SwiftUI: Update views when conditions / ObservableObject changed while view is opened - ios

I guess it is mostlikely a stupid question, but currently I am struggling.
To avoid tons of code, I simplified the code (see below) but it should show the problem.
I’ve got multiple views that are not in a parental relationship.
On one view (ViewA) I set a target date. On another view (ViewB) I show text, depending on the fact whether the target date is in future or not.
For both views I am using a ObservableObject.
I would like to have that ViewB changes the text when it is open and the target date is reached at that time. Since I am using the tag #Published, I was expecting it works directly.
But unfortunately, nothing happens.
This is my initial approach.
I tested some more solutions, e.g.
polling by a timer in the views with a function to get the current date
I also thought about first calculating the remaining time and a timer in another thread within the ObservedObject that fires an event when the timer reaches 0 and onReceive modifiers in the views.
But I guess my approach(es) is (are) very bad I there will be a way better solution.
Your help is really appreciated.
Thanks,
Sebastian
SearchData:
class SearchData: ObservableObject {
#Published var targetDate: Date = UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: "targetDate") as? Date ?? Date() {
didSet {
UserDefaults.standard.set(self.targetDate, forKey: "targetDate")
}
}
}
View A:
struct ViewA: View {
#ObservedObject var searchData = SearchData()
func setDate() {
searchData.targetDate = Date() + 120
}
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
self.setDate()
}) {
Text("Set Date")
}
}
}
View B:
struct ViewB: View {
#ObservedObject var searchData = SearchData()
var body: some View {
VStack() {
if searchData.targetDate > Date() {
Text("Text A")
} else {
Text("Text B")
}
Spacer()
Text("\(searchData.targetDate)")
}
.padding()
}
}

The ViewA and ViewB use different instances of SearchData. To make published work directly, as you wrote, both views have to use one instance of observable object.
struct ViewA: View {
#ObservedObject var searchData: SearchData
/// ... other code
struct ViewB: View {
#ObservedObject var searchData: SearchData
/// ... other code
and somewhere you crate them
let searchData = SearchData()
...
ViewA(searchData: searchData)
...
ViewB(searchData: searchData)
If ViewA and ViewB live in different view hierarchies then probably would be more appropriate to use #EnvironmentObject
struct ViewA: View {
#EnvironmentObject var searchData: SearchData
/// ... other code
struct ViewB: View {
#EnvironmentObject var searchData: SearchData
/// ... other code

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.

How can I prevent a View model from being recreated on multiple views

DISCLAIMER: I'm a newbie in swift
I'm trying to set an MVVM app in such a way that multiple screens can access a single View Model but for some reason, everytime I navigate away from the home page, the ViewModel get re-created.
The ViewModel is set up this way:
extension ContentView {
//view model
class MyViewModel: ObservableObject {
let sdk: mySdk
#Published var allProducts = [ProductItem]()
#Published var itemsArray = [Item]() //This gets updated with content later on
...
init(sdk: mySdk) {
self.sdk = sdk
self.loadProds(forceReload: false)
...
func loadProds(forceReload: Bool){
sdk.getProducts(forceReload: forceReload) { products, error in
if let products = products {
self.allProducts = products
} else {
self.products = .error (error?.localizedDescription ?? "error")
print(error?.localizedDescription)
}
}
...
//itemsArray gets values appended to it as follows:
itemsArray.append(Item(productUid: key, quantity: Int32(value)))
}
}
}
}
The rest of the code is set up like:
struct ContentView: View { // Home Screen content
#ObservedObject var viewmodel: MyViewModel
var body: some View {
...
}
}
The SecondView that should get updated based on the state of the itemsArray is set up like so:
struct SecondView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: ContentView.MyViewModel //I have also tried using #StateObject
init(sdk: mySdk) {
_viewModel = ObservedObject(wrappedValue: ContentView.MyViewModel(sdk: sdk))
}
var body: some View {
ScrollView {
LazyVStack {
Text("Items array count is \(viewModel.itemsArray.count)")
Text("All prods array count is \(viewModel.allProducts.count)")
if viewModel.itemsArray.isEmpty{
Text ("Items array is empty")
}
else {
Text ("Items array is not empty")
...
}
}
}
}
}
The Main View that holds the custom TabView and handles Navigation is set up like this:
struct MainView: View {
let sdk = mySdk(dbFactory: DbFactory())
#State private var selectedIndex = 0
let icons = [
"house",
"cart.fill",
"list.dash"
]
var body: some View{
VStack {
//Content
ZStack {
switch selectedIndex {
case 0:
NavigationView {
ContentView(viewmodel: .init(sdk: sdk))
.navigationBarTitle("Home")
}
case 1:
NavigationView {
SecondView(sdk: sdk)
.navigationBarTitle("Cart")
}
...
...
}
}
}
}
}
Everytime I navigate away from the ContentView screen, any updated content of the viewmodel gets reset. For example, on navigating the SecondView screen itemsArray.count shows 0 but allProducts Array shows the correct value as it was preloaded.
The entire content of ContentView gets recreated on navigating back as well.
I would love to have the data in the ViewModel persist on multiple views unless explicitly asked to refresh.
How can I go about doing that please? I can't seem to figure out where I'm doing something wrong.
Any help will be appreciated.
Your call to ContentView calls .init on your view model, so every time SwiftUI's rendering system needs to redraw itself, you'll get a new instance of the view model created. Similarly, the init() method on SecondView also calls the init method, in its ContentView.MyViewModel(sdk: sdk) form.
A better approach would be to create a single instance further up the hierarchy, and store it as a #StateObject so that SwiftUI knows to respond to changes to its published properties. Using #StateObject once also shows which view "owns" the object; that instance will stick around for as long as that view is in the hierarchy.
In your case, I'd create your view model in MainView – which probably means the view model definition shouldn't be namespaced within ContentView. Assuming you change the namespacing, you'd have something like
struct MainView: View {
#StateObject private var viewModel: ViewModel
init() {
let sdk = mySdk(dbFactory: DbFactory())
let viewModel = ViewModel(sdk: sdk)
_viewModel = StateObject(wrappedValue: viewModel)
}
var body: some View{
VStack {
//Content
ZStack {
switch selectedIndex {
case 0:
NavigationView {
ContentView(viewModel: viewModel)
.navigationBarTitle("Home")
}
case 1:
NavigationView {
SecondView(viewModel: viewModel)
.navigationBarTitle("Cart")
}
...
...
}
}
}
}
}
struct ContentView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: ViewModel
var body: some View {
// etc
}
}
struct SecondView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: ViewModel
var body: some View {
// etc
}
}
One of the key things is that ObservedObject is designed to watch for changes on an object that a view itself doesn't own, so you should never be creating objects and assigning them directly to an #ObservedObject property. Instead they should receive references to objects owned by a view higher up, such as those that have been declared with a #StateObject.
First of all, let sdk = mySdk(dbFactory: DbFactory()) should be #StateObject var sdk = mySdk(dbFactory: DbFactory()).
To continue, SecondView & ContentView should have the same ViewModel, hence they should be like this:
ContentView(viewmodel: sdk)
SecondView(sdk: sdk)
Also use #StateObject instead of #ObservedObject

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 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/

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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