unable to decode json with text in get request - ios

Question

I need to create GET request like this:
https://public-api.nazk.gov.ua/v1/declaration/?q=Чер
https://public-api.nazk.gov.ua/v1/declaration/?q=Володимирович
Last characters after = are Cyrillic symbols
I make get request something like this:
var hostURL = "https://public-api.nazk.gov.ua/v1/declaration/?q="
hostURL = hostURL + searchConditions
let escapedSearchConditions = hostURL.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters:NSCharacterSet.urlQueryAllowed)
let url = URL(string: escapedSearchConditions!)!
Request is:
https://public-api.nazk.gov.ua/v1/declaration/?q=%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE
that return necessary data from server but returned data can't be decoded.
it works fine with integers in search condition but not with Cyrillic text(
import Foundation
struct Declarant: Codable {
var id: String
var firstname: String
var lastname: String
var placeOfWork: String
var position: String
var linkPDF: String
}
struct DeclarationInfo: Codable {
let items: [Declarant]
}
import Foundation
struct DeclarationInfoController {
func fetchDeclarationInfo (with searchConditions: String, completion: #escaping(DeclarationInfo?) -> Void) {
var hostURL = "https://public-api.nazk.gov.ua/v1/declaration/?q="
hostURL = hostURL + searchConditions
let escapedSearchConditions = hostURL.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters:NSCharacterSet.urlQueryAllowed)
let url = URL(string: escapedSearchConditions!)!
print(url)
let dataTask = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) {
(data, response, error) in
let jsonDecoder = JSONDecoder()
print("Trying to decode data...")
if let data = data,
let declarationInfo = try? jsonDecoder.decode(DeclarationInfo.self, from: data) {
completion(declarationInfo)
print(declarationInfo)
} else {
print("Either no data was returned, or data was not properly decoded.")
completion(nil)
}
}
dataTask.resume()
}
}
import UIKit
class DeclarationViewController: UIViewController {
let declarationInfoController = DeclarationInfoController()
#IBOutlet weak var searchBar: UISearchBar!
#IBOutlet weak var resultLabel: UILabel!
#IBAction func beginSearchButton(_ sender: UIButton) {
declarationInfoController.fetchDeclarationInfo(with: searchBar.text!) { (declarationInfo) in
if let declarationInfo = declarationInfo {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.resultLabel.text = declarationInfo.items[0].lastname
}
}
}
}
}

Answer 1

Never ever use try? ignoring the error while decoding JSON. Codable errors are incredibly descriptive and tell you exactly what's wrong.
Use always a do catch block like
do {
let declarationInfo = try jsonDecoder.decode(DeclarationInfo.self, from: data)
} catch { print error }
and print the error rather than useless literal strings.
The error has nothing to do with Cyrillic text.
The suggested JSON struct in the comments of one of your previous questions
struct Item: Codable {
let id, firstname, lastname, placeOfWork: String
let position, linkPDF: String
}
reveals the error (the most significant parts are emphasized)
keyNotFound(CodingKeys(stringValue: "position", intValue: nil), Swift.DecodingError.Context(codingPath: [CodingKeys(stringValue: "items", intValue: nil), _JSONKey(stringValue: "Index 11", intValue: 11)], debugDescription: "No value associated with key CodingKeys(stringValue: \"position\", intValue: nil) (\"position\").", underlyingError: nil))
It clearly describes that in the struct Item there is no value for key position in the item at index 11 of the array.
The solution is to declare this particular struct member as optional
struct Item: Codable {
let id, firstname, lastname, placeOfWork: String
let position : String?
let linkPDF: String
}
Once again: Don't ignore errors, they help you to fix the issues instantly.

Answer 2

Update
if let data = data,
let declarationInfo = try? jsonDecoder.decode(DeclarationInfo.self, from: data) {
completion(declarationInfo)
print(declarationInfo)
} else {
print("Either no data was returned, or data was not properly decoded.")
completion(nil)
}
by
do {
if let data = data {
let declarationInfo = try jsonDecoder.decode(DeclarationInfo.self, from: data)
completion(declarationInfo)
print(declarationInfo)
return
} catch {
print(error)
}
completion(nil)
You will have the error printed, ans do you will know why decoding fails