworkRequest(() -> {
someCompletionHandler()
updatesTheUI()
}
updateTheUIWhileLoading()
}
}
#IBAction onSomeOtherButton() {
if specialState {
return // Do nothing
} else {
checkAnotherState()
updateUI()
}
}
}
I'd suggest using the MVVM (Model - View - ViewModel) pattern. You pass the ViewModel to your controller and delegate all actions to it. You can also use it to style your views and decide if some of them should be hidden or disabled, etc.
Let's image a shopping app in which your pro users get a 10% discount and can use a free-shipping option.
protocol PaymentScreenViewModelProtocol {
var regularPriceString: String { get }
var discountedPriceString: String? { get }
var isFreeShippingAvailable: Bool { get }
func userSelectedFreeShipping()
func buy()
}
class StandardUserPaymentScreenViewModel: PaymentScreenViewModelProtocol {
let regularPriceString: String = "20"
let discountedPriceString: String? = nil
let isFreeShippingAvailable: Bool = false
func userSelectedFreeShipping() {
// standard users cannot use free shipping!
}
func buy() {
// process buying
}
}
class ProUserPaymentScreenViewModel: PaymentScreenViewModelProtocol {
let regularPriceString: String = "20"
let discountedPriceString: String? = "18"
let isFreeShippingAvailable: Bool = true
func userSelectedFreeShipping() {
// process selection of free shipping
}
func buy() {
// process buying
}
}
class PaymentViewController: UIViewController {
#IBOutlet weak var priceLabel: UILabel!
#IBOutlet weak var discountedPriceLabel: UILabel!
#IBOutlet weak var freeShippingButton: UIButton!
var viewModel: PaymentScreenViewModelProtocol
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
priceLabel.text = viewModel.regularPriceString
discountedPriceLabel.text = viewModel.discountedPriceString
freeShippingButton.isHidden = !viewModel.isFreeShippingAvailable
}
#IBAction func userDidPressFreeShippingButton() {
viewModel.userSelectedFreeShipping()
}
#IBAction func userDidPressBuy() {
viewModel.buy()
}
}
This approach let's you decouple your logic from your views. It's also easier to test this logic.
One thing to consider and decide is the approach as to how to inject the view model into the view controller. I can see three possibilities :
Via init - you provide a custom initializer requiring to pass the view model. This will mean you won't be able to use segue's or storyboards (you will be able to use xibs). This will let your view model be non-optional.
Via property setting with default implementation - if you provide some form of default/empty implementation of your view model you could use it as a default value for it, and set the proper implementation later (for example in prepareForSegue). This enables you to use segues, storyboards and have the view model be non-optional (it just adds the overhead of having an extra empty implementation).
Via property setting without default implementation - this basically means that your view model will need to be an optional and you will have to check for it almost everytime you access it.
I am new to Swift and I have trouble using classes and structures.
I have a Structure called Workspace:
struct Workspace: Decodable {
var guid: String
var name: String
func getUserWorkspace(base: String, completed: #escaping () -> ()){
//some code
}
}
Here is my class User:
public class User {
var Wor = [Workspace]()
var WorData:Workspace? = nil
//+some other var & functions
}
So what I'm doing in my view controller is this:
class SecondViewController: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource {
#IBOutlet weak var listView: UITableView!
var co = User()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
co.WorData?.getUserWorkspace(base: co.Base) {
print("success")
self.listView.reloadData()
self.updateVertically()
}
listView.delegate = self
listView.dataSource = self
}
The problem is that the code never goes inside the function co.WorData?.getUserWorkspace(base: co.Base)
Before I put it in the structure it was directly in the class but since I changed it it doesn't work anymore so I think I might be calling it the wrong way ?
WorData is nil.
Conditional unwrapping (co.WorData?.getUserWorkspace(base: co.Base) will check WorData has a value before trying to call the method. If it was nil and Swift didn't do this, it would crash.
You either need to set it as new all the time
var worData = Workspace()
Set it after class init
var user = User()
user.worData = Workspace() // or pass a specific one in
or require your User object to be initialised with a Workspace
class User: NSObject {
var wor = [Workspace]()
var workspace: Workspace // use lower camel case for var names
required init(workspace: Workspace) {
self.workspace = workspace
}
}
I'm creating an app and I have all the logic done, but I want to do a Code refactoring and create MVC pattern. But I dealing with some asynchronous informations, that came from API.
/MenuViewController
Alamofire.request(.GET, Urls.menu).responseJSON { request in
if let json = request.result.value {
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0)) {
let data = JSON(json)
var product: [Product] = []
for (_, subJson): (String, JSON) in data {
product += [Product(id: subJson["id"].int!, name: subJson["name"].string!, description: subJson["description"].string!, price: subJson["price"].doubleValue)]
}
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
self.products += product
self.tableView.reloadData()
}
}
}
}
This is my code, already working. But I want to create a Model that will handle this and just return the array of Products to my MenuViewController.
Model/Menu
class Menu {
var products: [Product] = []
init() {
Alamofire.request(.GET, Urls.menu).responseJSON { request in
if let json = request.result.value {
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_HIGH, 0)) {
let data = JSON(json)
var product: [Product] = []
for (_, subJson): (String, JSON) in data {
product += [Product(id: subJson["id"].int!, name: subJson["name"].string!, description: subJson["description"].string!, price: subJson["price"].doubleValue)]
}
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
self.products += product
}
}
}
}
}
func totalOfProducts() -> Int {
return self.products.count
}
func getProducts() -> [Product]? {
return self.products
}
func getProductFromIndex(index: Int) -> Product {
return self.products[index]
}
}
But I got my self thinking, how I gonna get the main_queue to another class?
So I tried something like this:
class MenuViewControlvar: UITableViewController {
var products: [Product] = []
let menu: Menu = Menu()
// MARK: View Controller Lifecycle
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
if let products = menu.getProducts() {
self.tableView.reloadData()
}
// rest of the code
But didn't worked. My TableView is never updated.
I was wondering if I can do this, or I've to keep my Alamofire code in my viewDidLoad() from my MenuViewController
Thank you.
I am just giving you a direction with the step I would follow (Not writing the code thinking you can work it out):
First, write a networking class that accepts network request along with a competition block. Completion block shall be executed as soon as networking is done. This is a wrapper class and can be used across classes.
Second, write a model class that has all the parameters necessary for view controller's functionalities/view drawing.
Third, from view controller, call the networking class. In completion block, pass the model setting, table reload code and any code to remove loading overlay/indicator. This block should get executed on main queue.
Fourth, add code to show loading overlay/indicator before you trigger networking.
Delegation is an ideal solution for this problem of updating your model data and your view based on an asynchronous network call and it’s pretty much the same technique that is implemented throughout the iOS SDK to solve the same problem. There are many benefits of delegation over observation, another viable solution.
First, move your networking code to a separate class
class NetworkingController {
Create a protocol that view controllers can conform to. This provides the loose coupling between your network operations and your views to effectively maintain separation between the MVC layers.
#protocol NetworkingControllerDelegate: class {
func menuDataDidUpdate()
}
Have the networking controller support a property for its delegate
weak var delegate: NetworkingControllerDelegate?
In summary your networking class now looks something like this:
#protocol NetworkingControllerDelegate: class {
func menuDataDidUpdate()
}
class NetworkingController {
weak var delegate: NetworkingControllerDelegate?
// Insert networking functions here.
}
Then, have your view controller conform to this protocol like so
class MenuViewController: NetworkingControllerDelegate {
and create a new network controller in your view controller
var myNetworkController = NetworkController()
and set the delegate of your network controller instance to be your view controller
myNetworkController.delegate = self
Then in your networking code, when the network request has completed and your model has been updated, make a call to the networking controller's delegate.
delegate.menuDidUpdate()
Create the implementation for this method in your view controller since it is now the delegate for your networking code.
func menuDidUpdate() {
// Update your menu.
}
This makes your view controller look something like:
class MenuViewController: NetworkingControllerDelegate {
var myNetworkController = NetworkController()
override func viewDidLoad() {
myNetworkController.delegate = self
}
// MARK: NetworkingControllerDelegate
func menuDidUpdate() {
// Update your menu.
}
}
This is just the outline of the implementation to give you the necessary information about how to proceed. Fully adapting this to your problem is up to you.