How can I read data from a PLIST in Swift? - ios

Question

i'm facing a problem with reading data from a plist file using swift
my code:
let Chapterpath = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("chapterMapping", ofType: "plist")
let dict2 = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: Chapterpath!)
let chaptername = dict2?.objectForKey("chapterName")
let chapterNumber = dict2?.objectForKey("pageNumber")
next i'm trying to add plist data to an array, should i simply use
var myArray = [chapterName]
my question: is the code above correct?
or im i missing something
and when i tried to print plist data using println((chapterName))
i got an error
thank you

Answer 1

First, your Root object in the plist is an NSArray not a NSDictionary.
Second, if you want to use KVC on Foundation Collections (I don't believe this works with Swift's Array) you need to call valueForKeyPath.
let chapterPath = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("chapterMapping", ofType: "plist")
if let arrayOfItems: [AnyObject] = NSArray(contentsOfFile: chapterPath!) {
let chapterNames: [String] = arrayOfItems.valueForKeyPath("chapterName") as NSArray as [String]
let pageNumbers: [Int] = arrayOfItems.valueForKeyPath("pageNumber") as NSArray as [Int]
}
Third, the swift-y way of doing this would be with the map function, but arrayOfItems would need to be a strongly-defined type and it might be more work than it's worth. Example:
let array: [ChapterMetaData] = // define it here
let chapterImages = array.map { $0.chapterImage }

Answer 2

As you say you have an array with multiple element. objectForKey does not search the hall tree levels and gets you the first one with the name. you have multiple values a loop must be envolved. Try the following:
var Chapterpath:NSString = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("chapterMapping", ofType: "plist");
var chapters:NSArray = NSArray(contentsOfFile: Chapterpath);
for chapter in chapters {
let chaptername = chapter["chapterName"]
let chapterNumber = chapter["pageNumber"]
println(chaptername);
}

Answer 3

Use following code to read Plist data to NSArray:
let path = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource(plistName, ofType: "plist")
var list = NSArray(contentsOfFile: path!) as [[String:String]]

Answer 4

Simplest way to parse the AppConfig.plist file in project:
var dictionaryObj: NSDictionary?
if let filePath = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("AppConfig", ofType: "plist")
{
dictionaryObj = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: filePath)
}
if let dict = dictionaryObj
{
//parse it as NSDictionary
}
else
{
//dictionaryObj is nil or doesn't contain anything.
}

Answer 5

You can use NSArray if Plist Root is Array:
let path = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("OrderHelper", ofType: "plist")
let myArray = NSArray(contentsOfFile: path!)
You can use NSDictionary if Plist Root is Dictionary:
let path = NSBundle.mainBundle().pathForResource("OrderHelper", ofType: "plist") {
let myDict = NSDictionary(contentsOfFile: path!)