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Enhance Amazon Aurora Read/Write Capability with ShardingSphere-JDBC
1. Introduction
Amazon Aurora is a relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by AWS(Amazon Web Services). Aurora gives you the performance and availability of commercial-grade databases with full MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility. In terms of high performance, Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL have shown an increase in throughput of up to 5X over stock MySQL and 3X over stock PostgreSQL respectively on similar hardware. In terms of scalability, Aurora achieves enhancements and innovations in storage and computing, horizontal and vertical functions.
Aurora supports up to 128TB of storage capacity and supports dynamic scaling of storage layer in units of 10GB. In terms of computing, Aurora supports scalable configurations for multiple read replicas. Each region can have an additional 15 Aurora replicas. In addition, Aurora provides multi-primary architecture to support four read/write nodes. Its Serverless architecture allows vertical scaling and reduces typical latency to under a second, while the Global Database enables a single database cluster to span multiple AWS Regions in low latency.
Aurora already provides great scalability with the growth of user data volume. Can it handle more data and support more concurrent access? You may consider using sharding to support the configuration of multiple underlying Aurora clusters. To this end, a series of blogs, including this one, provides you with a reference in choosing between Proxy and JDBC for sharding.
1.1 Why sharding is needed
AWS Aurora offers a single relational database. Primary-secondary, multi-primary, and global database, and other forms of hosting architecture can satisfy various architectural scenarios above. However, Aurora doesn’t provide direct support for sharding scenarios, and sharding has a variety of forms, such as vertical and horizontal forms. If we want to further increase data capacity, some problems have to be solved, such as cross-node database Join, associated query, distributed transactions, SQL sorting, page turning, function calculation, database global primary key, capacity planning, and secondary capacity expansion after sharding.
1.2 Sharding methods
It is generally accepted that when the capacity of a MySQL table is less than 10 million, the time spent on queries is optimal because at this time the height of its BTREE index is between 3 and 5. Data sharding can reduce the amount of data in a single table and distribute the read and write loads to different data nodes at the same time. Data sharding can be divided into vertical sharding and horizontal sharding.
1. Advantages of vertical sharding
- Address the coupling of business system and make clearer.
- Implement hierarchical management, maintenance, monitoring, and expansion to data of different businesses, like micro-service governance.
- In high concurrency scenarios, vertical sharding removes the bottleneck of IO, database connections, and hardware resources on a single machine to some extent.
2. Disadvantages of vertical sharding
- After splitting the library,
Joincan only be implemented by interface aggregation, which will increase the complexity of development. - After splitting the library, it is complex to process distributed transactions.
- There is a large amount of data on a single table and horizontal sharding is required.
3. Advantages of horizontal sharding
- There is no such performance bottleneck as a large amount of data on a single database and high concurrency, and it increases system stability and load capacity.
- The business modules do not need to be split due to minor modification on the application client.
4. Disadvantages of horizontal sharding
- Transaction consistency across shards is hard to be guaranteed;
- The performance of associated query in cross-library
Joinis poor. - It’s difficult to scale the data many times and maintenance is a big workload.
Based on the analysis above, and the available studis on popular sharding middleware, we selected ShardingSphere, an open source product, combined with Amazon Aurora to introduce how the combination of these two products meets various forms of sharding and how to solve the problems brought by sharding.
ShardingSphere is an open source ecosystem including a set of distributed database middleware solutions, including 3 independent products, Sharding-JDBC, Sharding-Proxy & Sharding-Sidecar.
2. ShardingSphere introduction:
The characteristics of Sharding-JDBC are:
- With the client end connecting directly to the database, it provides service in the form of jar and requires no extra deployment and dependence.
- It can be considered as an enhanced JDBC driver, which is fully compatible with JDBC and all kinds of ORM frameworks.
- Applicable in any ORM framework based on JDBC, such as JPA, Hibernate, Mybatis, Spring JDBC Template or direct use of JDBC.
- Support any third-party database connection pool, such as DBCP, C3P0, BoneCP, Druid, HikariCP;
- Support any kind of JDBC standard database: MySQL, Oracle, SQLServer, PostgreSQL and any databases accessible to JDBC.
- Sharding-JDBC adopts decentralized architecture, applicable to high-performance light-weight OLTP application developed with Java
Hybrid Structure Integrating Sharding-JDBC and Applications
Sharding-JDBC’s core concepts
Data node: The smallest unit of a data slice, consisting of a data source name and a data table, such as ds_0.product_order_0.
Actual table: The physical table that really exists in the horizontal sharding database, such as product order tables: product_order_0, product_order_1, and product_order_2.
Logic table: The logical name of the horizontal sharding databases (tables) with the same schema. For instance, the logic table of the order product_order_0, product_order_1, and product_order_2 is product_order.
Binding table: It refers to the primary table and the joiner table with the same sharding rules. For example, product_order table and product_order_item are sharded by order_id, so they are binding tables with each other. Cartesian product correlation will not appear in the multi-tables correlating query, so the query efficiency will increase greatly.
Broadcast table: It refers to tables that exist in all sharding database sources. The schema and data must consist in each database. It can be applied to the small data volume that needs to correlate with big data tables to query, dictionary table and configuration table for example.
3. Testing ShardingSphere-JDBC
3.1 Example project
Download the example project code locally. In order to ensure the stability of the test code, we choose shardingsphere-example-4.0.0 version.
git clone https://github.com/apache/shardingsphere-example.git
Project description：
shardingsphere-example
├── example-core
│ ├── config-utility
│ ├── example-api
│ ├── example-raw-jdbc
│ ├── example-spring-jpa #spring+jpa integration-based entity，repository
│ └── example-spring-mybatis
├── sharding-jdbc-example
│ ├── sharding-example
│ │ ├── sharding-raw-jdbc-example
│ │ ├── sharding-spring-boot-jpa-example #integration-based sharding-jdbc functions
│ │ ├── sharding-spring-boot-mybatis-example
│ │ ├── sharding-spring-namespace-jpa-example
│ │ └── sharding-spring-namespace-mybatis-example
│ ├── orchestration-example
│ │ ├── orchestration-raw-jdbc-example
│ │ ├── orchestration-spring-boot-example #integration-based sharding-jdbc governance function
│ │ └── orchestration-spring-namespace-example
│ ├── transaction-example
│ │ ├── transaction-2pc-xa-example #sharding-jdbc sample of two-phase commit for a distributed transaction
│ │ └──transaction-base-seata-example #sharding-jdbc distributed transaction seata sample
│ ├── other-feature-example
│ │ ├── hint-example
│ │ └── encrypt-example
├── sharding-proxy-example
│ └── sharding-proxy-boot-mybatis-example
└── src/resources
└── manual_schema.sql
Configuration file description:
application-master-slave.properties #read/write splitting profile
application-sharding-databases-tables.properties #sharding profile
application-sharding-databases.properties #library split profile only
application-sharding-master-slave.properties #sharding and read/write splitting profile
application-sharding-tables.properties #table split profile
application.properties #spring boot profile
Code logic description:
The following is the entry class of the Spring Boot application below. Execute it to run the project.
The execution logic of demo is as follows:
3.2 Verifying read/write splitting
As business grows, the write and read requests can be split to different database nodes to effectively promote the processing capability of the entire database cluster. Aurora uses a reader/writer endpoint to meet users' requirements to write and read with strong consistency, and a read-only endpoint to meet the requirements to read without strong consistency. Aurora's read and write latency is within single-digit milliseconds, much lower than MySQL's binlog-based logical replication, so there's a lot of loads that can be directed to a read-only endpoint.
Through the one primary and multiple secondary configuration, query requests can be evenly distributed to multiple data replicas, which further improves the processing capability of the system. Read/write splitting can improve the throughput and availability of system, but it can also lead to data inconsistency. Aurora provides a primary/secondary architecture in a fully managed form, but applications on the upper-layer still need to manage multiple data sources when interacting with Aurora, routing SQL requests to different nodes based on the read/write type of SQL statements and certain routing policies.
ShardingSphere-JDBC provides read/write splitting features and it is integrated with application programs so that the complex configuration between application programs and database clusters can be separated from application programs. Developers can manage the Shard through configuration files and combine it with ORM frameworks such as Spring JPA and Mybatis to completely separate the duplicated logic from the code, which greatly improves the ability to maintain code and reduces the coupling between code and database.
3.2.1 Setting up the database environment
Create a set of Aurora MySQL read/write splitting clusters. The model is db.r5.2xlarge. Each set of clusters has one write node and two read nodes.
3.2.2 Configuring Sharding-JDBC
application.properties spring boot Master profile description:
You need to replace the green ones with your own environment configuration.
# Jpa automatically creates and drops data tables based on entities
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create-drop
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.show_sql=true
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-tables
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases-tables
#Activate master-slave configuration item so that sharding-jdbc can use master-slave profile
spring.profiles.active=master-slave
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-master-slave
application-master-slave.properties sharding-jdbc profile description:
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.names=ds_master,ds_slave_0,ds_slave_1
# data souce-master
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master.password=Your master DB password
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master.jdbc-url=Your primary DB data sourceurl spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master.username=Your primary DB username
# data source-slave
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_0.password= Your slave DB password
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_0.jdbc-url=Your slave DB data source url
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_0.username= Your slave DB username
# data source-slave
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_1.password= Your slave DB password
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_1.jdbc-url= Your slave DB data source url
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_slave_1.username= Your slave DB username
# Routing Policy Configuration
spring.shardingsphere.masterslave.load-balance-algorithm-type=round_robin
spring.shardingsphere.masterslave.name=ds_ms
spring.shardingsphere.masterslave.master-data-source-name=ds_master
spring.shardingsphere.masterslave.slave-data-source-names=ds_slave_0,ds_slave_1
# sharding-jdbc configures the information storage mode
spring.shardingsphere.mode.type=Memory
# start shardingsphere log，and you can see the conversion from logical SQL to actual SQL from the print
spring.shardingsphere.props.sql.show=true
3.2.3 Test and verification process description
- Test environment data initialization: Spring JPA initialization automatically creates tables for testing.
- Write data to the master instance
As shown in the ShardingSphere-SQL log figure below, the write SQL is executed on the ds_master data source.
- Data query operations are performed on the slave library.
As shown in the ShardingSphere-SQL log figure below, the read SQL is executed on the ds_slave data source in the form of polling.
[INFO ] 2022-04-02 19:43:39,376 --main-- [ShardingSphere-SQL] Rule Type: master-slave
[INFO ] 2022-04-02 19:43:39,376 --main-- [ShardingSphere-SQL] SQL: select orderentit0_.order_id as order_id1_1_, orderentit0_.address_id as address_2_1_,
orderentit0_.status as status3_1_, orderentit0_.user_id as user_id4_1_ from t_order orderentit0_ ::: DataSources: ds_slave_0
---------------------------- Print OrderItem Data -------------------
Hibernate: select orderiteme1_.order_item_id as order_it1_2_, orderiteme1_.order_id as order_id2_2_, orderiteme1_.status as status3_2_, orderiteme1_.user_id
as user_id4_2_ from t_order orderentit0_ cross join t_order_item orderiteme1_ where orderentit0_.order_id=orderiteme1_.order_id
[INFO ] 2022-04-02 19:43:40,898 --main-- [ShardingSphere-SQL] Rule Type: master-slave
[INFO ] 2022-04-02 19:43:40,898 --main-- [ShardingSphere-SQL] SQL: select orderiteme1_.order_item_id as order_it1_2_, orderiteme1_.order_id as order_id2_2_, orderiteme1_.status as status3_2_,
orderiteme1_.user_id as user_id4_2_ from t_order orderentit0_ cross join t_order_item orderiteme1_ where orderentit0_.order_id=orderiteme1_.order_id ::: DataSources: ds_slave_1
Note: As shown in the figure below, if there are both reads and writes in a transaction, Sharding-JDBC routes both read and write operations to the master library. If the read/write requests are not in the same transaction, the corresponding read requests are distributed to different read nodes according to the routing policy.
@Override
@Transactional // When a transaction is started, both read and write in the transaction go through the master library. When closed, read goes through the slave library and write goes through the master library
public void processSuccess() throws SQLException {
System.out.println("-------------- Process Success Begin ---------------");
List<Long> orderIds = insertData();
printData();
deleteData(orderIds);
printData();
System.out.println("-------------- Process Success Finish --------------");
}
3.2.4 Verifying Aurora failover scenario
The Aurora database environment adopts the configuration described in Section 2.2.1.
3.2.4.1 Verification process description
- Start the
Spring-Bootproject
2. Perform a failover on Aurora’s console
3. Execute the Rest API request
4. Repeatedly execute POST (http://localhost:8088/save-user) until the call to the API failed to write to Aurora and eventually recovered successfully.
5. The following figure shows the process of executing code failover. It takes about 37 seconds from the time when the latest SQL write is successfully performed to the time when the next SQL write is successfully performed. That is, the application can be automatically recovered from Aurora failover, and the recovery time is about 37 seconds.
3.3 Testing table sharding-only function
3.3.1 Configuring Sharding-JDBC
application.properties spring boot master profile description
# Jpa automatically creates and drops data tables based on entities
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create-drop
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.show_sql=true
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases
#Activate sharding-tables configuration items
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-tables
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases-tables
# spring.profiles.active=master-slave
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-master-slave
application-sharding-tables.properties sharding-jdbc profile description
## configure primary-key policy
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.actual-data-nodes=ds.t_order_item_$->{0..1}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.sharding-column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=t_order_item_$->{order_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.column=order_item_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
# configure the binding relation of t_order and t_order_item
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.binding-tables[0]=t_order,t_order_item
# configure broadcast tables
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.broadcast-tables=t_address
# sharding-jdbc mode
spring.shardingsphere.mode.type=Memory
# start shardingsphere log
spring.shardingsphere.props.sql.show=true
3.3.2 Test and verification process description
1. DDL operation
JPA automatically creates tables for testing. When Sharding-JDBC routing rules are configured, the client executes DDL, and Sharding-JDBC automatically creates corresponding tables according to the table splitting rules. If t_address is a broadcast table, create a t_address because there is only one master instance. Two physical tables t_order_0 and t_order_1 will be created when creating t_order.
2. Write operation
As shown in the figure below, Logic SQL inserts a record into t_order. When Sharding-JDBC is executed, data will be distributed to t_order_0 and t_order_1 according to the table splitting rules.
When t_order and t_order_item are bound, the records associated with order_item and order are placed on the same physical table.
3. Read operation
As shown in the figure below, perform the join query operations to order and order_item under the binding table, and the physical shard is precisely located based on the binding relationship.
The join query operations on order and order_item under the unbound table will traverse all shards.
3.4 Testing database sharding-only function
3.4.1 Setting up the database environment
Create two instances on Aurora: ds_0 and ds_1
When the sharding-spring-boot-jpa-example project is started, tables t_order, t_order_item，t_address will be created on two Aurora instances.
3.4.2 Configuring Sharding-JDBC
application.properties springboot master profile description
# Jpa automatically creates and drops data tables based on entities
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.show_sql=true
# Activate sharding-databases configuration items
spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-tables
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases-tables
#spring.profiles.active=master-slave
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-master-slave
application-sharding-databases.properties sharding-jdbc profile description
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.names=ds_0,ds_1
# ds_0
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.jdbc-url= spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.password=
# ds_1
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.jdbc-url=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.password=
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.sharding-column=user_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=ds_$->{user_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.binding-tables=t_order,t_order_item
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.broadcast-tables=t_address
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-data-source-name=ds_0
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order_item
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.column=order_item_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
# sharding-jdbc mode
spring.shardingsphere.mode.type=Memory
# start shardingsphere log
spring.shardingsphere.props.sql.show=true
3.4.3 Test and verification process description
1. DDL operation
JPA automatically creates tables for testing. When Sharding-JDBC’s library splitting and routing rules are configured, the client executes DDL, and Sharding-JDBC will automatically create corresponding tables according to table splitting rules. If t_address is a broadcast table, physical tables will be created on ds_0 and ds_1. The three tables, t_address, t_order and t_order_item will be created on ds_0 and ds_1 respectively.
2. Write operation
For the broadcast table t_address, each record written will also be written to the t_address tables of ds_0 and ds_1.
The tables t_order and t_order_item of the slave library are written on the table in the corresponding instance according to the slave library field and routing policy.
3. Read operation
Query order is routed to the corresponding Aurora instance according to the routing rules of the slave library .
Query Address. Since address is a broadcast table, an instance of address will be randomly selected and queried from the nodes used.
As shown in the figure below, perform the join query operations to order and order_item under the binding table, and the physical shard is precisely located based on the binding relationship.
3.5 Verifying sharding function
3.5.1 Setting up the database environment
As shown in the figure below, create two instances on Aurora: ds_0 and ds_1
When the sharding-spring-boot-jpa-example project is started, physical tables t_order_01, t_order_02, t_order_item_01，and t_order_item_02 and global table t_address will be created on two Aurora instances.
3.5.2 Configuring Sharding-JDBC
application.properties springboot master profile description
# Jpa automatically creates and drops data tables based on entities
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.show_sql=true
# Activate sharding-databases-tables configuration items
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-tables
spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases-tables
#spring.profiles.active=master-slave
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-master-slave
application-sharding-databases.properties sharding-jdbc profile description
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.names=ds_0,ds_1
# ds_0
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.jdbc-url= 306/dev?useSSL=false&characterEncoding=utf-8
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_0.max-active=16
# ds_1
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.jdbc-url=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_1.max-active=16
# default library splitting policy
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.sharding-column=user_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=ds_$->{user_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.binding-tables=t_order,t_order_item
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.broadcast-tables=t_address
# Tables that do not meet the library splitting policy are placed on ds_0
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-data-source-name=ds_0
# t_order table splitting policy
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order_$->{0..1}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.table-strategy.inline.sharding-column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.table-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=t_order_$->{order_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
# t_order_item table splitting policy
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order_item_$->{0..1}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.sharding-column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=t_order_item_$->{order_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.column=order_item_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
# sharding-jdbc mdoe
spring.shardingsphere.mode.type=Memory
# start shardingsphere log
spring.shardingsphere.props.sql.show=true
3.5.3 Test and verification process description
1. DDL operation
JPA automatically creates tables for testing. When Sharding-JDBC’s sharding and routing rules are configured, the client executes DDL, and Sharding-JDBC will automatically create corresponding tables according to table splitting rules. If t_address is a broadcast table, t_address will be created on both ds_0 and ds_1. The three tables, t_address, t_order and t_order_item will be created on ds_0 and ds_1 respectively.
2. Write operation
For the broadcast table t_address, each record written will also be written to the t_address tables of ds_0 and ds_1.
The tables t_order and t_order_item of the sub-library are written to the table on the corresponding instance according to the slave library field and routing policy.
3. Read operation
The read operation is similar to the library split function verification described in section2.4.3.
3.6 Testing database sharding, table sharding and read/write splitting function
3.6.1 Setting up the database environment
The following figure shows the physical table of the created database instance.
3.6.2 Configuring Sharding-JDBC
application.properties spring boot master profile description
# Jpa automatically creates and drops data tables based on entities
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto=create
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.show_sql=true
# activate sharding-databases-tables configuration items
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-tables
#spring.profiles.active=sharding-databases-tables
#spring.profiles.active=master-slave
spring.profiles.active=sharding-master-slave
application-sharding-master-slave.properties sharding-jdbc profile description
The url, name and password of the database need to be changed to your own database parameters.
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.names=ds_master_0,ds_master_1,ds_master_0_slave_0,ds_master_0_slave_1,ds_master_1_slave_0,ds_master_1_slave_1
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.jdbc-url= spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.jdbc-url= spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_0.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.jdbc-url= spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_0_slave_1.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.jdbc-url=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.jdbc-url=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.username=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_0.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.type=com.zaxxer.hikari.HikariDataSource
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.driver-class-name=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.jdbc-url= spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.username=admin
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.password=
spring.shardingsphere.datasource.ds_master_1_slave_1.max-active=16
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.sharding-column=user_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-database-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=ds_$->{user_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.binding-tables=t_order,t_order_item
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.broadcast-tables=t_address
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.default-data-source-name=ds_master_0
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order_$->{0..1}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.table-strategy.inline.sharding-column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.table-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=t_order_$->{order_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.actual-data-nodes=ds_$->{0..1}.t_order_item_$->{0..1}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.sharding-column=order_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.table-strategy.inline.algorithm-expression=t_order_item_$->{order_id % 2}
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.column=order_item_id
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.type=SNOWFLAKE
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.tables.t_order_item.key-generator.props.worker.id=123
# master/slave data source and slave data source configuration
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.master-slave-rules.ds_0.master-data-source-name=ds_master_0
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.master-slave-rules.ds_0.slave-data-source-names=ds_master_0_slave_0, ds_master_0_slave_1
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.master-slave-rules.ds_1.master-data-source-name=ds_master_1
spring.shardingsphere.sharding.master-slave-rules.ds_1.slave-data-source-names=ds_master_1_slave_0, ds_master_1_slave_1
# sharding-jdbc mode
spring.shardingsphere.mode.type=Memory
# start shardingsphere log
spring.shardingsphere.props.sql.show=true
3.6.3 Test and verification process description
1. DDL operation
JPA automatically creates tables for testing. When Sharding-JDBC’s library splitting and routing rules are configured, the client executes DDL, and Sharding-JDBC will automatically create corresponding tables according to table splitting rules. If t_address is a broadcast table, t_address will be created on both ds_0 and ds_1. The three tables, t_address, t_order and t_order_item will be created on ds_0 and ds_1 respectively.
2. Write operation
For the broadcast table t_address, each record written will also be written to the t_address tables of ds_0 and ds_1.
The tables t_order and t_order_item of the slave library are written to the table on the corresponding instance according to the slave library field and routing policy.
3. Read operation
The join query operations on order and order_item under the binding table are shown below.
3. Conclusion
As an open source product focusing on database enhancement, ShardingSphere is pretty good in terms of its community activitiy, product maturity and documentation richness.
Among its products, ShardingSphere-JDBC is a sharding solution based on the client-side, which supports all sharding scenarios. And there’s no need to introduce an intermediate layer like Proxy, so the complexity of operation and maintenance is reduced. Its latency is theoretically lower than Proxy due to the lack of intermediate layer. In addition, ShardingSphere-JDBC can support a variety of relational databases based on SQL standards such as MySQL/PostgreSQL/Oracle/SQL Server, etc.
However, due to the integration of Sharding-JDBC with the application program, it only supports Java language for now, and is strongly dependent on the application programs. Nevertheless, Sharding-JDBC separates all sharding configuration from the application program, which brings relatively small changes when switching to other middleware.
In conclusion, Sharding-JDBC is a good choice if you use a Java-based system and have to to interconnect with different relational databases — and don’t want to bother with introducing an intermediate layer.
Author
Sun Jinhua
A senior solution architect at AWS, Sun is responsible for the design and consult on cloud architecture. for providing customers with cloud-related design and consulting services. Before joining AWS, he ran his own business, specializing in building e-commerce platforms and designing the overall architecture for e-commerce platforms of automotive companies. He worked in a global leading communication equipment company as a senior engineer, responsible for the development and architecture design of multiple subsystems of LTE equipment system. He has rich experience in architecture design with high concurrency and high availability system, microservice architecture design, database, middleware, IOT etc.
1594162500
Multi-cloud Spending: 8 Tips To Lower Cost
A multi-cloud approach is nothing but leveraging two or more cloud platforms for meeting the various business requirements of an enterprise. The multi-cloud IT environment incorporates different clouds from multiple vendors and negates the dependence on a single public cloud service provider. Thus enterprises can choose specific services from multiple public clouds and reap the benefits of each.
Given its affordability and agility, most enterprises opt for a multi-cloud approach in cloud computing now. A 2018 survey on the public cloud services market points out that 81% of the respondents use services from two or more providers. Subsequently, the cloud computing services market has reported incredible growth in recent times. The worldwide public cloud services market is all set to reach $500 billion in the next four years, according to IDC.
By choosing multi-cloud solutions strategically, enterprises can optimize the benefits of cloud computing and aim for some key competitive advantages. They can avoid the lengthy and cumbersome processes involved in buying, installing and testing high-priced systems. The IaaS and PaaS solutions have become a windfall for the enterprise’s budget as it does not incur huge up-front capital expenditure.
However, cost optimization is still a challenge while facilitating a multi-cloud environment and a large number of enterprises end up overpaying with or without realizing it. The below-mentioned tips would help you ensure the money is spent wisely on cloud computing services.
- Deactivate underused or unattached resources
Most organizations tend to get wrong with simple things which turn out to be the root cause for needless spending and resource wastage. The first step to cost optimization in your cloud strategy is to identify underutilized resources that you have been paying for.
Enterprises often continue to pay for resources that have been purchased earlier but are no longer useful. Identifying such unused and unattached resources and deactivating it on a regular basis brings you one step closer to cost optimization. If needed, you can deploy automated cloud management tools that are largely helpful in providing the analytics needed to optimize the cloud spending and cut costs on an ongoing basis.
- Figure out idle instances
Another key cost optimization strategy is to identify the idle computing instances and consolidate them into fewer instances. An idle computing instance may require a CPU utilization level of 1-5%, but you may be billed by the service provider for 100% for the same instance.
Every enterprise will have such non-production instances that constitute unnecessary storage space and lead to overpaying. Re-evaluating your resource allocations regularly and removing unnecessary storage may help you save money significantly. Resource allocation is not only a matter of CPU and memory but also it is linked to the storage, network, and various other factors.
- Deploy monitoring mechanisms
The key to efficient cost reduction in cloud computing technology lies in proactive monitoring. A comprehensive view of the cloud usage helps enterprises to monitor and minimize unnecessary spending. You can make use of various mechanisms for monitoring computing demand.
For instance, you can use a heatmap to understand the highs and lows in computing visually. This heat map indicates the start and stop times which in turn lead to reduced costs. You can also deploy automated tools that help organizations to schedule instances to start and stop. By following a heatmap, you can understand whether it is safe to shut down servers on holidays or weekends.
#cloud computing services #all #hybrid cloud #cloud #multi-cloud strategy #cloud spend #multi-cloud spending #multi cloud adoption #why multi cloud #multi cloud trends #multi cloud companies #multi cloud research #multi cloud market
1607351206
AWS Cloud Practitioner Course | NetCom Learning
As the world reels under this economic meltdown caused by the pandemic, experts suggest that a rebound spearheaded by the technology sector is expected in the coming year. When every business, every service and every brick-and-mortar store was shut down, the ‘online’ or the ‘cloud’ helped salvage the situation for many across the world. This year saw many organizations embracing the cloud with a view to keep their businesses afloat amid the cloud of uncertainties. However, the challenge of finding skilled manpower still lurks on the fate of this hopeful prediction. Economic reconstruction and the situation of the job market greatly depend on the probability of sourcing the right talent to fill these positions with specialized skillsets.
Why Cloud Computing
Whether you’re ordering food online, watching your favorite show on a video streaming app, paying your credit card bill through online banking, or participating in a virtual event – all these and many other tasks that you accomplish everyday using a smartphone or internet – actually depend on services that run on a cloud platform. For many organizations, the need to get their workforce trained on cloud does not only apply to IT or technical staff. In fact, investing in cloud training for an employee of any vertical - marketing, sales, operations, finance, or even HR – is being the trigger that accelerates collaboration to reach the end business goal. Apart from that, an organization’s cloud acumen helps increase employee confidence and ability to innovate and experiment.
Gain Entry-level Cloud Skills with AWS Cloud Practitioner Course
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Training is the right path to get certified and begin a fruitful and rewarding cloud journey. It builds a solid foundation of cloud skills and prepares the learners for more sophisticated and technical cloud certifications. The best thing about this Amazon Cloud Practitioner certification is that anyone can acquire valuable cloud skills irrespective of their technical or non-technical background. No programming or coding experience or knowledge is required as a pre-requisite in order to enroll for AWS cloud Practitioner Essentials Course.
If you are new to cloud, have a non-technical background, or wish to learn the basic working knowledge of cloud, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Training can be your starting point.
Here is what you or your employees learn when you enroll for an AWS Cloud Practitioner Course:
• What is AWS Cloud?
• Fundamentals of operating and deploying AWS Cloud
• Global architecture and architectural principles of AWS cloud
• AWS Cloud value proposition
• Key services and some common use cases of AWS platform
• AWS security and compliance
• AWS shared security model
• AWS platform’s billing, account management, and pricing models
**### Where to Get Training on AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials **
The pandemic may have brought the world to a standstill, but it sure has proved to be a boon for those interested in learning new skills. It is a golden period to acquire valuable skills that help an individual take a step further in their professional or personal growth. Internet has played a huge role in this area as well. For those who seek to learn and grow, everything is available at the click of a button. Any course, any skill, any trainer – is available online to help you fulfill your learning goals. With virtual trainings and online classes, the whole world seems to shrink, and everything becomes accessible anytime, anywhere.
However, in the cacophony of online courses, learners need to pick and choose the ones that add value to their skillset. For this purpose, it is advised to prefer only authorized providers for training. Amazon Web Services has authorized training partners and authorized instructors who are accredited to provide trainings of such technical expertise. NetCom Learning is one such authorized training provider that offers various technical courses including AWS Cloud training programs. The company also has AWS Authorized Instructors who are Champion-level trainers. NetCom Learning currently has the AWS Cloud Practitioner Course on a promotional offer.
### Get AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Training at $99
As part of a promotional offer, NetCom Learning is offering a one-day AWS Cloud Practitioner Course at $99 for the class on December 14th, 2020. The actual price for this course is $675. Since this huge discount is available for one day only, it’s a great opportunity for those who are looking to earn cloud skills. This guaranteed-to-run class will cover all topics in an 8-hour session on the specified date. Use Promo code AWSCPE99 to unlock the discounted price. Learners interested to get AWS Cloud Practitioner certified will also get an additional one-hour where the instructor will guide them on tips and resources to ace the certification exam. Limited seats are available for this promotional session.
Since the certification exam costs $100, if you enroll for this training, you can get trained and certified at $199 only. This is the right time and right opportunity to gain cloud skills and begin your learning journey.
#aws #aws cloud #aws cloud practitioner course #aws cloud training programs #training on aws cloud practitioner essentials #aws cloud practitioner course
1666245660
A Collection Of Swift Tips & Tricks That I've Shared on Twitter
Swift tips & tricks ⚡️
One of the things I really love about Swift is how I keep finding interesting ways to use it in various situations, and when I do - I usually share them on Twitter. Here's a collection of all the tips & tricks that I've shared so far. Each entry has a link to the original tweet, if you want to respond with some feedback or question, which is always super welcome! 🚀
⚠️ This list is no longer being updated. For my latest Swift tips, checkout the "Tips" section on Swift by Sundell.
Also make sure to check out all of my other Swift content:
- 📖 My weekly articles, with a new post about Swift every Sunday!
- 🎧 My podcast which features special guests from around the community.
- 📬 My monthly newsletter - rounding up all of my content, including these tips, on the 1st of every month.
102 Making async tests faster and more stable
🚀 Here are some quick tips to make async tests faster & more stable:
- 😴 Avoid sleep() - use expectations instead
- ⏱ Use generous timeouts to avoid flakiness on CI
- 🧐 Put all assertions at the end of each test, not inside closures
// BEFORE:
class MentionDetectorTests: XCTestCase {
func testDetectingMention() {
let detector = MentionDetector()
let string = "This test was written by @johnsundell."
detector.detectMentions(in: string) { mentions in
XCTAssertEqual(mentions, ["johnsundell"])
}
sleep(2)
}
}
// AFTER:
class MentionDetectorTests: XCTestCase {
func testDetectingMention() {
let detector = MentionDetector()
let string = "This test was written by @johnsundell."
var mentions: [String]?
let expectation = self.expectation(description: #function)
detector.detectMentions(in: string) {
mentions = $0
expectation.fulfill()
}
waitForExpectations(timeout: 10)
XCTAssertEqual(mentions, ["johnsundell"])
}
}
For more on async testing, check out "Unit testing asynchronous Swift code".
101 Adding support for Apple Pencil double-taps
✍️ Adding support for the new Apple Pencil double-tap feature is super easy! All you have to do is to create a UIPencilInteraction, add it to a view, and implement one delegate method. Hopefully all pencil-compatible apps will soon adopt this.
let interaction = UIPencilInteraction()
interaction.delegate = self
view.addInteraction(interaction)
extension ViewController: UIPencilInteractionDelegate {
func pencilInteractionDidTap(_ interaction: UIPencilInteraction) {
// Handle pencil double-tap
}
}
For more on using this and other iPad Pro features, check out "Building iPad Pro features in Swift".
100 Combining values with functions
😎 Here's a cool function that combines a value with a function to return a closure that captures that value, so that it can be called without any arguments. Super useful when working with closure-based APIs and we want to use some of our properties without having to capture self.
func combine<A, B>(_ value: A, with closure: @escaping (A) -> B) -> () -> B {
return { closure(value) }
}
// BEFORE:
class ProductViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
buyButton.handler = { [weak self] in
guard let self = self else {
return
}
self.productManager.startCheckout(for: self.product)
}
}
}
// AFTER:
class ProductViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
buyButton.handler = combine(product, with: productManager.startCheckout)
}
}
99 Dependency injection using functions
💉 When I'm only using a single function from a dependency, I love to inject that function as a closure, instead of having to create a protocol and inject the whole object. Makes dependency injection & testing super simple.
final class ArticleLoader {
typealias Networking = (Endpoint) -> Future<Data>
private let networking: Networking
init(networking: @escaping Networking = URLSession.shared.load) {
self.networking = networking
}
func loadLatest() -> Future<[Article]> {
return networking(.latestArticles).decode()
}
}
For more on this technique, check out "Simple Swift dependency injection with functions".
98 Using a custom exception handler
💥 It's cool that you can easily assign a closure as a custom NSException handler. This is super useful when building things in Playgrounds - since you can't use breakpoints - so instead of just signal SIGABRT, you'll get the full exception description if something goes wrong.
NSSetUncaughtExceptionHandler { exception in
print(exception)
}
97 Using type aliases to give semantic meaning to primitives
❤️ I love that in Swift, we can use the type system to make our code so much more self-documenting - one way of doing so is to use type aliases to give the primitive types that we use a more semantic meaning.
extension List.Item {
// Using type aliases, we can give semantic meaning to the
// primitive types that we use, without having to introduce
// wrapper types.
typealias Index = Int
}
extension List {
enum Mutation {
// Our enum cases now become a lot more self-documenting,
// without having to add additional parameter labels to
// explain them.
case add(Item, Item.Index)
case update(Item, Item.Index)
case remove(Item.Index)
}
}
For more on self-documenting code, check out "Writing self-documenting Swift code".
96 Specializing protocols using constraints
🤯 A little late night prototyping session reveals that protocol constraints can not only be applied to extensions - they can also be added to protocol definitions!
This is awesome, since it lets us easily define specialized protocols based on more generic ones.
protocol Component {
associatedtype Container
func add(to container: Container)
}
// Protocols that inherit from other protocols can include
// constraints to further specialize them.
protocol ViewComponent: Component where Container == UIView {
associatedtype View: UIView
var view: View { get }
}
extension ViewComponent {
func add(to container: UIView) {
container.addSubview(view)
}
}
For more on specializing protocols, check out "Specializing protocols in Swift".
95 Unwrapping an optional or throwing an error
📦 Here's a super handy extension on Swift's Optional type, which gives us a really nice API for easily unwrapping an optional, or throwing an error in case the value turned out to be nil:
extension Optional {
func orThrow(_ errorExpression: @autoclosure () -> Error) throws -> Wrapped {
switch self {
case .some(let value):
return value
case .none:
throw errorExpression()
}
}
}
let file = try loadFile(at: path).orThrow(MissingFileError())
For more ways that optionals can be extended, check out "Extending optionals in Swift".
94 Testing code that uses static APIs
👩🔬 Testing code that uses static APIs can be really tricky, but there's a way that it can often be done - using Swift's first class function capabilities!
Instead of accessing that static API directly, we can inject the function we want to use, which enables us to mock it!
// BEFORE
class FriendsLoader {
func loadFriends(then handler: @escaping (Result<[Friend]>) -> Void) {
Networking.loadData(from: .friends) { result in
...
}
}
}
// AFTER
class FriendsLoader {
typealias Handler<T> = (Result<T>) -> Void
typealias DataLoadingFunction = (Endpoint, @escaping Handler<Data>) -> Void
func loadFriends(using dataLoading: DataLoadingFunction = Networking.loadData,
then handler: @escaping Handler<[Friend]>) {
dataLoading(.friends) { result in
...
}
}
}
// MOCKING IN TESTS
let dataLoading: FriendsLoader.DataLoadingFunction = { _, handler in
handler(.success(mockData))
}
friendsLoader.loadFriends(using: dataLoading) { result in
...
}
93 Matching multiple enum cases with associated values
🐾 Swift's pattern matching capabilities are so powerful! Two enum cases with associated values can even be matched and handled by the same switch case - which is super useful when handling state changes with similar data.
enum DownloadState {
case inProgress(progress: Double)
case paused(progress: Double)
case cancelled
case finished(Data)
}
func downloadStateDidChange(to state: DownloadState) {
switch state {
case .inProgress(let progress), .paused(let progress):
updateProgressView(with: progress)
case .cancelled:
showCancelledMessage()
case .finished(let data):
process(data)
}
}
92 Multiline string literals
🅰 One really nice benefit of Swift multiline string literals - even for single lines of text - is that they don't require quotes to be escaped. Perfect when working with things like HTML, or creating a custom description for an object.
let html = highlighter.highlight("Array<String>")
XCTAssertEqual(html, """
<span class="type">Array</span><<span class="type">String</span>>
""")
91 Reducing sequences
💎 While it's very common in functional programming, the reduce function might be a bit of a hidden gem in Swift. It provides a super useful way to transform a sequence into a single value.
extension Sequence where Element: Equatable {
func numberOfOccurrences(of target: Element) -> Int {
return reduce(0) { result, element in
guard element == target else {
return result
}
return result + 1
}
}
}
You can read more about transforming collections in "Transforming collections in Swift".
90 Avoiding manual Codable implementations
📦 When I use Codable in Swift, I want to avoid manual implementations as much as possible, even when there's a mismatch between my code structure and the JSON I'm decoding.
One way that can often be achieved is to use private data containers combined with computed properties.
struct User: Codable {
let name: String
let age: Int
var homeTown: String { return originPlace.name }
private let originPlace: Place
}
private extension User {
struct Place: Codable {
let name: String
}
}
extension User {
struct Container: Codable {
let user: User
}
}
89 Using feature flags instead of feature branches
🚢 Instead of using feature branches, I merge almost all of my code directly into master - and then I use feature flags to conditionally enable features when they're ready. That way I can avoid merge conflicts and keep shipping!
extension ListViewController {
func addSearchIfNeeded() {
// Rather than having to keep maintaining a separate
// feature branch for a new feature, we can use a flag
// to conditionally turn it on.
guard FeatureFlags.searchEnabled else {
return
}
let resultsVC = SearchResultsViewController()
let searchVC = UISearchController(
searchResultsController: resultsVC
)
searchVC.searchResultsUpdater = resultsVC
navigationItem.searchController = searchVC
}
}
You can read more about feature flags in "Feature flags in Swift".
88 Lightweight data hierarchies using tuples
💾 Here I'm using tuples to create a lightweight hierarchy for my data, giving me a nice structure without having to introduce any additional types.
struct CodeSegment {
var tokens: (
previous: String?,
current: String
)
var delimiters: (
previous: Character?
next: Character?
)
}
handle(segment.tokens.current)
You can read more about tuples in "Using tuples as lightweight types in Swift"
87 The rule of threes
3️⃣ Whenever I have 3 properties or local variables that share the same prefix, I usually try to extract them into their own method or type. That way I can avoid massive types & methods, and also increase readability, without falling into a "premature optimization" trap.
Before
public func generate() throws {
let contentFolder = try folder.subfolder(named: "content")
let articleFolder = try contentFolder.subfolder(named: "posts")
let articleProcessor = ContentProcessor(folder: articleFolder)
let articles = try articleProcessor.process()
...
}
After
public func generate() throws {
let contentFolder = try folder.subfolder(named: "content")
let articles = try processArticles(in: contentFolder)
...
}
private func processArticles(in folder: Folder) throws -> [ContentItem] {
let folder = try folder.subfolder(named: "posts")
let processor = ContentProcessor(folder: folder)
return try processor.process()
}
86 Useful Codable extensions
👨🔧 Here's two extensions that I always add to the Encodable & Decodable protocols, which for me really make the Codable API nicer to use. By using type inference for decoding, a lot of boilerplate can be removed when the compiler is already able to infer the resulting type.
extension Encodable {
func encoded() throws -> Data {
return try JSONEncoder().encode(self)
}
}
extension Data {
func decoded<T: Decodable>() throws -> T {
return try JSONDecoder().decode(T.self, from: self)
}
}
let data = try user.encoded()
// By using a generic type in the decoded() method, the
// compiler can often infer the type we want to decode
// from the current context.
try userDidLogin(data.decoded())
// And if not, we can always supply the type, still making
// the call site read very nicely.
let otherUser = try data.decoded() as User
85 Using shared UserDefaults suites
📦 UserDefaults is a lot more powerful than what it first might seem like. Not only can it store more complex values (like dates & dictionaries) and parse command line arguments - it also enables easy sharing of settings & lightweight data between apps in the same App Group.
let sharedDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "my-app-group")!
let useDarkMode = sharedDefaults.bool(forKey: "dark-mode")
// This value is put into the shared suite.
sharedDefaults.set(true, forKey: "dark-mode")
// If you want to treat the shared settings as read-only (and add
// local overrides on top of them), you can simply add the shared
// suite to the standard UserDefaults.
let combinedDefaults = UserDefaults.standard
combinedDefaults.addSuite(named: "my-app-group")
// This value is a local override, not added to the shared suite.
combinedDefaults.set(true, forKey: "app-specific-override")
84 Custom UIView backing layers
🎨 By overriding layerClass you can tell UIKit what CALayer class to use for a UIView's backing layer. That way you can reduce the amount of layers, and don't have to do any manual layout.
final class GradientView: UIView {
override class var layerClass: AnyClass { return CAGradientLayer.self }
var colors: (start: UIColor, end: UIColor)? {
didSet { updateLayer() }
}
private func updateLayer() {
let layer = self.layer as! CAGradientLayer
layer.colors = colors.map { [$0.start.cgColor, $0.end.cgColor] }
}
}
83 Auto-Equatable enums with associated values
✅ That the compiler now automatically synthesizes Equatable conformances is such a huge upgrade for Swift! And the cool thing is that it works for all kinds of types - even for enums with associated values! Especially useful when using enums for verification in unit tests.
struct Article: Equatable {
let title: String
let text: String
}
struct User: Equatable {
let name: String
let age: Int
}
extension Navigator {
enum Destination: Equatable {
case profile(User)
case article(Article)
}
}
func testNavigatingToArticle() {
let article = Article(title: "Title", text: "Text")
controller.select(article)
XCTAssertEqual(navigator.destinations, [.article(article)])
}
82 Defaults for associated types
🤝 Associated types can have defaults in Swift - which is super useful for types that are not easily inferred (for example when they're not used for a specific instance method or property).
protocol Identifiable {
associatedtype RawIdentifier: Codable = String
var id: Identifier<Self> { get }
}
struct User: Identifiable {
let id: Identifier<User>
let name: String
}
struct Group: Identifiable {
typealias RawIdentifier = Int
let id: Identifier<Group>
let name: String
}
81 Creating a dedicated identifier type
🆔 If you want to avoid using plain strings as identifiers (which can increase both type safety & readability), it's really easy to create a custom Identifier type that feels just like a native Swift type, thanks to protocols!
More on this topic in "Type-safe identifiers in Swift".
struct Identifier: Hashable {
let string: String
}
extension Identifier: ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
init(stringLiteral value: String) {
string = value
}
}
extension Identifier: CustomStringConvertible {
var description: String {
return string
}
}
extension Identifier: Codable {
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
string = try container.decode(String.self)
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(string)
}
}
struct Article: Codable {
let id: Identifier
let title: String
}
let article = Article(id: "my-article", title: "Hello world!")
80 Assigning optional tuple members to variables
🙌 A really cool thing about using tuples to model the internal state of a Swift type, is that you can unwrap an optional tuple's members directly into local variables.
Very useful in order to group multiple optional values together for easy unwrapping & handling.
class ImageTransformer {
private var queue = [(image: UIImage, transform: Transform)]()
private func processNext() {
// When unwrapping an optional tuple, you can assign the members
// directly to local variables.
guard let (image, transform) = queue.first else {
return
}
let context = Context()
context.draw(image)
context.apply(transform)
...
}
}
79 Struct convenience initializers
❤️ I love to structure my code using extensions in Swift. One big benefit of doing so when it comes to struct initializers, is that defining a convenience initializer doesn't remove the default one the compiler generates - best of both worlds!
struct Article {
let date: Date
var title: String
var text: String
var comments: [Comment]
}
extension Article {
init(title: String, text: String) {
self.init(date: Date(), title: title, text: text, comments: [])
}
}
let articleA = Article(title: "Best Cupcake Recipe", text: "...")
let articleB = Article(
date: Date(),
title: "Best Cupcake Recipe",
text: "...",
comments: [
Comment(user: currentUser, text: "Yep, can confirm!")
]
)
78 Usages of throwing functions
🏈 A big benefit of using throwing functions for synchronous Swift APIs is that the caller can decide whether they want to treat the return value as optional (try?) or required (try).
func loadFile(named name: String) throws -> File {
guard let url = urlForFile(named: name) else {
throw File.Error.missing
}
do {
let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
return File(url: url, data: data)
} catch {
throw File.Error.invalidData(error)
}
}
let requiredFile = try loadFile(named: "AppConfig.json")
let optionalFile = try? loadFile(named: "UserSettings.json")
77 Nested generic types
🐝 Types that are nested in generics automatically inherit their parent's generic types - which is super useful when defining accessory types (for things like states or outcomes).
struct Task<Input, Output> {
typealias Closure = (Input) throws -> Output
let closure: Closure
}
extension Task {
enum Result {
case success(Output)
case failure(Error)
}
}
76 Equatable & Hashable structures
🤖 Now that the Swift compiler automatically synthesizes Equatable & Hashable conformances for value types, it's easier than ever to setup model structures with nested types that are all Equatable/Hashable!
typealias Value = Hashable & Codable
struct User: Value {
var name: String
var age: Int
var lastLoginDate: Date?
var settings: Settings
}
extension User {
struct Settings: Value {
var itemsPerPage: Int
var theme: Theme
}
}
extension User.Settings {
enum Theme: String, Value {
case light
case dark
}
}
You can read more about using nested types in Swift here.
75 Conditional conformances
🎉 Swift 4.1 is here! One of the key features it brings is conditional conformances, which lets you have a type only conform to a protocol under certain constraints.
protocol UnboxTransformable {
associatedtype RawValue
static func transform(_ value: RawValue) throws -> Self?
}
extension Array: UnboxTransformable where Element: UnboxTransformable {
typealias RawValue = [Element.RawValue]
static func transform(_ value: RawValue) throws -> [Element]? {
return try value.compactMap(Element.transform)
}
}
I also have an article with lots of more info on conditional conformances here. Paul Hudson also has a great overview of all Swift 4.1 features here.
74 Generic type aliases
🕵️♀️ A cool thing about Swift type aliases is that they can be generic! Combine that with tuples and you can easily define simple generic types.
typealias Pair<T> = (T, T)
extension Game {
func calculateScore(for players: Pair<Player>) -> Int {
...
}
}
You can read more about using tuples as lightweight types here.
73 Parsing command line arguments using UserDefaults
☑️ A really cool "hidden" feature of UserDefaults is that it contains any arguments that were passed to the app at launch!
Super useful both in Swift command line tools & scripts, but also to temporarily override a value when debugging iOS apps.
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
let query = defaults.string(forKey: "query")
let resultCount = defaults.integer(forKey: "results")
72 Using the & operator
👏 Swift's & operator is awesome! Not only can you use it to compose protocols, you can compose other types too! Very useful if you want to hide concrete types & implementation details.
protocol LoadableFromURL {
func load(from url: URL)
}
class ContentViewController: UIViewController, LoadableFromURL {
func load(from url: URL) {
...
}
}
class ViewControllerFactory {
func makeContentViewController() -> UIViewController & LoadableFromURL {
return ContentViewController()
}
}
71 Capturing multiple values in mocks
🤗 When capturing values in mocks, using an array (instead of just a single value) makes it easy to verify that only a certain number of values were passed.
Perfect for protecting against "over-calling" something.
class UserManagerTests: XCTestCase {
func testObserversCalledWhenUserFirstLogsIn() {
let manager = UserManager()
let observer = ObserverMock()
manager.addObserver(observer)
// First login, observers should be notified
let user = User(id: 123, name: "John")
manager.userDidLogin(user)
XCTAssertEqual(observer.users, [user])
// If the same user logs in again, observers shouldn't be notified
manager.userDidLogin(user)
XCTAssertEqual(observer.users, [user])
}
}
private extension UserManagerTests {
class ObserverMock: UserManagerObserver {
private(set) var users = [User]()
func userDidChange(to user: User) {
users.append(user)
}
}
}
70 Reducing the need for mocks
👋 When writing tests, you don't always need to create mocks - you can create stubs using real instances of things like errors, URLs & UserDefaults.
Here's how to do that for some common tasks/object types in Swift:
// Create errors using NSError (#function can be used to reference the name of the test)
let error = NSError(domain: #function, code: 1, userInfo: nil)
// Create non-optional URLs using file paths
let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: "Some/URL")
// Reference the test bundle using Bundle(for:)
let bundle = Bundle(for: type(of: self))
// Create an explicit UserDefaults object (instead of having to use a mock)
let userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: #function)
// Create queues to control/await concurrent operations
let queue = DispatchQueue(label: #function)
For when you actually do need mocking, check out "Mocking in Swift".
69 Using "then" as an external parameter label for closures
⏱ I've started using "then" as an external parameter label for completion handlers. Makes the call site read really nicely (Because I do ❤️ conversational API design) regardless of whether trailing closure syntax is used or not.
protocol DataLoader {
// Adding type aliases to protocols can be a great way to
// reduce verbosity for parameter types.
typealias Handler = (Result<Data>) -> Void
associatedtype Endpoint
func loadData(from endpoint: Endpoint, then handler: @escaping Handler)
}
loader.loadData(from: .messages) { result in
...
}
loader.loadData(from: .messages, then: { result in
...
})
68 Combining lazily evaluated sequences with the builder pattern
😴 Combining lazily evaluated sequences with builder pattern-like properties can lead to some pretty sweet APIs for configurable sequences in Swift.
Also useful for queries & other things you "build up" and then execute.
// Extension adding builder pattern-like properties that return
// a new sequence value with the given configuration applied
extension FileSequence {
var recursive: FileSequence {
var sequence = self
sequence.isRecursive = true
return sequence
}
var includingHidden: FileSequence {
var sequence = self
sequence.includeHidden = true
return sequence
}
}
// BEFORE
let files = folder.makeFileSequence(recursive: true, includeHidden: true)
// AFTER
let files = folder.files.recursive.includingHidden
Want an intro to lazy sequences? Check out "Swift sequences: The art of being lazy".
67 Faster & more stable UI tests
My top 3 tips for faster & more stable UI tests:
📱 Reset the app's state at the beginning of every test.
🆔 Use accessibility identifiers instead of UI strings.
⏱ Use expectations instead of waiting time.
func testOpeningArticle() {
// Launch the app with an argument that tells it to reset its state
let app = XCUIApplication()
app.launchArguments.append("--uitesting")
app.launch()
// Check that the app is displaying an activity indicator
let activityIndicator = app.activityIndicator.element
XCTAssertTrue(activityIndicator.exists)
// Wait for the loading indicator to disappear = content is ready
expectation(for: NSPredicate(format: "exists == 0"),
evaluatedWith: activityIndicator)
// Use a generous timeout in case the network is slow
waitForExpectations(timeout: 10)
// Tap the cell for the first article
app.tables.cells["Article.0"].tap()
// Assert that a label with the accessibility identifier "Article.Title" exists
let label = app.staticTexts["Article.Title"]
XCTAssertTrue(label.exists)
}
66 Accessing the clipboard from a Swift script
📋 It's super easy to access the contents of the clipboard from a Swift script. A big benefit of Swift scripting is being able to use Cocoa's powerful APIs for Mac apps.
import Cocoa
let clipboard = NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string)
65 Using tuples for view state
🎯 Using Swift tuples for view state can be a super nice way to group multiple properties together and render them reactively using the layout system.
By using a tuple we don't have to either introduce a new type or make our view model-aware.
class TextView: UIView {
var state: (title: String?, text: String?) {
// By telling UIKit that our view needs layout and binding our
// state in layoutSubviews, we can react to state changes without
// doing unnecessary layout work.
didSet { setNeedsLayout() }
}
private let titleLabel = UILabel()
private let textLabel = UILabel()
override func layoutSubviews() {
super.layoutSubviews()
titleLabel.text = state.title
textLabel.text = state.text
...
}
}
64 Throwing tests and LocalizedError
⚾️ Swift tests can throw, which is super useful in order to avoid complicated logic or force unwrapping. By making errors conform to LocalizedError, you can also get a nice error message in Xcode if there's a failure.
class ImageCacheTests: XCTestCase {
func testCachingAndLoadingImage() throws {
let bundle = Bundle(for: type(of: self))
let cache = ImageCache(bundle: bundle)
// Bonus tip: You can easily load images from your test
// bundle using this UIImage initializer
let image = try require(UIImage(named: "sample", in: bundle, compatibleWith: nil))
try cache.cache(image, forKey: "key")
let cachedImage = try cache.image(forKey: "key")
XCTAssertEqual(image, cachedImage)
}
}
enum ImageCacheError {
case emptyKey
case dataConversionFailed
}
// When using throwing tests, making your errors conform to
// LocalizedError will render a much nicer error message in
// Xcode (per default only the error code is shown).
extension ImageCacheError: LocalizedError {
var errorDescription: String? {
switch self {
case .emptyKey:
return "An empty key was given"
case .dataConversionFailed:
return "Failed to convert the given image to Data"
}
}
}
For more information, and the implementation of the require method used above, check out "Avoiding force unwrapping in Swift unit tests".
63 The difference between static and class properties
✍️ Unlike static properties, class properties can be overridden by subclasses (however, they can't be stored, only computed).
class TableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
class var preferredHeight: CGFloat { return 60 }
}
class TallTableViewCell: TableViewCell {
override class var preferredHeight: CGFloat { return 100 }
}
62 Creating extensions with static factory methods
👨🎨 Creating extensions with static factory methods can be a great alternative to subclassing in Swift, especially for things like setting up UIViews, CALayers or other kinds of styling.
It also lets you remove a lot of styling & setup from your view controllers.
extension UILabel {
static func makeForTitle() -> UILabel {
let label = UILabel()
label.font = .boldSystemFont(ofSize: 24)
label.textColor = .darkGray
label.adjustsFontSizeToFitWidth = true
label.minimumScaleFactor = 0.75
return label
}
static func makeForText() -> UILabel {
let label = UILabel()
label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
label.textColor = .black
label.numberOfLines = 0
return label
}
}
class ArticleViewController: UIViewController {
lazy var titleLabel = UILabel.makeForTitle()
lazy var textLabel = UILabel.makeForText()
}
61 Child view controller auto-resizing
🧒 An awesome thing about child view controllers is that they're automatically resized to match their parent, making them a super nice solution for things like loading & error views.
class ListViewController: UIViewController {
func loadItems() {
let loadingViewController = LoadingViewController()
add(loadingViewController)
dataLoader.loadItems { [weak self] result in
loadingViewController.remove()
self?.handle(result)
}
}
}
For more about child view controller (including the add and remove methods used above), check out "Using child view controllers as plugins in Swift".
60 Using zip
🤐 Using the zip function in Swift you can easily combine two sequences. Super useful when using two sequences to do some work, since zip takes care of all the bounds-checking.
func render(titles: [String]) {
for (label, text) in zip(titleLabels, titles) {
print(text)
label.text = text
}
}
59 Defining custom option sets
🎛 The awesome thing about option sets in Swift is that they can automatically either be passed as a single member or as a set. Even cooler is that you can easily define your own option sets as well, perfect for options and other non-exclusive values.
// Option sets are awesome, because you can easily pass them
// both using dot syntax and array literal syntax, like when
// using the UIView animation API:
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3,
delay: 0,
options: .allowUserInteraction,
animations: animations)
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3,
delay: 0,
options: [.allowUserInteraction, .layoutSubviews],
animations: animations)
// The cool thing is that you can easily define your own option
// sets as well, by defining a struct that has an Int rawValue,
// that will be used as a bit mask.
extension Cache {
struct Options: OptionSet {
static let saveToDisk = Options(rawValue: 1)
static let clearOnMemoryWarning = Options(rawValue: 1 << 1)
static let clearDaily = Options(rawValue: 1 << 2)
let rawValue: Int
}
}
// We can now use Cache.Options just like UIViewAnimationOptions:
Cache(options: .saveToDisk)
Cache(options: [.saveToDisk, .clearDaily])
58 Using the where clause with associated types
🙌 Using the where clause when designing protocol-oriented APIs in Swift can let your implementations (or others' if it's open source) have a lot more freedom, especially when it comes to collections.
See "Using generic type constraints in Swift 4" for more info.
public protocol PathFinderMap {
associatedtype Node
// Using the 'where' clause for associated types, we can
// ensure that a type meets certain requirements (in this
// case that it's a sequence with Node elements).
associatedtype NodeSequence: Sequence where NodeSequence.Element == Node
// Instead of using a concrete type (like [Node]) here, we
// give implementors of this protocol more freedom while
// still meeting our requirements. For example, one
// implementation might use Set<Node>.
func neighbors(of node: Node) -> NodeSequence
}
57 Using first class functions when iterating over a dictionary
👨🍳 Combine first class functions in Swift with the fact that Dictionary elements are (Key, Value) tuples and you can build yourself some pretty awesome functional chains when iterating over a Dictionary.
func makeActor(at coordinate: Coordinate, for building: Building) -> Actor {
let actor = Actor()
actor.position = coordinate.point
actor.animation = building.animation
return actor
}
func render(_ buildings: [Coordinate : Building]) {
buildings.map(makeActor).forEach(add)
}
56 Calling instance methods as static functions
😎 In Swift, you can call any instance method as a static function and it will return a closure representing that method. This is how running tests using SPM on Linux works.
More about this topic in my blog post "First class functions in Swift".
// This produces a '() -> Void' closure which is a reference to the
// given view's 'removeFromSuperview' method.
let closure = UIView.removeFromSuperview(view)
// We can now call it just like we would any other closure, and it
// will run 'view.removeFromSuperview()'
closure()
// This is how running tests using the Swift Package Manager on Linux
// works, you return your test functions as closures:
extension UserManagerTests {
static var allTests = [
("testLoggingIn", testLoggingIn),
("testLoggingOut", testLoggingOut),
("testUserPermissions", testUserPermissions)
]
}
55 Dropping suffixes from method names to support multiple arguments
👏 One really nice benefit of dropping suffixes from method names (and just using verbs, when possible) is that it becomes super easy to support both single and multiple arguments, and it works really well semantically.
extension UIView {
func add(_ subviews: UIView...) {
subviews.forEach(addSubview)
}
}
view.add(button)
view.add(label)
// By dropping the "Subview" suffix from the method name, both
// single and multiple arguments work really well semantically.
view.add(button, label)
54 Constraining protocols to classes to ensure mutability
👽 Using the AnyObject (or class) constraint on protocols is not only useful when defining delegates (or other weak references), but also when you always want instances to be mutable without copying.
// By constraining a protocol with 'AnyObject' it can only be adopted
// by classes, which means all instances will always be mutable, and
// that it's the original instance (not a copy) that will be mutated.
protocol DataContainer: AnyObject {
var data: Data? { get set }
}
class UserSettingsManager {
private var settings: Settings
private let dataContainer: DataContainer
// Since DataContainer is a protocol, we an easily mock it in
// tests if we use dependency injection
init(settings: Settings, dataContainer: DataContainer) {
self.settings = settings
self.dataContainer = dataContainer
}
func saveSettings() throws {
let data = try settings.serialize()
// We can now assign properties on an instance of our protocol
// because the compiler knows it's always going to be a class
dataContainer.data = data
}
}
53 String-based enums in string interpolation
🍣 Even if you define a custom raw value for a string-based enum in Swift, the full case name will be used in string interpolation.
Super useful when using separate raw values for JSON, while still wanting to use the full case name in other contexts.
extension Building {
// This enum has custom raw values that are used when decoding
// a value, for example from JSON.
enum Kind: String {
case castle = "C"
case town = "T"
case barracks = "B"
case goldMine = "G"
case camp = "CA"
case blacksmith = "BL"
}
var animation: Animation {
return Animation(
// When used in string interpolation, the full case name is still used.
// For 'castle' this will be 'buildings/castle'.
name: "buildings/\(kind)",
frameCount: frameCount,
frameDuration: frameDuration
)
}
}
52 Expressively comparing a value with a list of candidates
👨🔬 Continuing to experiment with expressive ways of comparing a value with a list of candidates in Swift. Adding an extension on Equatable is probably my favorite approach so far.
extension Equatable {
func isAny(of candidates: Self...) -> Bool {
return candidates.contains(self)
}
}
let isHorizontal = direction.isAny(of: .left, .right)
See tip 35 for my previous experiment.
51 UIView bounds and transforms
📐 A really interesting side-effect of a UIView's bounds being its rect within its own coordinate system is that transforms don't affect it at all. That's why it's usually a better fit than frame when doing layout calculations of subviews.
let view = UIView()
view.frame.size = CGSize(width: 100, height: 100)
view.transform = CGAffineTransform(scaleX: 2, y: 2)
print(view.frame) // (-50.0, -50.0, 200.0, 200.0)
print(view.bounds) // (0.0, 0.0, 100.0, 100.0)
50 UIKit default arguments
👏 It's awesome that many UIKit APIs with completion handlers and other optional parameters import into Swift with default arguments (even though they are written in Objective-C). Getting rid of all those nil arguments is so nice!
// BEFORE: All parameters are specified, just like in Objective-C
viewController.present(modalViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
modalViewController.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
viewController.transition(from: loadingViewController,
to: contentViewController,
duration: 0.3,
options: [],
animations: animations,
completion: nil)
// AFTER: Since many UIKit APIs with completion handlers and other
// optional parameters import into Swift with default arguments,
// we can make our calls shorter
viewController.present(modalViewController, animated: true)
modalViewController.dismiss(animated: true)
viewController.transition(from: loadingViewController,
to: contentViewController,
duration: 0.3,
animations: animations)
49 Avoiding Massive View Controllers
✂️ Avoiding Massive View Controllers is all about finding the right levels of abstraction and splitting things up.
My personal rule of thumb is that as soon as I have 3 methods or properties that have the same prefix, I break them out into their own type.
// BEFORE
class LoginViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var signUpLabel = UILabel()
private lazy var signUpImageView = UIImageView()
private lazy var signUpButton = UIButton()
}
// AFTER
class LoginViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var signUpView = SignUpView()
}
class SignUpView: UIView {
private lazy var label = UILabel()
private lazy var imageView = UIImageView()
private lazy var button = UIButton()
}
48 Extending optionals
❤️ I love the fact that optionals are enums in Swift - it makes it so easy to extend them with convenience APIs for certain types. Especially useful when doing things like data validation on optional values.
func validateTextFields() -> Bool {
guard !usernameTextField.text.isNilOrEmpty else {
return false
}
...
return true
}
// Since all optionals are actual enum values in Swift, we can easily
// extend them for certain types, to add our own convenience APIs
extension Optional where Wrapped == String {
var isNilOrEmpty: Bool {
switch self {
case let string?:
return string.isEmpty
case nil:
return true
}
}
}
// Since strings are now Collections in Swift 4, you can even
// add this property to all optional collections:
extension Optional where Wrapped: Collection {
var isNilOrEmpty: Bool {
switch self {
case let collection?:
return collection.isEmpty
case nil:
return true
}
}
}
47 Using where with for-loops
🗺 Using the where keyword can be a super nice way to quickly apply a filter in a for-loop in Swift. You can of course use map, filter and forEach, or guard, but for simple loops I think this is very expressive and nice.
func archiveMarkedPosts() {
for post in posts where post.isMarked {
archive(post)
}
}
func healAllies() {
for player in players where player.isAllied(to: currentPlayer) {
player.heal()
}
}
46 Variable shadowing
👻 Variable shadowing can be super useful in Swift, especially when you want to create a local copy of a parameter value in order to use it as state within a closure.
init(repeatMode: RepeatMode, closure: @escaping () -> UpdateOutcome) {
// Shadow the argument with a local, mutable copy
var repeatMode = repeatMode
self.closure = {
// With shadowing, there's no risk of accidentially
// referring to the immutable version
switch repeatMode {
case .forever:
break
case .times(let count):
guard count > 0 else {
return .finished
}
// We can now capture the mutable version and use
// it for state in a closure
repeatMode = .times(count - 1)
}
return closure()
}
}
45 Using dot syntax for static properties and initializers
✒️ Dot syntax is one of my favorite features of Swift. What's really cool is that it's not only for enums, any static method or property can be used with dot syntax - even initializers! Perfect for convenience APIs and default parameters.
public enum RepeatMode {
case times(Int)
case forever
}
public extension RepeatMode {
static var never: RepeatMode {
return .times(0)
}
static var once: RepeatMode {
return .times(1)
}
}
view.perform(animation, repeated: .once)
// To make default parameters more compact, you can even use init with dot syntax
class ImageLoader {
init(cache: Cache = .init(), decoder: ImageDecoder = .init()) {
...
}
}
44 Calling functions as closures with a tuple as parameters
🚀 One really cool aspect of Swift having first class functions is that you can pass any function (or even initializer) as a closure, and even call it with a tuple containing its parameters!
// This function lets us treat any "normal" function or method as
// a closure and run it with a tuple that contains its parameters
func call<Input, Output>(_ function: (Input) -> Output, with input: Input) -> Output {
return function(input)
}
class ViewFactory {
func makeHeaderView() -> HeaderView {
// We can now pass an initializer as a closure, and a tuple
// containing its parameters
return call(HeaderView.init, with: loadTextStyles())
}
private func loadTextStyles() -> (font: UIFont, color: UIColor) {
return (theme.font, theme.textColor)
}
}
class HeaderView {
init(font: UIFont, textColor: UIColor) {
...
}
}
43 Enabling static dependency injection
💉 If you've been struggling to test code that uses static APIs, here's a technique you can use to enable static dependency injection without having to modify any call sites:
// Before: Almost impossible to test due to the use of singletons
class Analytics {
static func log(_ event: Event) {
Database.shared.save(event)
let dictionary = event.serialize()
NetworkManager.shared.post(dictionary, to: eventURL)
}
}
// After: Much easier to test, since we can inject mocks as arguments
class Analytics {
static func log(_ event: Event,
database: Database = .shared,
networkManager: NetworkManager = .shared) {
database.save(event)
let dictionary = event.serialize()
networkManager.post(dictionary, to: eventURL)
}
}
42 Type inference for lazy properties in Swift 4
🎉 In Swift 4, type inference works for lazy properties and you don't need to explicitly refer to self!
// Swift 3
class PurchaseView: UIView {
private lazy var buyButton: UIButton = self.makeBuyButton()
private func makeBuyButton() -> UIButton {
let button = UIButton()
button.setTitle("Buy", for: .normal)
button.setTitleColor(.blue, for: .normal)
return button
}
}
// Swift 4
class PurchaseView: UIView {
private lazy var buyButton = makeBuyButton()
private func makeBuyButton() -> UIButton {
let button = UIButton()
button.setTitle("Buy", for: .normal)
button.setTitleColor(.blue, for: .normal)
return button
}
}
41 Converting Swift errors to NSError
😎 You can turn any Swift Error into an NSError, which is super useful when pattern matching with a code 👍. Also, switching on optionals is pretty cool!
let task = urlSession.dataTask(with: url) { data, _, error in
switch error {
case .some(let error as NSError) where error.code == NSURLErrorNotConnectedToInternet:
presenter.showOfflineView()
case .some(let error):
presenter.showGenericErrorView()
case .none:
presenter.renderContent(from: data)
}
}
task.resume()
Also make sure to check out Kostas Kremizas' tip about how you can pattern match directly against a member of URLError.
40 Making UIImage macOS compatible
🖥 Here's an easy way to make iOS model code that uses UIImage macOS compatible - like me and Gui Rambo discussed on the Swift by Sundell Podcast.
// Either put this in a separate file that you only include in your macOS target or wrap the code in #if os(macOS) / #endif
import Cocoa
// Step 1: Typealias UIImage to NSImage
typealias UIImage = NSImage
// Step 2: You might want to add these APIs that UIImage has but NSImage doesn't.
extension NSImage {
var cgImage: CGImage? {
var proposedRect = CGRect(origin: .zero, size: size)
return cgImage(forProposedRect: &proposedRect,
context: nil,
hints: nil)
}
convenience init?(named name: String) {
self.init(named: Name(name))
}
}
// Step 3: Profit - you can now make your model code that uses UIImage cross-platform!
struct User {
let name: String
let profileImage: UIImage
}
39 Internally mutable protocol-oriented APIs
🤖 You can easily define a protocol-oriented API that can only be mutated internally, by using an internal protocol that extends a public one.
// Declare a public protocol that acts as your immutable API
public protocol ModelHolder {
associatedtype Model
var model: Model { get }
}
// Declare an extended, internal protocol that provides a mutable API
internal protocol MutableModelHolder: ModelHolder {
var model: Model { get set }
}
// You can now implement the requirements using 'public internal(set)'
public class UserHolder: MutableModelHolder {
public internal(set) var model: User
internal init(model: User) {
self.model = model
}
}
38 Switching on a set
🎛 You can switch on a set using array literals as cases in Swift! Can be really useful to avoid many if/else if statements.
class RoadTile: Tile {
var connectedDirections = Set<Direction>()
func render() {
switch connectedDirections {
case [.up, .down]:
image = UIImage(named: "road-vertical")
case [.left, .right]:
image = UIImage(named: "road-horizontal")
default:
image = UIImage(named: "road")
}
}
}
37 Adding the current locale to cache keys
🌍 When caching localized content in an app, it's a good idea to add the current locale to all keys, to prevent bugs when switching languages.
func cache(_ content: Content, forKey key: String) throws {
let data = try wrap(content) as Data
let key = localize(key: key)
try storage.store(data, forKey: key)
}
func loadCachedContent(forKey key: String) -> Content? {
let key = localize(key: key)
let data = storage.loadData(forKey: key)
return data.flatMap { try? unbox(data: $0) }
}
private func localize(key: String) -> String {
return key + "-" + Bundle.main.preferredLocalizations[0]
}
36 Setting up tests to avoid retain cycles with weak references
🚳 Here's an easy way to setup a test to avoid accidental retain cycles with object relationships (like weak delegates & observers) in Swift:
func testDelegateNotRetained() {
// Assign the delegate (weak) and also retain it using a local var
var delegate: Delegate? = DelegateMock()
controller.delegate = delegate
XCTAssertNotNil(controller.delegate)
// Release the local var, which should also release the weak reference
delegate = nil
XCTAssertNil(controller.delegate)
}
35 Expressively matching a value against a list of candidates
👨🔬 Playing around with an expressive way to check if a value matches any of a list of candidates in Swift:
// Instead of multiple conditions like this:
if string == "One" || string == "Two" || string == "Three" {
}
// You can now do:
if string == any(of: "One", "Two", "Three") {
}
You can find a gist with the implementation here.
34 Organizing code using extensions
👪 APIs in a Swift extension automatically inherit its access control level, making it a neat way to organize public, internal & private APIs.
public extension Animation {
init(textureNamed textureName: String) {
frames = [Texture(name: textureName)]
}
init(texturesNamed textureNames: [String], frameDuration: TimeInterval = 1) {
frames = textureNames.map(Texture.init)
self.frameDuration = frameDuration
}
init(image: Image) {
frames = [Texture(image: image)]
}
}
internal extension Animation {
func loadFrameImages() -> [Image] {
return frames.map { $0.loadImageIfNeeded() }
}
}
33 Using map to transform an optional into a Result type
🗺 Using map you can transform an optional value into an optional Result type by simply passing in the enum case.
enum Result<Value> {
case value(Value)
case error(Error)
}
class Promise<Value> {
private var result: Result<Value>?
init(value: Value? = nil) {
result = value.map(Result.value)
}
}
32 Assigning to self in struct initializers
👌 It's so nice that you can assign directly to self in struct initializers in Swift. Very useful when adding conformance to protocols.
extension Bool: AnswerConvertible {
public init(input: String) throws {
switch input.lowercased() {
case "y", "yes", "👍":
self = true
default:
self = false
}
}
}
31 Recursively calling closures as inline functions
☎️ Defining Swift closures as inline functions enables you to recursively call them, which is super useful in things like custom sequences.
class Database {
func records(matching query: Query) -> AnySequence<Record> {
var recordIterator = loadRecords().makeIterator()
func iterate() -> Record? {
guard let nextRecord = recordIterator.next() else {
return nil
}
guard nextRecord.matches(query) else {
// Since the closure is an inline function, it can be recursively called,
// in this case in order to advance to the next item.
return iterate()
}
return nextRecord
}
// AnySequence/AnyIterator are part of the standard library and provide an easy way
// to define custom sequences using closures.
return AnySequence { AnyIterator(iterate) }
}
}
Rob Napier points out that using the above might cause crashes if used on a large databaset, since Swift has no guaranteed Tail Call Optimization (TCO).
Slava Pestov also points out that another benefit of inline functions vs closures is that they can have their own generic parameter list.
30 Passing self to required Objective-C dependencies
🏖 Using lazy properties in Swift, you can pass self to required Objective-C dependencies without having to use force-unwrapped optionals.
class DataLoader: NSObject {
lazy var urlSession: URLSession = self.makeURLSession()
private func makeURLSession() -> URLSession {
return URLSession(configuration: .default, delegate: self, delegateQueue: .main)
}
}
class Renderer {
lazy var displayLink: CADisplayLink = self.makeDisplayLink()
private func makeDisplayLink() -> CADisplayLink {
return CADisplayLink(target: self, selector: #selector(screenDidRefresh))
}
}
29 Making weak or lazy properties readonly
👓 If you have a property in Swift that needs to be weak or lazy, you can still make it readonly by using private(set).
class Node {
private(set) weak var parent: Node?
private(set) lazy var children = [Node]()
func add(child: Node) {
children.append(child)
child.parent = self
}
}
28 Defining static URLs using string literals
🌏 Tired of using URL(string: "url")! for static URLs? Make URL conform to ExpressibleByStringLiteral and you can now simply use "url" instead.
extension URL: ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
// By using 'StaticString' we disable string interpolation, for safety
public init(stringLiteral value: StaticString) {
self = URL(string: "\(value)").require(hint: "Invalid URL string literal: \(value)")
}
}
// We can now define URLs using static string literals 🎉
let url: URL = "https://www.swiftbysundell.com"
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: "https://www.swiftbysundell.com")
// In Swift 3 or earlier, you also have to implement 2 additional initializers
extension URL {
public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: StaticString) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: StaticString) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}
To find the extension that adds the require() method on Optional that I use above, check out Require.
27 Manipulating points, sizes and frames using math operators
✚ I'm always careful with operator overloading, but for manipulating things like sizes, points & frames I find them super useful.
extension CGSize {
static func *(lhs: CGSize, rhs: CGFloat) -> CGSize {
return CGSize(width: lhs.width * rhs, height: lhs.height * rhs)
}
}
button.frame.size = image.size * 2
If you like the above idea, check out CGOperators, which contains math operator overloads for all Core Graphics' vector types.
26 Using closure types in generic constraints
🔗 You can use closure types in generic constraints in Swift. Enables nice APIs for handling sequences of closures.
extension Sequence where Element == () -> Void {
func callAll() {
forEach { $0() }
}
}
extension Sequence where Element == () -> String {
func joinedResults(separator: String) -> String {
return map { $0() }.joined(separator: separator)
}
}
callbacks.callAll()
let names = nameProviders.joinedResults(separator: ", ")
(If you're using Swift 3, you have to change Element to Iterator.Element)
25 Using associated enum values to avoid state-specific optionals
🎉 Using associated enum values is a super nice way to encapsulate mutually exclusive state info (and avoiding state-specific optionals).
// BEFORE: Lots of state-specific, optional properties
class Player {
var isWaitingForMatchMaking: Bool
var invitingUser: User?
var numberOfLives: Int
var playerDefeatedBy: Player?
var roundDefeatedIn: Int?
}
// AFTER: All state-specific information is encapsulated in enum cases
class Player {
enum State {
case waitingForMatchMaking
case waitingForInviteResponse(from: User)
case active(numberOfLives: Int)
case defeated(by: Player, roundNumber: Int)
}
var state: State
}
24 Using enums for async result types
👍 I really like using enums for all async result types, even boolean ones. Self-documenting, and makes the call site a lot nicer to read too!
protocol PushNotificationService {
// Before
func enablePushNotifications(completionHandler: @escaping (Bool) -> Void)
// After
func enablePushNotifications(completionHandler: @escaping (PushNotificationStatus) -> Void)
}
enum PushNotificationStatus {
case enabled
case disabled
}
service.enablePushNotifications { status in
if status == .enabled {
enableNotificationsButton.removeFromSuperview()
}
}
23 Working on async code in a playground
🏃 Want to work on your async code in a Swift Playground? Just set needsIndefiniteExecution to true to keep it running:
import PlaygroundSupport
PlaygroundPage.current.needsIndefiniteExecution = true
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3) {
let greeting = "Hello after 3 seconds"
print(greeting)
}
To stop the playground from executing, simply call PlaygroundPage.current.finishExecution().
22 Overriding self with a weak reference
💦 Avoid memory leaks when accidentially refering to self in closures by overriding it locally with a weak reference:
Swift >= 4.2
dataLoader.loadData(from: url) { [weak self] result in
guard let self = self else {
return
}
self.cache(result)
...
Swift < 4.2
dataLoader.loadData(from: url) { [weak self] result in
guard let `self` = self else {
return
}
self.cache(result)
...
Note that the reason the above currently works is because of a compiler bug (which I hope gets turned into a properly supported feature soon).
21 Using DispatchWorkItem
🕓 Using dispatch work items you can easily cancel a delayed asynchronous GCD task if you no longer need it:
let workItem = DispatchWorkItem {
// Your async code goes in here
}
// Execute the work item after 1 second
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1, execute: workItem)
// You can cancel the work item if you no longer need it
workItem.cancel()
20 Combining a sequence of functions
➕ While working on a new Swift developer tool (to be open sourced soon 😉), I came up with a pretty neat way of organizing its sequence of operations, by combining their functions into a closure:
internal func +<A, B, C>(lhs: @escaping (A) throws -> B,
rhs: @escaping (B) throws -> C) -> (A) throws -> C {
return { try rhs(lhs($0)) }
}
public func run() throws {
try (determineTarget + build + analyze + output)()
}
If you're familiar with the functional programming world, you might know the above technique as the pipe operator (thanks to Alexey Demedreckiy for pointing this out!)
19 Chaining optionals with map() and flatMap()
🗺 Using map() and flatMap() on optionals you can chain multiple operations without having to use lengthy if lets or guards:
// BEFORE
guard let string = argument(at: 1) else {
return
}
guard let url = URL(string: string) else {
return
}
handle(url)
// AFTER
argument(at: 1).flatMap(URL.init).map(handle)
18 Using self-executing closures for lazy properties
🚀 Using self-executing closures is a great way to encapsulate lazy property initialization:
class StoreViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var collectionView: UICollectionView = {
let layout = UICollectionViewFlowLayout()
let view = UICollectionView(frame: self.view.bounds, collectionViewLayout: layout)
view.delegate = self
view.dataSource = self
return view
}()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
view.addSubview(collectionView)
}
}
17 Speeding up Swift package tests
⚡️ You can speed up your Swift package tests using the --parallel flag. For Marathon, the tests execute 3 times faster that way!
swift test --parallel
16 Avoiding mocking UserDefaults
🛠 Struggling with mocking UserDefaults in a test? The good news is: you don't need mocking - just create a real instance:
class LoginTests: XCTestCase {
private var userDefaults: UserDefaults!
private var manager: LoginManager!
override func setUp() {
super.setup()
userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: #file)
userDefaults.removePersistentDomain(forName: #file)
manager = LoginManager(userDefaults: userDefaults)
}
}
15 Using variadic parameters
👍 Using variadic parameters in Swift, you can create some really nice APIs that take a list of objects without having to use an array:
extension Canvas {
func add(_ shapes: Shape...) {
shapes.forEach(add)
}
}
let circle = Circle(center: CGPoint(x: 5, y: 5), radius: 5)
let lineA = Line(start: .zero, end: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 10))
let lineB = Line(start: CGPoint(x: 0, y: 10), end: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 0))
let canvas = Canvas()
canvas.add(circle, lineA, lineB)
canvas.render()
14 Referring to enum cases with associated values as closures
😮 Just like you can refer to a Swift function as a closure, you can do the same thing with enum cases with associated values:
enum UnboxPath {
case key(String)
case keyPath(String)
}
struct UserSchema {
static let name = key("name")
static let age = key("age")
static let posts = key("posts")
private static let key = UnboxPath.key
}
13 Using the === operator to compare objects by instance
📈 The === operator lets you check if two objects are the same instance. Very useful when verifying that an array contains an instance in a test:
protocol InstanceEquatable: class, Equatable {}
extension InstanceEquatable {
static func ==(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Bool {
return lhs === rhs
}
}
extension Enemy: InstanceEquatable {}
func testDestroyingEnemy() {
player.attack(enemy)
XCTAssertTrue(player.destroyedEnemies.contains(enemy))
}
12 Calling initializers with dot syntax and passing them as closures
😎 Cool thing about Swift initializers: you can call them using dot syntax and pass them as closures! Perfect for mocking dates in tests.
class Logger {
private let storage: LogStorage
private let dateProvider: () -> Date
init(storage: LogStorage = .init(), dateProvider: @escaping () -> Date = Date.init) {
self.storage = storage
self.dateProvider = dateProvider
}
func log(event: Event) {
storage.store(event: event, date: dateProvider())
}
}
11 Structuring UI tests as extensions on XCUIApplication
📱 Most of my UI testing logic is now categories on XCUIApplication. Makes the test cases really easy to read:
func testLoggingInAndOut() {
XCTAssertFalse(app.userIsLoggedIn)
app.launch()
app.login()
XCTAssertTrue(app.userIsLoggedIn)
app.logout()
XCTAssertFalse(app.userIsLoggedIn)
}
func testDisplayingCategories() {
XCTAssertFalse(app.isDisplayingCategories)
app.launch()
app.login()
app.goToCategories()
XCTAssertTrue(app.isDisplayingCategories)
}
10 Avoiding default cases in switch statements
🙂 It’s a good idea to avoid “default” cases when switching on Swift enums - it’ll “force you” to update your logic when a new case is added:
enum State {
case loggedIn
case loggedOut
case onboarding
}
func handle(_ state: State) {
switch state {
case .loggedIn:
showMainUI()
case .loggedOut:
showLoginUI()
// Compiler error: Switch must be exhaustive
}
}
9 Using the guard statement in many different scopes
💂 It's really cool that you can use Swift's 'guard' statement to exit out of pretty much any scope, not only return from functions:
// You can use the 'guard' statement to...
for string in strings {
// ...continue an iteration
guard shouldProcess(string) else {
continue
}
// ...or break it
guard !shouldBreak(for: string) else {
break
}
// ...or return
guard !shouldReturn(for: string) else {
return
}
// ..or throw an error
guard string.isValid else {
throw StringError.invalid(string)
}
// ...or exit the program
guard !shouldExit(for: string) else {
exit(1)
}
}
8 Passing functions & operators as closures
❤️ Love how you can pass functions & operators as closures in Swift. For example, it makes the syntax for sorting arrays really nice!
let array = [3, 9, 1, 4, 6, 2]
let sorted = array.sorted(by: <)
7 Using #function for UserDefaults key consistency
🗝 Here's a neat little trick I use to get UserDefault key consistency in Swift (#function expands to the property name in getters/setters). Just remember to write a good suite of tests that'll guard you against bugs when changing property names.
extension UserDefaults {
var onboardingCompleted: Bool {
get { return bool(forKey: #function) }
set { set(newValue, forKey: #function) }
}
}
6 Using a name already taken by the standard library
📛 Want to use a name already taken by the standard library for a nested type? No problem - just use Swift. to disambiguate:
extension Command {
enum Error: Swift.Error {
case missing
case invalid(String)
}
}
5 Using Wrap to implement Equatable
📦 Playing around with using Wrap to implement Equatable for any type, primarily for testing:
protocol AutoEquatable: Equatable {}
extension AutoEquatable {
static func ==(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Bool {
let lhsData = try! wrap(lhs) as Data
let rhsData = try! wrap(rhs) as Data
return lhsData == rhsData
}
}
4 Using typealiases to reduce the length of method signatures
📏 One thing that I find really useful in Swift is to use typealiases to reduce the length of method signatures in generic types:
public class PathFinder<Object: PathFinderObject> {
public typealias Map = Object.Map
public typealias Node = Map.Node
public typealias Path = PathFinderPath<Object>
public static func possiblePaths(for object: Object, at rootNode: Node, on map: Map) -> Path.Sequence {
return .init(object: object, rootNode: rootNode, map: map)
}
}
3 Referencing either external or internal parameter name when writing docs
📖 You can reference either the external or internal parameter label when writing Swift docs - and they get parsed the same:
// EITHER:
class Foo {
/**
* - parameter string: A string
*/
func bar(with string: String) {}
}
// OR:
class Foo {
/**
* - parameter with: A string
*/
func bar(with string: String) {}
}
2 Using auto closures
👍 Finding more and more uses for auto closures in Swift. Can enable some pretty nice APIs:
extension Dictionary {
mutating func value(for key: Key, orAdd valueClosure: @autoclosure () -> Value) -> Value {
if let value = self[key] {
return value
}
let value = valueClosure()
self[key] = value
return value
}
}
1 Namespacing with nested types
🚀 I’ve started to become a really big fan of nested types in Swift. Love the additional namespacing it gives you!
public struct Map {
public struct Model {
public let size: Size
public let theme: Theme
public var terrain: [Position : Terrain.Model]
public var units: [Position : Unit.Model]
public var buildings: [Position : Building.Model]
}
public enum Direction {
case up
case right
case down
case left
}
public struct Position {
public var x: Int
public var y: Int
}
public enum Size: String {
case small = "S"
case medium = "M"
case large = "L"
case extraLarge = "XL"
}
}Download Details:
Author: JohnSundell
Source Code: https://github.com/JohnSundell/SwiftTips
License: MIT license
1661592007
A Collection Of Swift Tips & Tricks That I've Shared on Twitter
⚠️ This list is no longer being updated. For my latest Swift tips, checkout the "Tips" section on Swift by Sundell.
Swift tips & tricks ⚡️
One of the things I really love about Swift is how I keep finding interesting ways to use it in various situations, and when I do - I usually share them on Twitter. Here's a collection of all the tips & tricks that I've shared so far. Each entry has a link to the original tweet, if you want to respond with some feedback or question, which is always super welcome! 🚀
Also make sure to check out all of my other Swift content:
- 📖 My weekly articles, with a new post about Swift every Sunday!
- 🎧 My podcast which features special guests from around the community.
- 📬 My monthly newsletter - rounding up all of my content, including these tips, on the 1st of every month.
#102 Making async tests faster and more stable
🚀 Here are some quick tips to make async tests faster & more stable:
- 😴 Avoid sleep() - use expectations instead
- ⏱ Use generous timeouts to avoid flakiness on CI
- 🧐 Put all assertions at the end of each test, not inside closures
// BEFORE:
class MentionDetectorTests: XCTestCase {
func testDetectingMention() {
let detector = MentionDetector()
let string = "This test was written by @johnsundell."
detector.detectMentions(in: string) { mentions in
XCTAssertEqual(mentions, ["johnsundell"])
}
sleep(2)
}
}
// AFTER:
class MentionDetectorTests: XCTestCase {
func testDetectingMention() {
let detector = MentionDetector()
let string = "This test was written by @johnsundell."
var mentions: [String]?
let expectation = self.expectation(description: #function)
detector.detectMentions(in: string) {
mentions = $0
expectation.fulfill()
}
waitForExpectations(timeout: 10)
XCTAssertEqual(mentions, ["johnsundell"])
}
}
For more on async testing, check out "Unit testing asynchronous Swift code".
#101 Adding support for Apple Pencil double-taps
✍️ Adding support for the new Apple Pencil double-tap feature is super easy! All you have to do is to create a UIPencilInteraction, add it to a view, and implement one delegate method. Hopefully all pencil-compatible apps will soon adopt this.
let interaction = UIPencilInteraction()
interaction.delegate = self
view.addInteraction(interaction)
extension ViewController: UIPencilInteractionDelegate {
func pencilInteractionDidTap(_ interaction: UIPencilInteraction) {
// Handle pencil double-tap
}
}
For more on using this and other iPad Pro features, check out "Building iPad Pro features in Swift".
#100 Combining values with functions
😎 Here's a cool function that combines a value with a function to return a closure that captures that value, so that it can be called without any arguments. Super useful when working with closure-based APIs and we want to use some of our properties without having to capture self.
func combine<A, B>(_ value: A, with closure: @escaping (A) -> B) -> () -> B {
return { closure(value) }
}
// BEFORE:
class ProductViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
buyButton.handler = { [weak self] in
guard let self = self else {
return
}
self.productManager.startCheckout(for: self.product)
}
}
}
// AFTER:
class ProductViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
buyButton.handler = combine(product, with: productManager.startCheckout)
}
}
#99 Dependency injection using functions
💉 When I'm only using a single function from a dependency, I love to inject that function as a closure, instead of having to create a protocol and inject the whole object. Makes dependency injection & testing super simple.
final class ArticleLoader {
typealias Networking = (Endpoint) -> Future<Data>
private let networking: Networking
init(networking: @escaping Networking = URLSession.shared.load) {
self.networking = networking
}
func loadLatest() -> Future<[Article]> {
return networking(.latestArticles).decode()
}
}
For more on this technique, check out "Simple Swift dependency injection with functions".
#98 Using a custom exception handler
💥 It's cool that you can easily assign a closure as a custom NSException handler. This is super useful when building things in Playgrounds - since you can't use breakpoints - so instead of just signal SIGABRT, you'll get the full exception description if something goes wrong.
NSSetUncaughtExceptionHandler { exception in
print(exception)
}
#97 Using type aliases to give semantic meaning to primitives
❤️ I love that in Swift, we can use the type system to make our code so much more self-documenting - one way of doing so is to use type aliases to give the primitive types that we use a more semantic meaning.
extension List.Item {
// Using type aliases, we can give semantic meaning to the
// primitive types that we use, without having to introduce
// wrapper types.
typealias Index = Int
}
extension List {
enum Mutation {
// Our enum cases now become a lot more self-documenting,
// without having to add additional parameter labels to
// explain them.
case add(Item, Item.Index)
case update(Item, Item.Index)
case remove(Item.Index)
}
}
For more on self-documenting code, check out "Writing self-documenting Swift code".
#96 Specializing protocols using constraints
🤯 A little late night prototyping session reveals that protocol constraints can not only be applied to extensions - they can also be added to protocol definitions!
This is awesome, since it lets us easily define specialized protocols based on more generic ones.
protocol Component {
associatedtype Container
func add(to container: Container)
}
// Protocols that inherit from other protocols can include
// constraints to further specialize them.
protocol ViewComponent: Component where Container == UIView {
associatedtype View: UIView
var view: View { get }
}
extension ViewComponent {
func add(to container: UIView) {
container.addSubview(view)
}
}
For more on specializing protocols, check out "Specializing protocols in Swift".
#95 Unwrapping an optional or throwing an error
📦 Here's a super handy extension on Swift's Optional type, which gives us a really nice API for easily unwrapping an optional, or throwing an error in case the value turned out to be nil:
extension Optional {
func orThrow(_ errorExpression: @autoclosure () -> Error) throws -> Wrapped {
switch self {
case .some(let value):
return value
case .none:
throw errorExpression()
}
}
}
let file = try loadFile(at: path).orThrow(MissingFileError())
For more ways that optionals can be extended, check out "Extending optionals in Swift".
#94 Testing code that uses static APIs
👩🔬 Testing code that uses static APIs can be really tricky, but there's a way that it can often be done - using Swift's first class function capabilities!
Instead of accessing that static API directly, we can inject the function we want to use, which enables us to mock it!
// BEFORE
class FriendsLoader {
func loadFriends(then handler: @escaping (Result<[Friend]>) -> Void) {
Networking.loadData(from: .friends) { result in
...
}
}
}
// AFTER
class FriendsLoader {
typealias Handler<T> = (Result<T>) -> Void
typealias DataLoadingFunction = (Endpoint, @escaping Handler<Data>) -> Void
func loadFriends(using dataLoading: DataLoadingFunction = Networking.loadData,
then handler: @escaping Handler<[Friend]>) {
dataLoading(.friends) { result in
...
}
}
}
// MOCKING IN TESTS
let dataLoading: FriendsLoader.DataLoadingFunction = { _, handler in
handler(.success(mockData))
}
friendsLoader.loadFriends(using: dataLoading) { result in
...
}
#93 Matching multiple enum cases with associated values
🐾 Swift's pattern matching capabilities are so powerful! Two enum cases with associated values can even be matched and handled by the same switch case - which is super useful when handling state changes with similar data.
enum DownloadState {
case inProgress(progress: Double)
case paused(progress: Double)
case cancelled
case finished(Data)
}
func downloadStateDidChange(to state: DownloadState) {
switch state {
case .inProgress(let progress), .paused(let progress):
updateProgressView(with: progress)
case .cancelled:
showCancelledMessage()
case .finished(let data):
process(data)
}
}
#92 Multiline string literals
🅰 One really nice benefit of Swift multiline string literals - even for single lines of text - is that they don't require quotes to be escaped. Perfect when working with things like HTML, or creating a custom description for an object.
let html = highlighter.highlight("Array<String>")
XCTAssertEqual(html, """
<span class="type">Array</span><<span class="type">String</span>>
""")
#91 Reducing sequences
💎 While it's very common in functional programming, the reduce function might be a bit of a hidden gem in Swift. It provides a super useful way to transform a sequence into a single value.
extension Sequence where Element: Equatable {
func numberOfOccurrences(of target: Element) -> Int {
return reduce(0) { result, element in
guard element == target else {
return result
}
return result + 1
}
}
}
You can read more about transforming collections in "Transforming collections in Swift".
#90 Avoiding manual Codable implementations
📦 When I use Codable in Swift, I want to avoid manual implementations as much as possible, even when there's a mismatch between my code structure and the JSON I'm decoding.
One way that can often be achieved is to use private data containers combined with computed properties.
struct User: Codable {
let name: String
let age: Int
var homeTown: String { return originPlace.name }
private let originPlace: Place
}
private extension User {
struct Place: Codable {
let name: String
}
}
extension User {
struct Container: Codable {
let user: User
}
}
#89 Using feature flags instead of feature branches
🚢 Instead of using feature branches, I merge almost all of my code directly into master - and then I use feature flags to conditionally enable features when they're ready. That way I can avoid merge conflicts and keep shipping!
extension ListViewController {
func addSearchIfNeeded() {
// Rather than having to keep maintaining a separate
// feature branch for a new feature, we can use a flag
// to conditionally turn it on.
guard FeatureFlags.searchEnabled else {
return
}
let resultsVC = SearchResultsViewController()
let searchVC = UISearchController(
searchResultsController: resultsVC
)
searchVC.searchResultsUpdater = resultsVC
navigationItem.searchController = searchVC
}
}
You can read more about feature flags in "Feature flags in Swift".
#88 Lightweight data hierarchies using tuples
💾 Here I'm using tuples to create a lightweight hierarchy for my data, giving me a nice structure without having to introduce any additional types.
struct CodeSegment {
var tokens: (
previous: String?,
current: String
)
var delimiters: (
previous: Character?
next: Character?
)
}
handle(segment.tokens.current)
You can read more about tuples in "Using tuples as lightweight types in Swift"
#87 The rule of threes
3️⃣ Whenever I have 3 properties or local variables that share the same prefix, I usually try to extract them into their own method or type. That way I can avoid massive types & methods, and also increase readability, without falling into a "premature optimization" trap.
Before
public func generate() throws {
let contentFolder = try folder.subfolder(named: "content")
let articleFolder = try contentFolder.subfolder(named: "posts")
let articleProcessor = ContentProcessor(folder: articleFolder)
let articles = try articleProcessor.process()
...
}
After
public func generate() throws {
let contentFolder = try folder.subfolder(named: "content")
let articles = try processArticles(in: contentFolder)
...
}
private func processArticles(in folder: Folder) throws -> [ContentItem] {
let folder = try folder.subfolder(named: "posts")
let processor = ContentProcessor(folder: folder)
return try processor.process()
}
#86 Useful Codable extensions
👨🔧 Here's two extensions that I always add to the Encodable & Decodable protocols, which for me really make the Codable API nicer to use. By using type inference for decoding, a lot of boilerplate can be removed when the compiler is already able to infer the resulting type.
extension Encodable {
func encoded() throws -> Data {
return try JSONEncoder().encode(self)
}
}
extension Data {
func decoded<T: Decodable>() throws -> T {
return try JSONDecoder().decode(T.self, from: self)
}
}
let data = try user.encoded()
// By using a generic type in the decoded() method, the
// compiler can often infer the type we want to decode
// from the current context.
try userDidLogin(data.decoded())
// And if not, we can always supply the type, still making
// the call site read very nicely.
let otherUser = try data.decoded() as User
#85 Using shared UserDefaults suites
📦 UserDefaults is a lot more powerful than what it first might seem like. Not only can it store more complex values (like dates & dictionaries) and parse command line arguments - it also enables easy sharing of settings & lightweight data between apps in the same App Group.
let sharedDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "my-app-group")!
let useDarkMode = sharedDefaults.bool(forKey: "dark-mode")
// This value is put into the shared suite.
sharedDefaults.set(true, forKey: "dark-mode")
// If you want to treat the shared settings as read-only (and add
// local overrides on top of them), you can simply add the shared
// suite to the standard UserDefaults.
let combinedDefaults = UserDefaults.standard
combinedDefaults.addSuite(named: "my-app-group")
// This value is a local override, not added to the shared suite.
combinedDefaults.set(true, forKey: "app-specific-override")
#84 Custom UIView backing layers
🎨 By overriding layerClass you can tell UIKit what CALayer class to use for a UIView's backing layer. That way you can reduce the amount of layers, and don't have to do any manual layout.
final class GradientView: UIView {
override class var layerClass: AnyClass { return CAGradientLayer.self }
var colors: (start: UIColor, end: UIColor)? {
didSet { updateLayer() }
}
private func updateLayer() {
let layer = self.layer as! CAGradientLayer
layer.colors = colors.map { [$0.start.cgColor, $0.end.cgColor] }
}
}
#83 Auto-Equatable enums with associated values
✅ That the compiler now automatically synthesizes Equatable conformances is such a huge upgrade for Swift! And the cool thing is that it works for all kinds of types - even for enums with associated values! Especially useful when using enums for verification in unit tests.
struct Article: Equatable {
let title: String
let text: String
}
struct User: Equatable {
let name: String
let age: Int
}
extension Navigator {
enum Destination: Equatable {
case profile(User)
case article(Article)
}
}
func testNavigatingToArticle() {
let article = Article(title: "Title", text: "Text")
controller.select(article)
XCTAssertEqual(navigator.destinations, [.article(article)])
}
#82 Defaults for associated types
🤝 Associated types can have defaults in Swift - which is super useful for types that are not easily inferred (for example when they're not used for a specific instance method or property).
protocol Identifiable {
associatedtype RawIdentifier: Codable = String
var id: Identifier<Self> { get }
}
struct User: Identifiable {
let id: Identifier<User>
let name: String
}
struct Group: Identifiable {
typealias RawIdentifier = Int
let id: Identifier<Group>
let name: String
}
#81 Creating a dedicated identifier type
🆔 If you want to avoid using plain strings as identifiers (which can increase both type safety & readability), it's really easy to create a custom Identifier type that feels just like a native Swift type, thanks to protocols!
More on this topic in "Type-safe identifiers in Swift".
struct Identifier: Hashable {
let string: String
}
extension Identifier: ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
init(stringLiteral value: String) {
string = value
}
}
extension Identifier: CustomStringConvertible {
var description: String {
return string
}
}
extension Identifier: Codable {
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
string = try container.decode(String.self)
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(string)
}
}
struct Article: Codable {
let id: Identifier
let title: String
}
let article = Article(id: "my-article", title: "Hello world!")
#80 Assigning optional tuple members to variables
🙌 A really cool thing about using tuples to model the internal state of a Swift type, is that you can unwrap an optional tuple's members directly into local variables.
Very useful in order to group multiple optional values together for easy unwrapping & handling.
class ImageTransformer {
private var queue = [(image: UIImage, transform: Transform)]()
private func processNext() {
// When unwrapping an optional tuple, you can assign the members
// directly to local variables.
guard let (image, transform) = queue.first else {
return
}
let context = Context()
context.draw(image)
context.apply(transform)
...
}
}
#79 Struct convenience initializers
❤️ I love to structure my code using extensions in Swift. One big benefit of doing so when it comes to struct initializers, is that defining a convenience initializer doesn't remove the default one the compiler generates - best of both worlds!
struct Article {
let date: Date
var title: String
var text: String
var comments: [Comment]
}
extension Article {
init(title: String, text: String) {
self.init(date: Date(), title: title, text: text, comments: [])
}
}
let articleA = Article(title: "Best Cupcake Recipe", text: "...")
let articleB = Article(
date: Date(),
title: "Best Cupcake Recipe",
text: "...",
comments: [
Comment(user: currentUser, text: "Yep, can confirm!")
]
)
#78 Usages of throwing functions
🏈 A big benefit of using throwing functions for synchronous Swift APIs is that the caller can decide whether they want to treat the return value as optional (try?) or required (try).
func loadFile(named name: String) throws -> File {
guard let url = urlForFile(named: name) else {
throw File.Error.missing
}
do {
let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
return File(url: url, data: data)
} catch {
throw File.Error.invalidData(error)
}
}
let requiredFile = try loadFile(named: "AppConfig.json")
let optionalFile = try? loadFile(named: "UserSettings.json")
#77 Nested generic types
🐝 Types that are nested in generics automatically inherit their parent's generic types - which is super useful when defining accessory types (for things like states or outcomes).
struct Task<Input, Output> {
typealias Closure = (Input) throws -> Output
let closure: Closure
}
extension Task {
enum Result {
case success(Output)
case failure(Error)
}
}
#76 Equatable & Hashable structures
🤖 Now that the Swift compiler automatically synthesizes Equatable & Hashable conformances for value types, it's easier than ever to setup model structures with nested types that are all Equatable/Hashable!
typealias Value = Hashable & Codable
struct User: Value {
var name: String
var age: Int
var lastLoginDate: Date?
var settings: Settings
}
extension User {
struct Settings: Value {
var itemsPerPage: Int
var theme: Theme
}
}
extension User.Settings {
enum Theme: String, Value {
case light
case dark
}
}
You can read more about using nested types in Swift here.
#75 Conditional conformances
🎉 Swift 4.1 is here! One of the key features it brings is conditional conformances, which lets you have a type only conform to a protocol under certain constraints.
protocol UnboxTransformable {
associatedtype RawValue
static func transform(_ value: RawValue) throws -> Self?
}
extension Array: UnboxTransformable where Element: UnboxTransformable {
typealias RawValue = [Element.RawValue]
static func transform(_ value: RawValue) throws -> [Element]? {
return try value.compactMap(Element.transform)
}
}
I also have an article with lots of more info on conditional conformances here. Paul Hudson also has a great overview of all Swift 4.1 features here.
#74 Generic type aliases
🕵️♀️ A cool thing about Swift type aliases is that they can be generic! Combine that with tuples and you can easily define simple generic types.
typealias Pair<T> = (T, T)
extension Game {
func calculateScore(for players: Pair<Player>) -> Int {
...
}
}
You can read more about using tuples as lightweight types here.
#73 Parsing command line arguments using UserDefaults
☑️ A really cool "hidden" feature of UserDefaults is that it contains any arguments that were passed to the app at launch!
Super useful both in Swift command line tools & scripts, but also to temporarily override a value when debugging iOS apps.
let defaults = UserDefaults.standard
let query = defaults.string(forKey: "query")
let resultCount = defaults.integer(forKey: "results")
#72 Using the & operator
👏 Swift's & operator is awesome! Not only can you use it to compose protocols, you can compose other types too! Very useful if you want to hide concrete types & implementation details.
protocol LoadableFromURL {
func load(from url: URL)
}
class ContentViewController: UIViewController, LoadableFromURL {
func load(from url: URL) {
...
}
}
class ViewControllerFactory {
func makeContentViewController() -> UIViewController & LoadableFromURL {
return ContentViewController()
}
}
#71 Capturing multiple values in mocks
🤗 When capturing values in mocks, using an array (instead of just a single value) makes it easy to verify that only a certain number of values were passed.
Perfect for protecting against "over-calling" something.
class UserManagerTests: XCTestCase {
func testObserversCalledWhenUserFirstLogsIn() {
let manager = UserManager()
let observer = ObserverMock()
manager.addObserver(observer)
// First login, observers should be notified
let user = User(id: 123, name: "John")
manager.userDidLogin(user)
XCTAssertEqual(observer.users, [user])
// If the same user logs in again, observers shouldn't be notified
manager.userDidLogin(user)
XCTAssertEqual(observer.users, [user])
}
}
private extension UserManagerTests {
class ObserverMock: UserManagerObserver {
private(set) var users = [User]()
func userDidChange(to user: User) {
users.append(user)
}
}
}
#70 Reducing the need for mocks
👋 When writing tests, you don't always need to create mocks - you can create stubs using real instances of things like errors, URLs & UserDefaults.
Here's how to do that for some common tasks/object types in Swift:
// Create errors using NSError (#function can be used to reference the name of the test)
let error = NSError(domain: #function, code: 1, userInfo: nil)
// Create non-optional URLs using file paths
let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: "Some/URL")
// Reference the test bundle using Bundle(for:)
let bundle = Bundle(for: type(of: self))
// Create an explicit UserDefaults object (instead of having to use a mock)
let userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: #function)
// Create queues to control/await concurrent operations
let queue = DispatchQueue(label: #function)
For when you actually do need mocking, check out "Mocking in Swift".
#69 Using "then" as an external parameter label for closures
⏱ I've started using "then" as an external parameter label for completion handlers. Makes the call site read really nicely (Because I do ❤️ conversational API design) regardless of whether trailing closure syntax is used or not.
protocol DataLoader {
// Adding type aliases to protocols can be a great way to
// reduce verbosity for parameter types.
typealias Handler = (Result<Data>) -> Void
associatedtype Endpoint
func loadData(from endpoint: Endpoint, then handler: @escaping Handler)
}
loader.loadData(from: .messages) { result in
...
}
loader.loadData(from: .messages, then: { result in
...
})
#68 Combining lazily evaluated sequences with the builder pattern
😴 Combining lazily evaluated sequences with builder pattern-like properties can lead to some pretty sweet APIs for configurable sequences in Swift.
Also useful for queries & other things you "build up" and then execute.
// Extension adding builder pattern-like properties that return
// a new sequence value with the given configuration applied
extension FileSequence {
var recursive: FileSequence {
var sequence = self
sequence.isRecursive = true
return sequence
}
var includingHidden: FileSequence {
var sequence = self
sequence.includeHidden = true
return sequence
}
}
// BEFORE
let files = folder.makeFileSequence(recursive: true, includeHidden: true)
// AFTER
let files = folder.files.recursive.includingHidden
Want an intro to lazy sequences? Check out "Swift sequences: The art of being lazy".
#67 Faster & more stable UI tests
My top 3 tips for faster & more stable UI tests:
📱 Reset the app's state at the beginning of every test.
🆔 Use accessibility identifiers instead of UI strings.
⏱ Use expectations instead of waiting time.
func testOpeningArticle() {
// Launch the app with an argument that tells it to reset its state
let app = XCUIApplication()
app.launchArguments.append("--uitesting")
app.launch()
// Check that the app is displaying an activity indicator
let activityIndicator = app.activityIndicator.element
XCTAssertTrue(activityIndicator.exists)
// Wait for the loading indicator to disappear = content is ready
expectation(for: NSPredicate(format: "exists == 0"),
evaluatedWith: activityIndicator)
// Use a generous timeout in case the network is slow
waitForExpectations(timeout: 10)
// Tap the cell for the first article
app.tables.cells["Article.0"].tap()
// Assert that a label with the accessibility identifier "Article.Title" exists
let label = app.staticTexts["Article.Title"]
XCTAssertTrue(label.exists)
}
#66 Accessing the clipboard from a Swift script
📋 It's super easy to access the contents of the clipboard from a Swift script. A big benefit of Swift scripting is being able to use Cocoa's powerful APIs for Mac apps.
import Cocoa
let clipboard = NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string)
#65 Using tuples for view state
🎯 Using Swift tuples for view state can be a super nice way to group multiple properties together and render them reactively using the layout system.
By using a tuple we don't have to either introduce a new type or make our view model-aware.
class TextView: UIView {
var state: (title: String?, text: String?) {
// By telling UIKit that our view needs layout and binding our
// state in layoutSubviews, we can react to state changes without
// doing unnecessary layout work.
didSet { setNeedsLayout() }
}
private let titleLabel = UILabel()
private let textLabel = UILabel()
override func layoutSubviews() {
super.layoutSubviews()
titleLabel.text = state.title
textLabel.text = state.text
...
}
}
#64 Throwing tests and LocalizedError
⚾️ Swift tests can throw, which is super useful in order to avoid complicated logic or force unwrapping. By making errors conform to LocalizedError, you can also get a nice error message in Xcode if there's a failure.
class ImageCacheTests: XCTestCase {
func testCachingAndLoadingImage() throws {
let bundle = Bundle(for: type(of: self))
let cache = ImageCache(bundle: bundle)
// Bonus tip: You can easily load images from your test
// bundle using this UIImage initializer
let image = try require(UIImage(named: "sample", in: bundle, compatibleWith: nil))
try cache.cache(image, forKey: "key")
let cachedImage = try cache.image(forKey: "key")
XCTAssertEqual(image, cachedImage)
}
}
enum ImageCacheError {
case emptyKey
case dataConversionFailed
}
// When using throwing tests, making your errors conform to
// LocalizedError will render a much nicer error message in
// Xcode (per default only the error code is shown).
extension ImageCacheError: LocalizedError {
var errorDescription: String? {
switch self {
case .emptyKey:
return "An empty key was given"
case .dataConversionFailed:
return "Failed to convert the given image to Data"
}
}
}
For more information, and the implementation of the require method used above, check out "Avoiding force unwrapping in Swift unit tests".
#63 The difference between static and class properties
✍️ Unlike static properties, class properties can be overridden by subclasses (however, they can't be stored, only computed).
class TableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
class var preferredHeight: CGFloat { return 60 }
}
class TallTableViewCell: TableViewCell {
override class var preferredHeight: CGFloat { return 100 }
}
#62 Creating extensions with static factory methods
👨🎨 Creating extensions with static factory methods can be a great alternative to subclassing in Swift, especially for things like setting up UIViews, CALayers or other kinds of styling.
It also lets you remove a lot of styling & setup from your view controllers.
extension UILabel {
static func makeForTitle() -> UILabel {
let label = UILabel()
label.font = .boldSystemFont(ofSize: 24)
label.textColor = .darkGray
label.adjustsFontSizeToFitWidth = true
label.minimumScaleFactor = 0.75
return label
}
static func makeForText() -> UILabel {
let label = UILabel()
label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
label.textColor = .black
label.numberOfLines = 0
return label
}
}
class ArticleViewController: UIViewController {
lazy var titleLabel = UILabel.makeForTitle()
lazy var textLabel = UILabel.makeForText()
}
#61 Child view controller auto-resizing
🧒 An awesome thing about child view controllers is that they're automatically resized to match their parent, making them a super nice solution for things like loading & error views.
class ListViewController: UIViewController {
func loadItems() {
let loadingViewController = LoadingViewController()
add(loadingViewController)
dataLoader.loadItems { [weak self] result in
loadingViewController.remove()
self?.handle(result)
}
}
}
For more about child view controller (including the add and remove methods used above), check out "Using child view controllers as plugins in Swift".
#60 Using zip
🤐 Using the zip function in Swift you can easily combine two sequences. Super useful when using two sequences to do some work, since zip takes care of all the bounds-checking.
func render(titles: [String]) {
for (label, text) in zip(titleLabels, titles) {
print(text)
label.text = text
}
}
#59 Defining custom option sets
🎛 The awesome thing about option sets in Swift is that they can automatically either be passed as a single member or as a set. Even cooler is that you can easily define your own option sets as well, perfect for options and other non-exclusive values.
// Option sets are awesome, because you can easily pass them
// both using dot syntax and array literal syntax, like when
// using the UIView animation API:
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3,
delay: 0,
options: .allowUserInteraction,
animations: animations)
UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3,
delay: 0,
options: [.allowUserInteraction, .layoutSubviews],
animations: animations)
// The cool thing is that you can easily define your own option
// sets as well, by defining a struct that has an Int rawValue,
// that will be used as a bit mask.
extension Cache {
struct Options: OptionSet {
static let saveToDisk = Options(rawValue: 1)
static let clearOnMemoryWarning = Options(rawValue: 1 << 1)
static let clearDaily = Options(rawValue: 1 << 2)
let rawValue: Int
}
}
// We can now use Cache.Options just like UIViewAnimationOptions:
Cache(options: .saveToDisk)
Cache(options: [.saveToDisk, .clearDaily])
#58 Using the where clause with associated types
🙌 Using the where clause when designing protocol-oriented APIs in Swift can let your implementations (or others' if it's open source) have a lot more freedom, especially when it comes to collections.
See "Using generic type constraints in Swift 4" for more info.
public protocol PathFinderMap {
associatedtype Node
// Using the 'where' clause for associated types, we can
// ensure that a type meets certain requirements (in this
// case that it's a sequence with Node elements).
associatedtype NodeSequence: Sequence where NodeSequence.Element == Node
// Instead of using a concrete type (like [Node]) here, we
// give implementors of this protocol more freedom while
// still meeting our requirements. For example, one
// implementation might use Set<Node>.
func neighbors(of node: Node) -> NodeSequence
}
#57 Using first class functions when iterating over a dictionary
👨🍳 Combine first class functions in Swift with the fact that Dictionary elements are (Key, Value) tuples and you can build yourself some pretty awesome functional chains when iterating over a Dictionary.
func makeActor(at coordinate: Coordinate, for building: Building) -> Actor {
let actor = Actor()
actor.position = coordinate.point
actor.animation = building.animation
return actor
}
func render(_ buildings: [Coordinate : Building]) {
buildings.map(makeActor).forEach(add)
}
#56 Calling instance methods as static functions
😎 In Swift, you can call any instance method as a static function and it will return a closure representing that method. This is how running tests using SPM on Linux works.
More about this topic in my blog post "First class functions in Swift".
// This produces a '() -> Void' closure which is a reference to the
// given view's 'removeFromSuperview' method.
let closure = UIView.removeFromSuperview(view)
// We can now call it just like we would any other closure, and it
// will run 'view.removeFromSuperview()'
closure()
// This is how running tests using the Swift Package Manager on Linux
// works, you return your test functions as closures:
extension UserManagerTests {
static var allTests = [
("testLoggingIn", testLoggingIn),
("testLoggingOut", testLoggingOut),
("testUserPermissions", testUserPermissions)
]
}
#55 Dropping suffixes from method names to support multiple arguments
👏 One really nice benefit of dropping suffixes from method names (and just using verbs, when possible) is that it becomes super easy to support both single and multiple arguments, and it works really well semantically.
extension UIView {
func add(_ subviews: UIView...) {
subviews.forEach(addSubview)
}
}
view.add(button)
view.add(label)
// By dropping the "Subview" suffix from the method name, both
// single and multiple arguments work really well semantically.
view.add(button, label)
#54 Constraining protocols to classes to ensure mutability
👽 Using the AnyObject (or class) constraint on protocols is not only useful when defining delegates (or other weak references), but also when you always want instances to be mutable without copying.
// By constraining a protocol with 'AnyObject' it can only be adopted
// by classes, which means all instances will always be mutable, and
// that it's the original instance (not a copy) that will be mutated.
protocol DataContainer: AnyObject {
var data: Data? { get set }
}
class UserSettingsManager {
private var settings: Settings
private let dataContainer: DataContainer
// Since DataContainer is a protocol, we an easily mock it in
// tests if we use dependency injection
init(settings: Settings, dataContainer: DataContainer) {
self.settings = settings
self.dataContainer = dataContainer
}
func saveSettings() throws {
let data = try settings.serialize()
// We can now assign properties on an instance of our protocol
// because the compiler knows it's always going to be a class
dataContainer.data = data
}
}
#53 String-based enums in string interpolation
🍣 Even if you define a custom raw value for a string-based enum in Swift, the full case name will be used in string interpolation.
Super useful when using separate raw values for JSON, while still wanting to use the full case name in other contexts.
extension Building {
// This enum has custom raw values that are used when decoding
// a value, for example from JSON.
enum Kind: String {
case castle = "C"
case town = "T"
case barracks = "B"
case goldMine = "G"
case camp = "CA"
case blacksmith = "BL"
}
var animation: Animation {
return Animation(
// When used in string interpolation, the full case name is still used.
// For 'castle' this will be 'buildings/castle'.
name: "buildings/\(kind)",
frameCount: frameCount,
frameDuration: frameDuration
)
}
}
#52 Expressively comparing a value with a list of candidates
👨🔬 Continuing to experiment with expressive ways of comparing a value with a list of candidates in Swift. Adding an extension on Equatable is probably my favorite approach so far.
extension Equatable {
func isAny(of candidates: Self...) -> Bool {
return candidates.contains(self)
}
}
let isHorizontal = direction.isAny(of: .left, .right)
See tip #35 for my previous experiment.
#51 UIView bounds and transforms
📐 A really interesting side-effect of a UIView's bounds being its rect within its own coordinate system is that transforms don't affect it at all. That's why it's usually a better fit than frame when doing layout calculations of subviews.
let view = UIView()
view.frame.size = CGSize(width: 100, height: 100)
view.transform = CGAffineTransform(scaleX: 2, y: 2)
print(view.frame) // (-50.0, -50.0, 200.0, 200.0)
print(view.bounds) // (0.0, 0.0, 100.0, 100.0)
#50 UIKit default arguments
👏 It's awesome that many UIKit APIs with completion handlers and other optional parameters import into Swift with default arguments (even though they are written in Objective-C). Getting rid of all those nil arguments is so nice!
// BEFORE: All parameters are specified, just like in Objective-C
viewController.present(modalViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
modalViewController.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
viewController.transition(from: loadingViewController,
to: contentViewController,
duration: 0.3,
options: [],
animations: animations,
completion: nil)
// AFTER: Since many UIKit APIs with completion handlers and other
// optional parameters import into Swift with default arguments,
// we can make our calls shorter
viewController.present(modalViewController, animated: true)
modalViewController.dismiss(animated: true)
viewController.transition(from: loadingViewController,
to: contentViewController,
duration: 0.3,
animations: animations)
#49 Avoiding Massive View Controllers
✂️ Avoiding Massive View Controllers is all about finding the right levels of abstraction and splitting things up.
My personal rule of thumb is that as soon as I have 3 methods or properties that have the same prefix, I break them out into their own type.
// BEFORE
class LoginViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var signUpLabel = UILabel()
private lazy var signUpImageView = UIImageView()
private lazy var signUpButton = UIButton()
}
// AFTER
class LoginViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var signUpView = SignUpView()
}
class SignUpView: UIView {
private lazy var label = UILabel()
private lazy var imageView = UIImageView()
private lazy var button = UIButton()
}
#48 Extending optionals
❤️ I love the fact that optionals are enums in Swift - it makes it so easy to extend them with convenience APIs for certain types. Especially useful when doing things like data validation on optional values.
func validateTextFields() -> Bool {
guard !usernameTextField.text.isNilOrEmpty else {
return false
}
...
return true
}
// Since all optionals are actual enum values in Swift, we can easily
// extend them for certain types, to add our own convenience APIs
extension Optional where Wrapped == String {
var isNilOrEmpty: Bool {
switch self {
case let string?:
return string.isEmpty
case nil:
return true
}
}
}
// Since strings are now Collections in Swift 4, you can even
// add this property to all optional collections:
extension Optional where Wrapped: Collection {
var isNilOrEmpty: Bool {
switch self {
case let collection?:
return collection.isEmpty
case nil:
return true
}
}
}
#47 Using where with for-loops
🗺 Using the where keyword can be a super nice way to quickly apply a filter in a for-loop in Swift. You can of course use map, filter and forEach, or guard, but for simple loops I think this is very expressive and nice.
func archiveMarkedPosts() {
for post in posts where post.isMarked {
archive(post)
}
}
func healAllies() {
for player in players where player.isAllied(to: currentPlayer) {
player.heal()
}
}
#46 Variable shadowing
👻 Variable shadowing can be super useful in Swift, especially when you want to create a local copy of a parameter value in order to use it as state within a closure.
init(repeatMode: RepeatMode, closure: @escaping () -> UpdateOutcome) {
// Shadow the argument with a local, mutable copy
var repeatMode = repeatMode
self.closure = {
// With shadowing, there's no risk of accidentially
// referring to the immutable version
switch repeatMode {
case .forever:
break
case .times(let count):
guard count > 0 else {
return .finished
}
// We can now capture the mutable version and use
// it for state in a closure
repeatMode = .times(count - 1)
}
return closure()
}
}
#45 Using dot syntax for static properties and initializers
✒️ Dot syntax is one of my favorite features of Swift. What's really cool is that it's not only for enums, any static method or property can be used with dot syntax - even initializers! Perfect for convenience APIs and default parameters.
public enum RepeatMode {
case times(Int)
case forever
}
public extension RepeatMode {
static var never: RepeatMode {
return .times(0)
}
static var once: RepeatMode {
return .times(1)
}
}
view.perform(animation, repeated: .once)
// To make default parameters more compact, you can even use init with dot syntax
class ImageLoader {
init(cache: Cache = .init(), decoder: ImageDecoder = .init()) {
...
}
}
#44 Calling functions as closures with a tuple as parameters
🚀 One really cool aspect of Swift having first class functions is that you can pass any function (or even initializer) as a closure, and even call it with a tuple containing its parameters!
// This function lets us treat any "normal" function or method as
// a closure and run it with a tuple that contains its parameters
func call<Input, Output>(_ function: (Input) -> Output, with input: Input) -> Output {
return function(input)
}
class ViewFactory {
func makeHeaderView() -> HeaderView {
// We can now pass an initializer as a closure, and a tuple
// containing its parameters
return call(HeaderView.init, with: loadTextStyles())
}
private func loadTextStyles() -> (font: UIFont, color: UIColor) {
return (theme.font, theme.textColor)
}
}
class HeaderView {
init(font: UIFont, textColor: UIColor) {
...
}
}
#43 Enabling static dependency injection
💉 If you've been struggling to test code that uses static APIs, here's a technique you can use to enable static dependency injection without having to modify any call sites:
// Before: Almost impossible to test due to the use of singletons
class Analytics {
static func log(_ event: Event) {
Database.shared.save(event)
let dictionary = event.serialize()
NetworkManager.shared.post(dictionary, to: eventURL)
}
}
// After: Much easier to test, since we can inject mocks as arguments
class Analytics {
static func log(_ event: Event,
database: Database = .shared,
networkManager: NetworkManager = .shared) {
database.save(event)
let dictionary = event.serialize()
networkManager.post(dictionary, to: eventURL)
}
}
#42 Type inference for lazy properties in Swift 4
🎉 In Swift 4, type inference works for lazy properties and you don't need to explicitly refer to self!
// Swift 3
class PurchaseView: UIView {
private lazy var buyButton: UIButton = self.makeBuyButton()
private func makeBuyButton() -> UIButton {
let button = UIButton()
button.setTitle("Buy", for: .normal)
button.setTitleColor(.blue, for: .normal)
return button
}
}
// Swift 4
class PurchaseView: UIView {
private lazy var buyButton = makeBuyButton()
private func makeBuyButton() -> UIButton {
let button = UIButton()
button.setTitle("Buy", for: .normal)
button.setTitleColor(.blue, for: .normal)
return button
}
}
#41 Converting Swift errors to NSError
😎 You can turn any Swift Error into an NSError, which is super useful when pattern matching with a code 👍. Also, switching on optionals is pretty cool!
let task = urlSession.dataTask(with: url) { data, _, error in
switch error {
case .some(let error as NSError) where error.code == NSURLErrorNotConnectedToInternet:
presenter.showOfflineView()
case .some(let error):
presenter.showGenericErrorView()
case .none:
presenter.renderContent(from: data)
}
}
task.resume()
Also make sure to check out Kostas Kremizas' tip about how you can pattern match directly against a member of URLError.
#40 Making UIImage macOS compatible
🖥 Here's an easy way to make iOS model code that uses UIImage macOS compatible - like me and Gui Rambo discussed on the Swift by Sundell Podcast.
// Either put this in a separate file that you only include in your macOS target or wrap the code in #if os(macOS) / #endif
import Cocoa
// Step 1: Typealias UIImage to NSImage
typealias UIImage = NSImage
// Step 2: You might want to add these APIs that UIImage has but NSImage doesn't.
extension NSImage {
var cgImage: CGImage? {
var proposedRect = CGRect(origin: .zero, size: size)
return cgImage(forProposedRect: &proposedRect,
context: nil,
hints: nil)
}
convenience init?(named name: String) {
self.init(named: Name(name))
}
}
// Step 3: Profit - you can now make your model code that uses UIImage cross-platform!
struct User {
let name: String
let profileImage: UIImage
}
#39 Internally mutable protocol-oriented APIs
🤖 You can easily define a protocol-oriented API that can only be mutated internally, by using an internal protocol that extends a public one.
// Declare a public protocol that acts as your immutable API
public protocol ModelHolder {
associatedtype Model
var model: Model { get }
}
// Declare an extended, internal protocol that provides a mutable API
internal protocol MutableModelHolder: ModelHolder {
var model: Model { get set }
}
// You can now implement the requirements using 'public internal(set)'
public class UserHolder: MutableModelHolder {
public internal(set) var model: User
internal init(model: User) {
self.model = model
}
}
#38 Switching on a set
🎛 You can switch on a set using array literals as cases in Swift! Can be really useful to avoid many if/else if statements.
class RoadTile: Tile {
var connectedDirections = Set<Direction>()
func render() {
switch connectedDirections {
case [.up, .down]:
image = UIImage(named: "road-vertical")
case [.left, .right]:
image = UIImage(named: "road-horizontal")
default:
image = UIImage(named: "road")
}
}
}
#37 Adding the current locale to cache keys
🌍 When caching localized content in an app, it's a good idea to add the current locale to all keys, to prevent bugs when switching languages.
func cache(_ content: Content, forKey key: String) throws {
let data = try wrap(content) as Data
let key = localize(key: key)
try storage.store(data, forKey: key)
}
func loadCachedContent(forKey key: String) -> Content? {
let key = localize(key: key)
let data = storage.loadData(forKey: key)
return data.flatMap { try? unbox(data: $0) }
}
private func localize(key: String) -> String {
return key + "-" + Bundle.main.preferredLocalizations[0]
}
#36 Setting up tests to avoid retain cycles with weak references
🚳 Here's an easy way to setup a test to avoid accidental retain cycles with object relationships (like weak delegates & observers) in Swift:
func testDelegateNotRetained() {
// Assign the delegate (weak) and also retain it using a local var
var delegate: Delegate? = DelegateMock()
controller.delegate = delegate
XCTAssertNotNil(controller.delegate)
// Release the local var, which should also release the weak reference
delegate = nil
XCTAssertNil(controller.delegate)
}
#35 Expressively matching a value against a list of candidates
👨🔬 Playing around with an expressive way to check if a value matches any of a list of candidates in Swift:
// Instead of multiple conditions like this:
if string == "One" || string == "Two" || string == "Three" {
}
// You can now do:
if string == any(of: "One", "Two", "Three") {
}
You can find a gist with the implementation here.
#34 Organizing code using extensions
👪 APIs in a Swift extension automatically inherit its access control level, making it a neat way to organize public, internal & private APIs.
public extension Animation {
init(textureNamed textureName: String) {
frames = [Texture(name: textureName)]
}
init(texturesNamed textureNames: [String], frameDuration: TimeInterval = 1) {
frames = textureNames.map(Texture.init)
self.frameDuration = frameDuration
}
init(image: Image) {
frames = [Texture(image: image)]
}
}
internal extension Animation {
func loadFrameImages() -> [Image] {
return frames.map { $0.loadImageIfNeeded() }
}
}
#33 Using map to transform an optional into a Result type
🗺 Using map you can transform an optional value into an optional Result type by simply passing in the enum case.
enum Result<Value> {
case value(Value)
case error(Error)
}
class Promise<Value> {
private var result: Result<Value>?
init(value: Value? = nil) {
result = value.map(Result.value)
}
}
#32 Assigning to self in struct initializers
👌 It's so nice that you can assign directly to self in struct initializers in Swift. Very useful when adding conformance to protocols.
extension Bool: AnswerConvertible {
public init(input: String) throws {
switch input.lowercased() {
case "y", "yes", "👍":
self = true
default:
self = false
}
}
}
#31 Recursively calling closures as inline functions
☎️ Defining Swift closures as inline functions enables you to recursively call them, which is super useful in things like custom sequences.
class Database {
func records(matching query: Query) -> AnySequence<Record> {
var recordIterator = loadRecords().makeIterator()
func iterate() -> Record? {
guard let nextRecord = recordIterator.next() else {
return nil
}
guard nextRecord.matches(query) else {
// Since the closure is an inline function, it can be recursively called,
// in this case in order to advance to the next item.
return iterate()
}
return nextRecord
}
// AnySequence/AnyIterator are part of the standard library and provide an easy way
// to define custom sequences using closures.
return AnySequence { AnyIterator(iterate) }
}
}
Rob Napier points out that using the above might cause crashes if used on a large databaset, since Swift has no guaranteed Tail Call Optimization (TCO).
Slava Pestov also points out that another benefit of inline functions vs closures is that they can have their own generic parameter list.
#30 Passing self to required Objective-C dependencies
🏖 Using lazy properties in Swift, you can pass self to required Objective-C dependencies without having to use force-unwrapped optionals.
class DataLoader: NSObject {
lazy var urlSession: URLSession = self.makeURLSession()
private func makeURLSession() -> URLSession {
return URLSession(configuration: .default, delegate: self, delegateQueue: .main)
}
}
class Renderer {
lazy var displayLink: CADisplayLink = self.makeDisplayLink()
private func makeDisplayLink() -> CADisplayLink {
return CADisplayLink(target: self, selector: #selector(screenDidRefresh))
}
}
#29 Making weak or lazy properties readonly
👓 If you have a property in Swift that needs to be weak or lazy, you can still make it readonly by using private(set).
class Node {
private(set) weak var parent: Node?
private(set) lazy var children = [Node]()
func add(child: Node) {
children.append(child)
child.parent = self
}
}
#28 Defining static URLs using string literals
🌏 Tired of using URL(string: "url")! for static URLs? Make URL conform to ExpressibleByStringLiteral and you can now simply use "url" instead.
extension URL: ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
// By using 'StaticString' we disable string interpolation, for safety
public init(stringLiteral value: StaticString) {
self = URL(string: "\(value)").require(hint: "Invalid URL string literal: \(value)")
}
}
// We can now define URLs using static string literals 🎉
let url: URL = "https://www.swiftbysundell.com"
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: "https://www.swiftbysundell.com")
// In Swift 3 or earlier, you also have to implement 2 additional initializers
extension URL {
public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: StaticString) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: StaticString) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}
To find the extension that adds the require() method on Optional that I use above, check out Require.
#27 Manipulating points, sizes and frames using math operators
✚ I'm always careful with operator overloading, but for manipulating things like sizes, points & frames I find them super useful.
extension CGSize {
static func *(lhs: CGSize, rhs: CGFloat) -> CGSize {
return CGSize(width: lhs.width * rhs, height: lhs.height * rhs)
}
}
button.frame.size = image.size * 2
If you like the above idea, check out CGOperators, which contains math operator overloads for all Core Graphics' vector types.
#26 Using closure types in generic constraints
🔗 You can use closure types in generic constraints in Swift. Enables nice APIs for handling sequences of closures.
extension Sequence where Element == () -> Void {
func callAll() {
forEach { $0() }
}
}
extension Sequence where Element == () -> String {
func joinedResults(separator: String) -> String {
return map { $0() }.joined(separator: separator)
}
}
callbacks.callAll()
let names = nameProviders.joinedResults(separator: ", ")
(If you're using Swift 3, you have to change Element to Iterator.Element)
#25 Using associated enum values to avoid state-specific optionals
🎉 Using associated enum values is a super nice way to encapsulate mutually exclusive state info (and avoiding state-specific optionals).
// BEFORE: Lots of state-specific, optional properties
class Player {
var isWaitingForMatchMaking: Bool
var invitingUser: User?
var numberOfLives: Int
var playerDefeatedBy: Player?
var roundDefeatedIn: Int?
}
// AFTER: All state-specific information is encapsulated in enum cases
class Player {
enum State {
case waitingForMatchMaking
case waitingForInviteResponse(from: User)
case active(numberOfLives: Int)
case defeated(by: Player, roundNumber: Int)
}
var state: State
}
#24 Using enums for async result types
👍 I really like using enums for all async result types, even boolean ones. Self-documenting, and makes the call site a lot nicer to read too!
protocol PushNotificationService {
// Before
func enablePushNotifications(completionHandler: @escaping (Bool) -> Void)
// After
func enablePushNotifications(completionHandler: @escaping (PushNotificationStatus) -> Void)
}
enum PushNotificationStatus {
case enabled
case disabled
}
service.enablePushNotifications { status in
if status == .enabled {
enableNotificationsButton.removeFromSuperview()
}
}
#23 Working on async code in a playground
🏃 Want to work on your async code in a Swift Playground? Just set needsIndefiniteExecution to true to keep it running:
import PlaygroundSupport
PlaygroundPage.current.needsIndefiniteExecution = true
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3) {
let greeting = "Hello after 3 seconds"
print(greeting)
}
To stop the playground from executing, simply call PlaygroundPage.current.finishExecution().
#22 Overriding self with a weak reference
💦 Avoid memory leaks when accidentially refering to self in closures by overriding it locally with a weak reference:
Swift >= 4.2
dataLoader.loadData(from: url) { [weak self] result in
guard let self = self else {
return
}
self.cache(result)
...
Swift < 4.2
dataLoader.loadData(from: url) { [weak self] result in
guard let `self` = self else {
return
}
self.cache(result)
...
Note that the reason the above currently works is because of a compiler bug (which I hope gets turned into a properly supported feature soon).
#21 Using DispatchWorkItem
🕓 Using dispatch work items you can easily cancel a delayed asynchronous GCD task if you no longer need it:
let workItem = DispatchWorkItem {
// Your async code goes in here
}
// Execute the work item after 1 second
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1, execute: workItem)
// You can cancel the work item if you no longer need it
workItem.cancel()
#20 Combining a sequence of functions
➕ While working on a new Swift developer tool (to be open sourced soon 😉), I came up with a pretty neat way of organizing its sequence of operations, by combining their functions into a closure:
internal func +<A, B, C>(lhs: @escaping (A) throws -> B,
rhs: @escaping (B) throws -> C) -> (A) throws -> C {
return { try rhs(lhs($0)) }
}
public func run() throws {
try (determineTarget + build + analyze + output)()
}
If you're familiar with the functional programming world, you might know the above technique as the pipe operator (thanks to Alexey Demedreckiy for pointing this out!)
#19 Chaining optionals with map() and flatMap()
🗺 Using map() and flatMap() on optionals you can chain multiple operations without having to use lengthy if lets or guards:
// BEFORE
guard let string = argument(at: 1) else {
return
}
guard let url = URL(string: string) else {
return
}
handle(url)
// AFTER
argument(at: 1).flatMap(URL.init).map(handle)
#18 Using self-executing closures for lazy properties
🚀 Using self-executing closures is a great way to encapsulate lazy property initialization:
class StoreViewController: UIViewController {
private lazy var collectionView: UICollectionView = {
let layout = UICollectionViewFlowLayout()
let view = UICollectionView(frame: self.view.bounds, collectionViewLayout: layout)
view.delegate = self
view.dataSource = self
return view
}()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
view.addSubview(collectionView)
}
}
#17 Speeding up Swift package tests
⚡️ You can speed up your Swift package tests using the --parallel flag. For Marathon, the tests execute 3 times faster that way!
swift test --parallel
#16 Avoiding mocking UserDefaults
🛠 Struggling with mocking UserDefaults in a test? The good news is: you don't need mocking - just create a real instance:
class LoginTests: XCTestCase {
private var userDefaults: UserDefaults!
private var manager: LoginManager!
override func setUp() {
super.setup()
userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: #file)
userDefaults.removePersistentDomain(forName: #file)
manager = LoginManager(userDefaults: userDefaults)
}
}
#15 Using variadic parameters
👍 Using variadic parameters in Swift, you can create some really nice APIs that take a list of objects without having to use an array:
extension Canvas {
func add(_ shapes: Shape...) {
shapes.forEach(add)
}
}
let circle = Circle(center: CGPoint(x: 5, y: 5), radius: 5)
let lineA = Line(start: .zero, end: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 10))
let lineB = Line(start: CGPoint(x: 0, y: 10), end: CGPoint(x: 10, y: 0))
let canvas = Canvas()
canvas.add(circle, lineA, lineB)
canvas.render()
#14 Referring to enum cases with associated values as closures
😮 Just like you can refer to a Swift function as a closure, you can do the same thing with enum cases with associated values:
enum UnboxPath {
case key(String)
case keyPath(String)
}
struct UserSchema {
static let name = key("name")
static let age = key("age")
static let posts = key("posts")
private static let key = UnboxPath.key
}
#13 Using the === operator to compare objects by instance
📈 The === operator lets you check if two objects are the same instance. Very useful when verifying that an array contains an instance in a test:
protocol InstanceEquatable: class, Equatable {}
extension InstanceEquatable {
static func ==(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Bool {
return lhs === rhs
}
}
extension Enemy: InstanceEquatable {}
func testDestroyingEnemy() {
player.attack(enemy)
XCTAssertTrue(player.destroyedEnemies.contains(enemy))
}
#12 Calling initializers with dot syntax and passing them as closures
😎 Cool thing about Swift initializers: you can call them using dot syntax and pass them as closures! Perfect for mocking dates in tests.
class Logger {
private let storage: LogStorage
private let dateProvider: () -> Date
init(storage: LogStorage = .init(), dateProvider: @escaping () -> Date = Date.init) {
self.storage = storage
self.dateProvider = dateProvider
}
func log(event: Event) {
storage.store(event: event, date: dateProvider())
}
}
#11 Structuring UI tests as extensions on XCUIApplication
📱 Most of my UI testing logic is now categories on XCUIApplication. Makes the test cases really easy to read:
func testLoggingInAndOut() {
XCTAssertFalse(app.userIsLoggedIn)
app.launch()
app.login()
XCTAssertTrue(app.userIsLoggedIn)
app.logout()
XCTAssertFalse(app.userIsLoggedIn)
}
func testDisplayingCategories() {
XCTAssertFalse(app.isDisplayingCategories)
app.launch()
app.login()
app.goToCategories()
XCTAssertTrue(app.isDisplayingCategories)
}
#10 Avoiding default cases in switch statements
🙂 It’s a good idea to avoid “default” cases when switching on Swift enums - it’ll “force you” to update your logic when a new case is added:
enum State {
case loggedIn
case loggedOut
case onboarding
}
func handle(_ state: State) {
switch state {
case .loggedIn:
showMainUI()
case .loggedOut:
showLoginUI()
// Compiler error: Switch must be exhaustive
}
}
#9 Using the guard statement in many different scopes
💂 It's really cool that you can use Swift's 'guard' statement to exit out of pretty much any scope, not only return from functions:
// You can use the 'guard' statement to...
for string in strings {
// ...continue an iteration
guard shouldProcess(string) else {
continue
}
// ...or break it
guard !shouldBreak(for: string) else {
break
}
// ...or return
guard !shouldReturn(for: string) else {
return
}
// ..or throw an error
guard string.isValid else {
throw StringError.invalid(string)
}
// ...or exit the program
guard !shouldExit(for: string) else {
exit(1)
}
}
#8 Passing functions & operators as closures
❤️ Love how you can pass functions & operators as closures in Swift. For example, it makes the syntax for sorting arrays really nice!
let array = [3, 9, 1, 4, 6, 2]
let sorted = array.sorted(by: <)
#7 Using #function for UserDefaults key consistency
🗝 Here's a neat little trick I use to get UserDefault key consistency in Swift (#function expands to the property name in getters/setters). Just remember to write a good suite of tests that'll guard you against bugs when changing property names.
extension UserDefaults {
var onboardingCompleted: Bool {
get { return bool(forKey: #function) }
set { set(newValue, forKey: #function) }
}
}
#6 Using a name already taken by the standard library
📛 Want to use a name already taken by the standard library for a nested type? No problem - just use Swift. to disambiguate:
extension Command {
enum Error: Swift.Error {
case missing
case invalid(String)
}
}
#5 Using Wrap to implement Equatable
📦 Playing around with using Wrap to implement Equatable for any type, primarily for testing:
protocol AutoEquatable: Equatable {}
extension AutoEquatable {
static func ==(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Bool {
let lhsData = try! wrap(lhs) as Data
let rhsData = try! wrap(rhs) as Data
return lhsData == rhsData
}
}
#4 Using typealiases to reduce the length of method signatures
📏 One thing that I find really useful in Swift is to use typealiases to reduce the length of method signatures in generic types:
public class PathFinder<Object: PathFinderObject> {
public typealias Map = Object.Map
public typealias Node = Map.Node
public typealias Path = PathFinderPath<Object>
public static func possiblePaths(for object: Object, at rootNode: Node, on map: Map) -> Path.Sequence {
return .init(object: object, rootNode: rootNode, map: map)
}
}
#3 Referencing either external or internal parameter name when writing docs
📖 You can reference either the external or internal parameter label when writing Swift docs - and they get parsed the same:
// EITHER:
class Foo {
/**
* - parameter string: A string
*/
func bar(with string: String) {}
}
// OR:
class Foo {
/**
* - parameter with: A string
*/
func bar(with string: String) {}
}
#2 Using auto closures
👍 Finding more and more uses for auto closures in Swift. Can enable some pretty nice APIs:
extension Dictionary {
mutating func value(for key: Key, orAdd valueClosure: @autoclosure () -> Value) -> Value {
if let value = self[key] {
return value
}
let value = valueClosure()
self[key] = value
return value
}
}
#1 Namespacing with nested types
🚀 I’ve started to become a really big fan of nested types in Swift. Love the additional namespacing it gives you!
public struct Map {
public struct Model {
public let size: Size
public let theme: Theme
public var terrain: [Position : Terrain.Model]
public var units: [Position : Unit.Model]
public var buildings: [Position : Building.Model]
}
public enum Direction {
case up
case right
case down
case left
}
public struct Position {
public var x: Int
public var y: Int
}
public enum Size: String {
case small = "S"
case medium = "M"
case large = "L"
case extraLarge = "XL"
}
}Download Details:
Author: JohnSundell
Source code: https://github.com/JohnSundell/SwiftTips
License: MIT license
#swift