calling an array of dictionaries initialised in a class - ios

what am i doing wrong in swift?
class ActivityDetailsModel {
var ActivityProfile: [[String]]
init(ActivityProfile: [[String]]){
self.ActivityProfile = ActivityProfile
}
}
var act = ActivityDetailsModel(ActivityProfile: ["cell2"+"firName": "two"])
gives Cannot invoke initializer for type 'ActivityDetailsModel' with argument of type (ActivityProfile: [String: String])

The type signature of the variable ActivityProfile is an Array of Array rather than the expected Array of Dictionary.
This uses the alternative syntax to make it clear
class ActivityDetailsModel : Printable {
var activityProfile : [[String:String]]
init(activityProfile: [[String:String]]) {
self.activityProfile = activityProfile
}
var description : String {
return activityProfile.description
}
}
var act = ActivityDetailsModel(activityProfile: [["cell2"+"firName": "two"]])
println(act)
PS: it's easier to read to start variable names with a lowercase letter

Related

How to get method for class in Swift

I have a class:
class myObject: NSObject {
dynamic var objectId : String?
dynamic var name : String?
dynamic var lastName : String?
dynamic var age : String?
}
In my other class I am getting the value of this class's property:
self.myArray.append(myObject.name!)
I can get the value of myObject.name by adding .name but what if there will be hundreds of properties in my myObject class? For that I want to create a method which can return the properties of my class using a variable:
let myVar = "name"
self.myArray.append(myObject.myVar)
It should append the values of property name, but I am getting an error:
value of myObject has no member `myVar`
and I know why I am getting the error.
How can I get access to properties of my class using a variable? Something like :getValue(String) should return that property of my class.
You should also have a look at NSMutableDictionary, here's a quick example which shows how it works
// initialise a dictionary
var dict = NSMutableDictionary(objects: ["first", "second", 42], forKeys: ["String1", "String2", "Int1"])
// add a new attribute
dict.addEntriesFromDictionary(NSDictionary(object: "New thing", forKey: "String3") as [NSObject : AnyObject])
// access the data
let firstString = dict.valueForKey("String1")
let firstInt = dict.valueForKey("Int1")
// update the data
dict.setValue(99, forKey: "Int1")
let newValue = dict.valueForKey("Int1")
I can be wrong, but as I've already said in a comment, it would be better to use Dictionary and store values in it. Also if you want to access some values with a dot-notation, but still be able to get them by string, you can just create a property and override setter and getter
class MyClass {
var properties = [String: AnyObject]()
var someProperty: String? {
get {
return properties["someProperty"] as? String
}
set {
properties["someProperty"] = newValue
}
}
This way you are able to access value of someProperty both by object.someProperty and object.properties["someProperty"]
You can do it making array of object like following
var arrayOfObjects = [myObject]
and then set an objects values
var firstObject:myObject
myObject.name = "Your name"
myObject.age = "Your age"
...
then append first object to arrayOfObjects
arrayOfObject.append(firstObject)
and you can access it
print("First Object's name: \(arrayOfObjects[0].name)")

Sorting array of custom objects by its variable

I've created a custom class to hold image and its string(its name)
class Countries: NSObject {
var countryName : String
var countryFlag : UIImage
init(countryName: String, countryFlag: UIImage) {
self.countryName = countryName
self.countryFlag = countryFlag
super.init()
}
}
I declared the class
var myList: Array<Countries> = []
And add each country info to the array
let image = UIImage(data:imageData!)
let dd = Countries(countryName: object["CountryName"] as! String, countryFlag: image!)
self.myList.append(dd)
I tried below code to sort the array but doesn't work;
self.myList.sortInPlace({ $0.countryName < $1.countryName })
Does anybody has idea how can I sort my array according to above code?
You can sort an array like this using -sortUsingComparator:, which you pass a block into. The block takes the two objects you want to compare and returns a NSComparisonResult which is your comparison of the two. You could provide a block that uses countryName.
You could alternatively use -sortUsingDescriptors: and pass in a NSSortDescriptor that looks at the countryName field.

Passing String array to a function

I am trying to pass an array to a function:
var array:[String] = []
// fill the array
array.append(uniqueId as String)
// pass the array to a function:
GamePrefrences.setLevelsArray(array)
My function is declares like this:
func setLevelsArray(arr:[String])
{
GamePrefrences.levels_array = arr
}
But on the line i try to call the function it gives with an error:
cannot invoke ... with argument list of type [(String)]
What is the problem? if its possible to provide brief explanation
First of all, your function is not a class level function and you are calling the method directly using class name.
Try like this.
var array:[String] = []
// fill the array
array.append(uniqueId as! String)
// pass the array to a function:
GamePrefrences.setLevelsArray(array)
Function declaration.
class func setLevelsArray(arr:[String])
{
GamePrefrences.levels_array = arr
}
or,
var array:[String] = []
// fill the array
array.append(uniqueId as String)
// pass the array to a function:
let instance = GamePrefrences()//Depends on you, how you defined the initialiser.
instance.setLevelsArray(array)
Your function body.
func setLevelsArray(arr:[String])
{
instance.levels_array = arr
}
please try something like this
func setLevelsArray(arr:[String])
{
let tempArr = arr
GamePrefrences.levels_array = tempArr
}
in Swift Arrays and Dictionary are passed by value not by reference, therefore if you are not changing the values or assigning to any other variable then Swift compiler does not get the copy, instead the variable still lives in the heap. so before assigning i believe it is necessary to copy this into another variable.
You have invalid declaration of an empty array. Here's how to declare empty array:
var array = [String]()

Syntax explanation: square brackets in Swift

I'm studying Swift and got confusing with following syntax:
var treasures: [Treasure] = []
Treasure is custom class, declared as follow:
class Treasure: NSObject { }
In Objective-C square brackets mean method, but what do they mean in Swift?
Ok, this is the meaning of
var treasures: [Treasure] = []
var: you are declaring a variable
treasures: the name of your variable
[Treasure]: the type of your variable, in this case the type is Array of Treasure, the compiler will allow you to insert only object of type Treasure in your Array
[]: the actual object (Array) referenced by your variable, in this case an empty Array.
E.g. if you want the Array to hold 2 elements you can write
var treasures: [Treasure] = [Treasure(), Treasure()]
Hope this helps.
Update:
My example can also be written this way
var treasures = [Treasure(), Treasure()]
Infact thanks to the Type Inference the compiler can deduce the type of the variable treasures looking at the type of the assigned value.
[Treasure] is just a syntax sugar for Array<Treasure>.
The same way [String:Treasure] is just a syntax sugar for Dictionary<String,Treasure>.
[] is just an empty array of the type you defined. The same way [:] is an empty dictionary.
When it comes to Swift and square brackets, the rules are simple. They are used only in two situations:
1) working with Array and Dictionary types:
let vectors : [[Int]] = [[1,2,3],[4,5,6]]
let birthBook : [Int:[String]] = [1987:["John","William"], 1990: ["Mary"]]
2) for subscripting objects that support subscripting:
class RouteMapper {
private var routeMap : [String:String] = [:]
subscript(endpoint: String) -> String {
get {
if let route = routeMap[endpoint] {
return route
}
return "/"
}
set(newValue) {
routeMap[endpoint] = newValue
}
}
}
let routeMapper = RouteMapper()
routeMapper["users"] = "/v1/confirmed/users"
let url = routeMapper["admins"]
Since [ and ] are not allowed in custom operators, these are the only usages for now.

Swift closure as values in Dictionary

I'm trying to use an Objective-C library which expects a NSDictionary as its return type. Within the NSDictionary, I can return values of any type, including blocks.
I cannot figure out if there is a way to write an analogous swift method that returns a Dictionary with a closure or a string as a possible value type.
I can't use AnyObject as the value type for the dictionary so this doesn't work:
Dictionary<String,AnyObject> = ["Key":{(value:AnyObject) -> String in return value.description]
I get a Does not conform to protocol error from the compiler regarding the closure and AnyObject.
Is there a higher level type or protocol that both closures and basic types adhere to that I can use as the value type in a Dictionary?
Your basic problem is that in Objective-C closures (aka blocks) are represented as NSObject (or more precisely are transparently converted to NSObjects) while in Swift there is no such mapping. This means that closures can not be directly stored in a Dictionary (short of using objective-c glue)
The closest I can come up with is something along the lines of wrapping the value in an enum:
enum DataType {
case AsString(String)
case AsClosure((AnyObject)->String)
}
var dict:Dictionary<String,DataType> = [
"string":DataType.AsString("value"),
"closure":DataType.AsClosure({(argument:AnyObject) -> String in
return "value"
}
)
]
Which is probably a better solution anyway, because this way you have an explicit typing associated with individual arguments instead of it being implicit using some sort of inflection.
Alternatively, you could only wrap the closure and use a dictionary of type Dictionary<String,Any>.
If you still need a workaround, here is one; usage looks like this:
var d : [String : AnyObject] = [:]
d["a"] = Blocks.voidBlockToId({ println("Doing something") })
d["b"] = "Some string"
d["c"] = Blocks.intBlockToId({ i in println("Called with integer: \(i)") })
Blocks.toIntBlock(d["c"])(1)
Blocks.toVoidBlock(d["a"])()
println(d["b"])
Output is:
Called with integer: 1
Doing something
Some string
The Blocks class is defined like this in Objective-C (with corresponding header and bridging header, I won't put those here):
typedef void(^VoidBlock)(void);
typedef void(^IntBlock)(int);
#implementation Blocks
+ (id) voidBlockToId: (VoidBlock) block { return block; }
+ (VoidBlock) toVoidBlock: (id) block { return (VoidBlock)block; }
+ (id) intBlockToId: (IntBlock) block { return block; }
+ (IntBlock) toIntBlock:(id)block { return (IntBlock)block; }
#end
You also need to add a new xyzBlockToId and toXyzBlock method for every new closure-type you want to use. It's pretty ugly, but it works.
There is another type, Any, that object, structs and primitives all conform to but functions do not. There is no general function type, but you can describe a function type as its arguments and return value like this:
Dictionary<String, (AnyObject) -> String>
Function Types
Could you use an NSMutableDictionary?
Alternatively, this seemed to work for me using your example:
1> import Foundation
2> var myDict: [String: (NSObject) -> String] = ["Key":{(value:NSObject) -> String in return value.description}]
myDict: [String : (NSObject) -> String] = {
[0] = {
key = "Key"
value =
}
}
3> myDict["Key"]!("Testing")
$R2: String = "Testing"
Hmm, maybe this Swift-Code doesn't really help, because you want to have heterogenous dictionaries.
It's also not possible to put closures into an NSDictionary, it seems (as a closure does not conform to AnyObject).
You could also roll your own higher type using an enum. You need the dictionary values to be either strings or functions which return strings, so define a type to represent that:
enum MyDictVal {
case ValString(String)
case ValFunc(AnyObject -> String)
}
Then, you can put it in a dictionary:
let d: Dictionary<String, MyDictVal> = [
"a": .ValString("a")
, "b": .ValFunc({ (value) in value.description })
]
Then you'll need to process the dictionary values using pattern matching:
switch d["b"] {
case .ValString(let s):
...
case .ValFunc(let f):
...
}
A more "generic" solution which should work with Any object, but shown with closures and function references. Drop it into a playground and try it out!
// Wrapper for sticking non-objects in NSDictionary instances
class ObjectWrapper {
let value: T
init(_ value: T) {
self.value = value
}
}
// convenience to downcast `as! ObjectWrapper` and return its value
func getValueFromObjectWrapper(a: AnyObject) -> T {
return (a as! ObjectWrapper).value
}
func wrappedObjectsInDictionary() -> NSDictionary {
var dict = NSMutableDictionary()
let appendToFoo: (String) -> String = NSString.stringByAppendingString("foo")
let firstChar: (String) -> Character = { $0[$0.startIndex] }
dict.setObject(ObjectWrapper(firstChar), forKey: "stringToChar")
dict.setObject(ObjectWrapper(appendToFoo), forKey: "stringTransformer")
return dict.copy() as! NSDictionary
}
let dict = wrappedObjectsInDictionary()
let appendToFoo: (String) -> String = getValueFromObjectWrapper(dict["stringTransformer"]!)
let strToChar: (String) -> Character = getValueFromObjectWrapper(dict["stringToChar"]!)
appendToFoo("bar") // "foobar"
strToChar("bar") // "b"

Resources