SwiftUI pagination for List object - ios

Question

I've implemented a List with a search bar in SwiftUI. Now I want to implement paging for this list. When the user scrolls to the bottom of the list, new elements should be loaded. My problem is, how can I detect that the user scrolled to the end? When this happens I want to load new elements, append them and show them to the user.
My code looks like this:
import Foundation
import SwiftUI
struct MyList: View {
#EnvironmentObject var webService: GetRequestsWebService
#ObservedObject var viewModelMyList: MyListViewModel
#State private var query = ""
var body: some View {
let binding = Binding<String>(
get: { self.query },
set: { self.query = $0; self.textFieldChanged($0) }
)
return NavigationView {
// how to detect here when end of the list is reached by scrolling?
List {
// searchbar here inside the list element
TextField("Search...", text: binding) {
self.fetchResults()
}
ForEach(viewModelMyList.items, id: \.id) { item in
MyRow(itemToProcess: item)
}
}
.navigationBarTitle("Title")
}.onAppear(perform: fetchResults)
}
private func textFieldChanged(_ text: String) {
text.isEmpty ? viewModelMyList.fetchResultsThrottelt(for: nil) : viewModelMyList.fetchResultsThrottelt(for: text)
}
private func fetchResults() {
query.isEmpty ? viewModelMyList.fetchResults(for: nil) : viewModelMyList.fetchResults(for: query)
}
}
Also a little bit special this case, because the list contains the search bar. I would be thankful for any advice because with this :).

Answer 1

As you have already a List with an artificial row for the search bar, you can simply add another view to the list which will trigger another fetch when it appears on screen (using onAppear() as suggested by Josh). By doing this you do not have to do any "complicated" calculations to know whether a row is the last row... the artificial row is always the last one!
I already used this in one of my projects and I've never seen this element on the screen, as the loading was triggered so quickly before it appeared on the screen. (You surely can use a transparent/invisible element, or perhaps even use a spinner ;-))
List {
TextField("Search...", text: binding) {
/* ... */
}
ForEach(viewModelMyList.items, id: \.id) { item in
// ...
}
if self.viewModelMyList.hasMoreRows {
Text("Fetching more...")
.onAppear(perform: {
self.viewModelMyList.fetchMore()
})
}
}

Answer 2

Add a .onAppear() to the MyRow and have it call the viewModel with the item that just appears. You can then check if its equal to the last item in the list or if its n items away from the end of the list and trigger your pagination.

Answer 3

This one worked for me:
You can add pagination with two different approaches to your List: Last item approach and Threshold item approach.
That's way this package adds two functions to RandomAccessCollection:
isLastItem
Use this function to check if the item in the current List item iteration is the last item of your collection.
isThresholdItem
With this function you can find out if the item of the current List item iteration is the item at your defined threshold. Pass an offset (distance to the last item) to the function so the threshold item can be determined.
import SwiftUI
extension RandomAccessCollection where Self.Element: Identifiable {
public func isLastItem<Item: Identifiable>(_ item: Item) -> Bool {
guard !isEmpty else {
return false
}
guard let itemIndex = lastIndex(where: { AnyHashable($0.id) == AnyHashable(item.id) }) else {
return false
}
let distance = self.distance(from: itemIndex, to: endIndex)
return distance == 1
}
public func isThresholdItem<Item: Identifiable>(
offset: Int,
item: Item
) -> Bool {
guard !isEmpty else {
return false
}
guard let itemIndex = lastIndex(where: { AnyHashable($0.id) == AnyHashable(item.id) }) else {
return false
}
let distance = self.distance(from: itemIndex, to: endIndex)
let offset = offset < count ? offset : count - 1
return offset == (distance - 1)
}
}
Examples
Last item approach:
struct ListPaginationExampleView: View {
#State private var items: [String] = Array(0...24).map { "Item \($0)" }
#State private var isLoading: Bool = false
#State private var page: Int = 0
private let pageSize: Int = 25
var body: some View {
NavigationView {
List(items) { item in
VStack(alignment: .leading) {
Text(item)
if self.isLoading && self.items.isLastItem(item) {
Divider()
Text("Loading ...")
.padding(.vertical)
}
}.onAppear {
self.listItemAppears(item)
}
}
.navigationBarTitle("List of items")
.navigationBarItems(trailing: Text("Page index: \(page)"))
}
}
}
extension ListPaginationExampleView {
private func listItemAppears<Item: Identifiable>(_ item: Item) {
if items.isLastItem(item) {
isLoading = true
/*
Simulated async behaviour:
Creates items for the next page and
appends them to the list after a short delay
*/
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: DispatchTime.now() + 3) {
self.page += 1
let moreItems = self.getMoreItems(forPage: self.page, pageSize: self.pageSize)
self.items.append(contentsOf: moreItems)
self.isLoading = false
}
}
}
}
Threshold item approach:
struct ListPaginationThresholdExampleView: View {
#State private var items: [String] = Array(0...24).map { "Item \($0)" }
#State private var isLoading: Bool = false
#State private var page: Int = 0
private let pageSize: Int = 25
private let offset: Int = 10
var body: some View {
NavigationView {
List(items) { item in
VStack(alignment: .leading) {
Text(item)
if self.isLoading && self.items.isLastItem(item) {
Divider()
Text("Loading ...")
.padding(.vertical)
}
}.onAppear {
self.listItemAppears(item)
}
}
.navigationBarTitle("List of items")
.navigationBarItems(trailing: Text("Page index: \(page)"))
}
}
}
extension ListPaginationThresholdExampleView {
private func listItemAppears<Item: Identifiable>(_ item: Item) {
if items.isThresholdItem(offset: offset,
item: item) {
isLoading = true
/*
Simulated async behaviour:
Creates items for the next page and
appends them to the list after a short delay
*/
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: DispatchTime.now() + 0.5) {
self.page += 1
let moreItems = self.getMoreItems(forPage: self.page, pageSize: self.pageSize)
self.items.append(contentsOf: moreItems)
self.isLoading = false
}
}
}
}
String Extension:
/*
If you want to display an array of strings
in the List view you have to specify a key path,
so each string can be uniquely identified.
With this extension you don't have to do that anymore.
*/
extension String: Identifiable {
public var id: String {
return self
}
}
Christian Elies, code reference