How can a SearchBar search through a NSMutableArray? - ios

Question

I have a NSMutableArray and I'm trying to create a search bar. I have been looking for hours and I can't find anything that really helps me because I'm using the NSMutableArray with Firebase. I'm kinda new to Swift. I have created a table view and a search bar. The table view is showing data from the NSMutableArray. How can I make it so when the user is searching on the search bar then the whole post comes up?
If there is a post that contains 2 Strings and an image and one String is "A City" and the other String is the title of the post, and let's say that when the user is searching only for the title of the post or only the city, then the entire post shows. If the result could be on the same viewcontroller like on the same tableview.
I have written this so far in my viewDidLoad:
func setUpSearchBar() {
let searchController = UISearchController(searchResultsController: nil)
navigationItem.searchController = searchController
searchController.dimsBackgroundDuringPresentation = true
definesPresentationContext = true
}
And my array is like this:
var posts = NSMutableArray()
The only thing really that I have written is so that the search bar is setup but not really functional because I have not found anything that could help me and since I'm new to this is not either sure how to make the search bar work at all. All the tutorials I have to find so far is very normal arrays like:
var post = ["pear", "orange", "apple"]
But I cant find on how to make the search iterate through my post NSMutableArray.
I would be really happy if anyone could possibly help me through this. I don't want straight answers if possible with some explanation so I can learn this and create this myself.
this is the code that downloads the data and displays it in the TableView
import UIKit
import FirebaseStorage
import FirebaseDatabase
import FirebaseAuth
import FirebaseCore
import Firebase
class MainViewController: UIViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource {
#IBOutlet weak var postsTableView: UITableView!
var posts = NSMutableArray()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
setUpSearchBar()
loadData()
self.postsTableView.delegate = self
self.postsTableView.dataSource = self
// Uncomment the following line to preserve selection between presentations
// self.clearsSelectionOnViewWillAppear = false
// Uncomment the following line to display an Edit button in the navigation bar for this view controller.
// self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = self.editButtonItem
}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
func loadData() {
Database.database().reference().child("posts").queryOrdered(byChild: "timeorder").observeSingleEvent(of: .value) { (snapshot) in
if let postsDictionary = snapshot.value as? [String: AnyObject] {
for post in postsDictionary {
self.posts.add(post.value)
}
self.postsTableView.reloadData()
}
}
}
// MARK: - Table view data source
func numberOfSections(in tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
// #warning Incomplete implementation, return the number of sections
return 1
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
// #warning Incomplete implementation, return the number of rows
return self.posts.count
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "Cell", for: indexPath) as! PostTableViewCell
// Configure the cell...
let post = self.posts[indexPath.row] as! [String: AnyObject]
cell.titleLabel.text = post["title"] as? String
cell.contentTextView.text = post["content"] as? String
cell.dateAndTimeLabel.text = post["time"] as? String
cell.usernameLabel.text = post["username"] as? String
cell.locationAdressLabel.text = post["adress"] as? String
if let imageName = post["image"] as? String {
let imageRef = Storage.storage().reference().child("images/\(imageName)")
imageRef.getData(maxSize: 25 * 1024 * 1024) { (data, error) -> Void in
if error == nil {
//successfull
let downloadedImage = UIImage(data: data!)
cell.postsImageView.image = downloadedImage
}else {
// error
print("there was an error downloading image: \(String(describing: error?.localizedDescription))")
}
}
}
return cell
}
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, heightForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> CGFloat {
return 500.0
}
#IBAction func goToProfilePage(_ sender: Any) {
let logoutSuccess = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "ProfileVC")
self.present(logoutSuccess!, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
#IBAction func navigateButton(_ sender: Any) {
let navigate = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "NavigateVC")
self.present(navigate!, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
#IBAction func chooseCountry(_ sender: Any) {
let navigate = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "CountryVC")
self.present(navigate!, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
func setUpSearchBar() {
let searchController = UISearchController(searchResultsController: nil)
navigationItem.searchController = searchController
searchController.dimsBackgroundDuringPresentation = true
definesPresentationContext = true
}
And Here is The Code That uploads the post to Firebase
import UIKit
import FirebaseDatabase
import FirebaseStorage
import FirebaseAuth
import Firebase
class PostViewController: UIViewController, UIImagePickerControllerDelegate, UINavigationControllerDelegate, UIPickerViewDataSource, UIPickerViewDelegate {
#IBOutlet weak var addImageButton: UIBarButtonItem!
#IBOutlet weak var pickCountryPicker: UIPickerView!
#IBOutlet weak var choosenCountryLabel: UILabel!
#IBOutlet weak var titleTextField: UITextField!
#IBOutlet weak var contentTextView: UITextView!
#IBOutlet weak var imageView: UIImageView!
#IBOutlet weak var locationAdressTextField: UITextField!
var imageFileName = ""
var timeStamps = ""
var secondTimeStamps = ""
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let currentDateTime = Date()
let dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm"
timeStamps = "\(dateFormatter.string(from: currentDateTime))"
let secondDateFormatter = DateFormatter()
secondDateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:00:00"
secondTimeStamps = "\(secondDateFormatter.string(from: currentDateTime))"
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
#IBAction func postButton(_ sender: Any) {
if (self.imageFileName != "") {
if choosenCountryLabel.text == "Afghanistan" {
// image has finshed the uploading, Saving Post!!!
if let uid = Auth.auth().currentUser?.uid {
Database.database().reference().child("users").child(uid).observeSingleEvent(of: .value, with: { (snapshot) in
if let userDictionary = snapshot.value as? [String: AnyObject] {
for user in userDictionary{
if let username = user.value as? String {
if let streetAdress = self.locationAdressTextField.text {
if let title = self.titleTextField.text {
if let content = self.contentTextView.text {
let postObject: Dictionary<String, Any> = [
"uid" : uid,
"title" : title,
"content" : content,
"username" : username,
"time" : self.timeStamps,
"timeorder" : self.secondTimeStamps,
"image" : self.imageFileName,
"adress" : streetAdress
]
Database.database().reference().child("posts").childByAutoId().setValue(postObject)
Database.database().reference().child("Afghanistanposts").childByAutoId().setValue(postObject)
Database.database().reference().child(uid).childByAutoId().setValue(postObject)
let alertPosting = UIAlertController(title: "Successfull upload", message: "Your acty was successfully uploaded.", preferredStyle: .alert)
alertPosting.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "OK", style: .default, handler: { (action) in
let vc = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "AfghanistanVC")
self.present(vc!, animated: true, completion: nil)
}))
self.present(alertPosting, animated: true, completion: nil)
print("Posted Succesfully to Firebase, Saving Post!!!")
}
}
}
}
}
}
})
}
}
}else{
let alertNotPosting = UIAlertController(title: "Seems like you got connection problems", message: "Your image has not been uploaded. Please Wait 10 seconds and try again.", preferredStyle: .alert)
alertNotPosting.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "OK", style: .default, handler: nil))
self.present(alertNotPosting, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
#IBAction func addImage(_ sender: Any) {
if addImageButton.isEnabled == false {
let alertNotPosting = UIAlertController(title: "Image already Picked", message: "sorry you already have an image picked", preferredStyle: .alert)
alertNotPosting.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "OK", style: .default, handler: nil))
self.present(alertNotPosting, animated: true, completion: nil)
}else {
let picker = UIImagePickerController()
picker.delegate = self
self.present(picker, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
}
func imagePickerController(_ picker: UIImagePickerController, didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo info: [String : Any]) {
if let pickedImage = info[UIImagePickerControllerOriginalImage] as? UIImage {
self.imageView.image = pickedImage
uploadImage(image: pickedImage)
picker.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
addImageButton.isEnabled = false
}
}
func imagePickerControllerDidCancel(_ picker: UIImagePickerController) {
picker.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
}
func uploadImage(image: UIImage){
let randomName = randomStringWithLength(length: 10)
let imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, 1.0)
let uploadRef = Storage.storage().reference().child("images/\(randomName).jpg")
let uploadTask = uploadRef.putData(imageData!, metadata: nil) { metadata, error in
if error == nil {
//success
print("SuccessFully uploaded")
self.imageFileName = "\(randomName as String).jpg"
}else {
// not success = error
print("error with the Image: \(String(describing: error?.localizedDescription))")
}
}
}
func randomStringWithLength(length: Int) -> NSString {
let characters: NSString = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"
var randomString: NSMutableString = NSMutableString(capacity: length)
for i in 0..<length {
var len = UInt32(characters.length)
var rand = arc4random_uniform(len)
randomString.appendFormat("%C", characters.character(at: Int(rand)))
}
return randomString
}
func numberOfComponents(in pickerView: UIPickerView) -> Int {
return 1
}
func pickerView(_ pickerView: UIPickerView, titleForRow row: Int, forComponent component: Int) -> String? {
return countries[row]
}
func pickerView(_ pickerView: UIPickerView, numberOfRowsInComponent component: Int) -> Int {
return countries.count
}
func pickerView(_ pickerView: UIPickerView, didSelectRow row: Int, inComponent component: Int) {
choosenCountryLabel.text = countries[row]
}
}
and below this is a array full of countries for the picker and is not nessecary to show.

Answer 1

Why not just cast NSMutableArray to a Swift array? For safety I recommend using a guard statement like so:
guard let swiftArrayPosts = posts as? [String] else { return }
Then you can use Swift higher-order functions like filter to find the posts you want:
let filteredPosts = swiftArrayPosts.filter { $0 == "MyQuery" }
Then assign filteredPosts to whatever data source you are using to display them.