View doesn't get updated when using ObservableObject - ios

Question

I'm trying to build an Instagram clone app using SwiftUI.
I'm fetching the data through Firebase and trying to achieve a UI update every time the data in the server changes.
For some reason, when I first open the app and fetch the data, the body of my view gets called, but the UI doesn't change. I even put a breakpoint and saw the body gets called and contains the correct information, it's just the UI which doesn't get updated.
I have a few tabs in my app, and when I switch to another tab (which doesn't contain anything but a Text yet), suddenly the UI does gets updated.
Please see the gif below:
Here is my code:
HomeView:
struct HomeView: View {
#ObservedObject private var fbData = firebaseData
var body: some View {
TabView {
//Home Tab
NavigationView {
ScrollView(showsIndicators: false) {
ForEach(self.fbData.posts.indices, id: \.self) { postIndex in
PostView(post: self.$fbData.posts[postIndex])
.listRowInsets(EdgeInsets())
.padding(.vertical, 5)
}
}
.navigationBarTitle("Instagram", displayMode: .inline)
.navigationBarItems(leading:
Button(action: {
print("Camera btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "camera")
.font(.title)
})
, trailing:
Button(action: {
print("Messages btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "paperplane")
.font(.title)
})
)
} . tabItem({
Image(systemName: "house")
.font(.title)
})
Text("Search").tabItem {
Image(systemName: "magnifyingglass")
.font(.title)
}
Text("Upload").tabItem {
Image(systemName: "plus.app")
.font(.title)
}
Text("Activity").tabItem {
Image(systemName: "heart")
.font(.title)
}
Text("Profile").tabItem {
Image(systemName: "person")
.font(.title)
}
}
.accentColor(.black)
.edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.top)
}
}
FirebaseData:
let firebaseData = FirebaseData()
class FirebaseData : ObservableObject {
#Published var posts = [Post]()
let postsCollection = Firestore.firestore().collection("Posts")
init() {
self.fetchPosts()
}
//MARK: Fetch Data
private func fetchPosts() {
self.postsCollection.addSnapshotListener { (documentSnapshot, err) in
if err != nil {
print("Error fetching posts: \(err!.localizedDescription)")
return
} else {
documentSnapshot!.documentChanges.forEach { diff in
if diff.type == .added {
let post = self.createPostFromDocument(document: diff.document)
self.posts.append(post)
} else if diff.type == .modified {
self.posts = self.posts.map { (post) -> Post in
if post.id == diff.document.documentID {
return self.createPostFromDocument(document: diff.document)
} else {
return post
}
}
} else if diff.type == .removed {
for index in self.posts.indices {
if self.posts[index].id == diff.document.documentID {
self.posts.remove(at: index)
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
private func createPostFromDocument(document: QueryDocumentSnapshot) -> Post {
let data = document.data()
let id = document.documentID
let imageUrl = data["imageUrl"] as! String
let authorUsername = data["authorUsername"] as! String
let authorProfilePictureUrl = data["authorProfilePictureUrl"] as! String
let postLocation = data["postLocation"] as! String
let postDescription = data["postDescription"] as! String
let numberOfLikes = data["numberOfLikes"] as! Int
let numberOfComments = data["numberOfComments"] as! Int
let datePosted = (data["datePosted"] as! Timestamp).dateValue()
let isLiked = data["isLiked"] as! Bool
return Post(id: id, imageUrl: imageUrl, authorUsername: authorUsername, authorProfilePictureUrl: authorProfilePictureUrl, postLocation: postLocation, postDescription: postDescription, numberOfLikes: numberOfLikes, numberOfComments: numberOfComments, datePosted: datePosted, isLiked: isLiked)
}
}
If you need me to post more code please let me know.
Update:
PostView:
struct PostView: View {
#Binding var post: Post
var body: some View {
VStack(alignment: .leading) {
//Info bar
HStack {
WebImage(url: URL(string: post.authorProfilePictureUrl))
.resizable()
.frame(width: 40, height: 40)
.clipShape(Circle())
VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 2) {
Text(post.authorUsername).font(.headline)
Text(post.postLocation)
}
Spacer()
Button(action: {
print("More options pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "ellipsis")
.font(.title)
.foregroundColor(.black)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
}
.padding(.horizontal)
//Main Image
WebImage(url: URL(string: post.imageUrl))
.resizable()
.aspectRatio(contentMode: .fit)
//Tools bar
HStack(spacing: 15) {
Button(action: {
self.post.isLiked.toggle()
print("Like btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: post.isLiked ? "heart.fill" : "heart")
.font(.title)
.foregroundColor(.black)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
Button(action: {
print("Comments btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "message")
.font(.title)
.foregroundColor(.black)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
Button(action: {
print("Share btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "paperplane")
.font(.title)
.foregroundColor(.black)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
Spacer()
Button(action: {
print("Bookmark btn pressed")
}, label: {
Image(systemName: "bookmark")
.font(.title)
.foregroundColor(.black)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
}.padding(8)
Text("Liked by \(post.numberOfLikes) users")
.font(.headline)
.padding(.horizontal, 8)
Text(post.postDescription)
.font(.body)
.padding(.horizontal, 8)
.padding(.vertical, 5)
Button(action: {
print("Show comments btn pressed")
}, label: {
Text("See all \(post.numberOfComments) comments")
.foregroundColor(.gray)
.padding(.horizontal, 8)
}).buttonStyle(BorderlessButtonStyle())
Text(post.datePostedString)
.font(.caption)
.foregroundColor(.gray)
.padding(.horizontal, 8)
.padding(.vertical, 5)
}
}
}
Post:
struct Post : Identifiable, Hashable {
var id: String
var imageUrl: String
var authorUsername: String
var authorProfilePictureUrl: String
var postLocation: String
var postDescription: String
var numberOfLikes: Int
var numberOfComments: Int
var datePostedString: String
var isLiked: Bool
init(id: String, imageUrl: String, authorUsername: String, authorProfilePictureUrl: String, postLocation: String, postDescription : String, numberOfLikes: Int, numberOfComments: Int, datePosted: Date, isLiked: Bool) {
self.id = id
self.imageUrl = imageUrl
self.authorUsername = authorUsername
self.authorProfilePictureUrl = authorProfilePictureUrl
self.postLocation = postLocation
self.postDescription = postDescription
self.numberOfLikes = numberOfLikes
self.numberOfComments = numberOfComments
let dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.dateFormat = "MMMM dd, yyyy"
self.datePostedString = dateFormatter.string(from: datePosted)
self.isLiked = isLiked
}
}
Thank you!

Answer 1

The problem is that when the app starts your array is empty, and the ScrollView stops updating, you can replace it for a VStack and it will work (just for testing).
The solution is to wrap the ForEach(or the ScrollView) with a condition, like this:
if (fbData.posts.count > 0) {
ForEach(self.fbData.posts.indices, id: \.self) { postIndex in
PostView(post: self.$fbData.posts[postIndex])
.listRowInsets(EdgeInsets())
.padding(.vertical, 5)
}
}