Filtering/Searching Nested Struct Array - ios

Question

I'm trying to add a search bar to the top of a grouped table. However I'm unsure how to filter through my data. The data is stored in a nested array with objects held in this format;
struct Group {
var id: String
var type: String
var desc: String
var avatar: String
var name: String
init() {
id = ""
type = ""
desc = ""
avatar = ""
name = ""
}
}
Because I get data from two sources, two arrays are nested together, this also makes it simpler to create the two sections of the grouped table. I'll note, they both use the same Group struct.
self.masterArray = [self.clientArray, self.departmentArray]
This "masterArray" is then used to populate the table. Filtering/searching a single array isn't too difficult, but how do I search through a nested array?
func searchBar(searchBar: UISearchBar, textDidChange searchText: String) {
}
EDIT:
I've finally got things working, courtesy of #appzYourLife.
func searchBar(_ searchBar: UISearchBar, textDidChange searchText: String) {
print("Searching for:" + searchText)
if searchText.isEmpty {
filterArray = masterArray
} else {
filterArray = [ clientArray.filter { $0.name.range(of: searchText) != nil }] + [ departmentArray.filter { $0.name.range(of: searchText) != nil } ]
}
tableView.reloadData()
}

Answer 1

You can make use of .flatten() to flatten your array prior to filtering it for whatever search criteria you want to use. E.g.
struct Group {
var id: String
var name: String
init(_ id: String, _ name: String) { self.id = id; self.name = name }
/* .... */
}
let clientArray = [Group("a", "John"), Group("b", "Jane"), Group("c", "Phil")]
let departmentArray = [Group("a", "Foo"), Group("b", "Bar"),
Group("c", "Baz"), Group("d", "Bax")]
let arr = [clientArray, departmentArray]
// find some id
let searchForId = "c"
let hits = arr.flatten()
.filter { $0.id.lowercaseString.containsString(searchText.lowercaseString) }
print(hits)
// [Group(id: "c", name: "Phil"), Group(id: "c", name: "Baz")]
From the edits of your questions, it seems, however, that you want the resulting filtered array to be of the same nested array type as the "master" array. In such case, the following is a more appropriate approach:
/* ... */
// find some id but keep [[Group]] type
let searchText = "c"
let hits = arr.map { $0.filter { $0.id.lowercaseString.containsString(searchText.lowercaseString) } }
print(hits)
// [[Group(id: "c", name: "Phil")], [Group(id: "cc", name: "Baz")]]

Answer 2

Given
struct Group {
let id: String = ""
let type: String = ""
let desc: String = ""
let avatar: String = ""
let name: String = ""
}
let clients = [Group(), Group(), Group(), Group()]
let departmens = [Group(), Group(), Group(), Group()]
let clientsAndDepartments = [clients, departmens]
You can search inside clients and department writing
let results = (clients + departmens).filter { $0.id == "123" }
Update #1
Now understand that you want to filter both arrays but as result you still want something like this [[Group]].
So here's the code
var filterArray = [clients.filter { $0.name == "White" }] + [departmens.filter { $0.name == "White" }]
Update #2
If you want to search for string inclusione the use this code
var filterArray = [ clients.filter { $0.name.rangeOfString("White") != nil }] + [ departmens.filter { $0.name.rangeOfString("White") != nil } ]

Answer 3

You can map over each of the arrays, and filter them independently:
self.masterArray.map{ subarray in
subarray.filter { element in
trueWhenElementShouldStay(element)
}
}
P.S. I suspect masterArray should NOT be an instance variable, it would be more appropriate as a local variable instead.