In SwiftUI / Combine, how can two ObservableObjects coordinate? - swift

My app has two ObservableObjects:
#main
struct SomeApp: App {
#StateObject private var foo = Foo()
#StateObject private var bar = Bar()
var body: some Scene {
WindowGroup {
AppView()
.environmentObject(foo)
.environmentObject(bar)
}
}
}
class Foo: ObservableObject {
#Published var operationResult: Bool?
private let operationQueue = OperationQueue()
func start() {
operationQueue.addOperation(SomeOperation())
// SomeOperation will set operationResult
}
}
class Bar: ObservableObject {
#Published var resultsAvailable = false
func updateResults(operationResult: Bool) {
if operationResult && someOtherCondition {
resultsAvailable = true
}
}
}
At some point, Foo is doing some work on a background thread. When it completes, state in Bar needs to be updated, perhaps by calling updateResults(). In a traditional UIKit app, I might coordinate this by setting a callback handler or posting an NSNotification.
Instead of passing operationResult around via a notification or handler, is there a way for Bar to subscribe to changes to Foo's operationResult property? In examples I've found so far, it seems like the subscriptions may only be available inside View structs, but I haven't been able to confirm or deny that.

Related

Update UI on Singleton property change without sharing dependency between Views

I want to make my UI update itself on singleton's class property change without passing the singleton object between views as .environmentObject or any another.
I have NetworkManager class, which is singleton:
final class NetworkManager: ObservableObject {
let monitor = NWPathMonitor()
let queue = DispatchQueue(label: "NetworkManager")
#Published var isConnected = true
static let shared: NetworkManager = {
NetworkManager()
}()
private init() {
monitor.pathUpdateHandler = { path in
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.isConnected = path.status == .satisfied
}
}
monitor.start(queue: queue)
}
}
Whenever #Published var isConnected property of this class changes, I want to update the UI for example with this piece of code: SOME_VIEW.disabled(!NetworkManager.shared.isConnected)
Unfortunately, SOME_VIEW is disabled only when I exit and entry this view once again. I want it to update itself in real time. Is it possible without #EnvironmentObject and only having my NetworkManager class as Singleton?
The ObservableObject updates view only via ObservedObject/StateObject/EnvironmentObject (which are actually have same nature). That wrapper (one of them) actually observers changes in published properties and refreshes view.
So your case can be solved like
struct ParentView: View {
#StateObject private var networkNanager = NetworkManager.shared // << observer !!
var body: some View {
SOME_VIEW.disabled(!networkNanager.isConnected) // injects dependency !!
}
}

run when a view redraws in SwiftUI

I have a view in SwiftUI, and I would like it to both redraw and to run a closure whenever a variable in my model changes. I am using this closure to update a state var I am storing in the view, which should be the previous value of the variable in my model before it changes
The following code simulates my situation:
let viewModel = ViewModel()
struct someView: View {
#observedObject var viewModel: ViewModel = viewModel
#State var previousSomeValue: CGFloat = 0
var body: some View {
Text("\(viewModel.model.someValue)")
}
}
class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var model = Model()
}
struct model {
var someValue: CGFloat = 0
}
With this setup, if someValue ever changes, someView redraws, however, I am unable to fire a closure.
//Solutions I have tried:
The main one was to attach onChangeOf(_ (T)->Void) to my view. With .onChangeOf( viewModel.model.someValue ) { _ in //do something } I was able to fire a closure whenever it changed however, by the time it ran, viewModel.model.someValue had already updated to the newValue, and I wasnt able to capture the old one. I read in the documentation that this is by design and that you must capture the thing you want to store the old value of, but I (to my knowledge) am only able to capture self, viewModel, but not viewModel.model.someValue.
.onChangeOf( viewModel.model.someValue ) { [self] newValue in //do something } //works but doesnt capture the var
.onChangeOf( viewModel.model.someValue ) { [viewModel] newValue in //do something } //works but doesnt capture the var
.onChangeOf( viewModel.model.someValue ) { [viewModel.model.someValue] newValue in //do something } //does not compile ( Expected 'weak', 'unowned', or no specifier in capture list )
I have also tried creating a binding in the view such as Binding { gameView.model.someValue } set: { _ in } and having the onChange observer this instead, but even when I capture self, when the closure is called, the old and new values are identicial.
This seems like a common thing to do (detecting external changes and firing a closure), how should I go about it?
If I correctly understood your needs then you should do this not in view but in view model, like
class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
var onModelChanged: (_ old: Model, _ new: Model) -> Void
#Published var model = Model() {
didSet {
onModelChanged(oldValue, model)
}
}
init(onModelChanged: #escaping (_ old: Model, _ new: Model) -> Void = {_, _ in}) {
self.onModelChanged = onModelChanged
}
}
so instantiating ViewModel you can provide a callback to observe values changed in model and have old and new values, like
#StateObject var viewModel = ViewModel() {
print("Old value: \($0.someValue)")
print("New value: \($1.someValue)")
}

Modify #Published variable from another class that is not declared in | SwiftUI

I want to put the logic of all my #Published in a model class, however when I try to separate it, it doesn't update. I recreated a little example:
The code below works, it increases every time the button is clicked:
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var myClass = MyClass()
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
myClass.doStuff(numb: 1)
}) {
Text("People: \(myClass.people)")
}
}
}
class MyClass: ObservableObject {
#Published var people: Int = 0
func doStuff(numb: Int) {
people += numb
}
}
However, once I split the logic and try to have my #Published in a separate class to have it more clean, it doesn't update, see below:
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var myClass = MyClass()
let modify = Modify()
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
modify.doStuff(numb: 1)
}) {
Text("People: \(myClass.people)")
}
}
}
class Modify {
var myClass = MyClass()
func doStuff(numb: Int) {
myClass.people += numb
}
}
class MyClass: ObservableObject {
#Published var people: Int = 0
}
I think it's because there are two different instances in the view right? Anyway, how can I separate the #Publish correctly have it updated?
Thanks
Your first form is absolutely fine! You may, though, consider your ContentView using a #ObservedObject instead a #StateObject.
Your second form is flawed, for several reasons:
don't move logic into a view
don't use class variables to keep "state".
The first statement is due to a sane design that keeps your models and views nicely separated.
The second statement is due to how SwiftUI works. If you need to have some "state" in your views, use #State where the value is a struct.
Using #State ensures, that it's value is bound to the actual life time of the "conceptual view", i.e. the thing we human perceive as the view. And this "conceptual view" (managed as some data object by SwiftUI) is distinct from the struct View, which is merely a means to describe how to create and modify this conceptual view - that is, struct view is rather a function that will be used to initially create the "conceptual view" and modify it. Once this is done, it gets destroyed, and gets recreated when the conceptual view needs to be modified. That also means, the life time of this struct is not bound to the life time of its "state". The state's life time is bound to the conceptual view, and thus has usually longer life time than the struct view, where the struct view can be created and destroyed several times.
Now, imagine what happens when you always execute let modify = Modify() whenever the (conceptual) view or its content view is modified and needs to be recalculated and rendered by creating a struct view and then - after it has been rendered - destroying it again.
Also, this "state" is considered private for the view, means it is considered an implementation detail for the view. If you want to exchange data from "outside" and "inside" use a #ObservedObject or a Binding.
The problem is that you have 2 separate instances of MyClass:
#StateObject var myClass = MyClass()
var myClass = MyClass()
You are updating the myClass in Modify, which you aren't receiving updates from. A way to fix this is by having one instance of MyClass, passed into Modify during initialization:
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var myClass: MyClass
let modify: Modify
init() {
let temp = MyClass()
_myClass = StateObject(wrappedValue: temp)
modify = Modify(myClass: temp)
}
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
modify.doStuff(numb: 1)
}) {
Text("People: \(myClass.people)")
}
}
}
class Modify {
let myClass: MyClass
init(myClass: MyClass) {
self.myClass = myClass
}
func doStuff(numb: Int) {
myClass.people += numb
}
}
Another method is to have a #Published property in Modify to observe the changes of MyClass:
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var modify = Modify()
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
modify.doStuff(numb: 1)
}) {
Text("People: \(modify.myClass.people)")
}
}
}
class Modify: ObservableObject {
#Published var myClass = MyClass()
private var anyCancellable: AnyCancellable?
init() {
anyCancellable = myClass.objectWillChange.sink { [weak self] _ in
self?.objectWillChange.send()
}
}
func doStuff(numb: Int) {
myClass.people += numb
}
}
you could try this approach using a singleton. Works well for me:
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var myClass = MyClass.shared // <--- here
let modify = Modify()
var body: some View {
Button(action: {
modify.doStuff(numb: 1)
}) {
Text("People: \(myClass.people)")
}
}
}
class Modify {
var myClass = MyClass.shared // <--- here
func doStuff(numb: Int) {
myClass.people += numb
}
}
class MyClass: ObservableObject {
#Published var people: Int = 0
static let shared = MyClass() // <--- here
}

Data communication between 2 ObservableObjects

I have 2 independent ObservableObjects called ViewModel1 and ViewModel2.
ViewModel2 has an array of strings:
#Published var strings: [String] = [].
Whenever that array is modified i want ViewModel1 to be informed.
What's the recommended approach to achieve this?
Clearly, there are a number of potential solutions to this, like the aforementioned NotificationCenter and singleton ideas.
To me, this seems like a scenario where Combine would be rather useful:
import SwiftUI
import Combine
class ViewModel1 : ObservableObject {
var cancellable : AnyCancellable?
func connect(_ publisher: AnyPublisher<[String],Never>) {
cancellable = publisher.sink(receiveValue: { (newStrings) in
print(newStrings)
})
}
}
class ViewModel2 : ObservableObject {
#Published var strings: [String] = []
}
struct ContentView : View {
#ObservedObject private var vm1 = ViewModel1()
#ObservedObject private var vm2 = ViewModel2()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Button("add item") {
vm2.strings.append("\(UUID().uuidString)")
}
ChildView(connect: vm1.connect)
}.onAppear {
vm1.connect(vm2.$strings.eraseToAnyPublisher())
}
}
}
struct ChildView : View {
var connect : (AnyPublisher<[String],Never>) -> Void
#ObservedObject private var vm2 = ViewModel2()
var body: some View {
Button("Connect child publisher") {
connect(vm2.$strings.eraseToAnyPublisher())
vm2.strings = ["Other strings","From child view"]
}
}
}
To test this, first try pressing the "add item" button -- you'll see in the console that ViewModel1 receives the new values.
Then, try the Connect child publisher button -- now, the initial connection is cancelled and a new one is made to the child's iteration of ViewModel2.
In order for this scenario to work, you always have to have a reference to ViewModel1 and ViewModel2, or at the least, the connect method, as I demonstrated in ChildView. You could easily pass this via dependency injection or even through an EnvironmentObject
ViewModel1 could also be changed to instead of having 1 connection, having many by making cancellable a Set<AnyCancellable> and adding a connection each time if you needed a one->many scenario.
Using AnyPublisher decouples the idea of having a specific types for either side of the equation, so it would be just as easy to connect ViewModel4 to ViewModel1, etc.
I had same problem and I found this method working well, just using the idea of reference type and taking advantage of class like using shared one!
import SwiftUI
struct ContentView: View {
#StateObject var viewModel2: ViewModel2 = ViewModel2.shared
#State var index: Int = Int()
var body: some View {
Button("update strings array of ViewModel2") {
viewModel2.strings.append("Hello" + index.description)
index += 1
}
}
}
class ViewModel1: ObservableObject {
static let shared: ViewModel1 = ViewModel1()
#Published var onReceiveViewModel2: Bool = Bool() {
didSet {
print("strings array of ViewModel2 got an update!")
print("new update is:", ViewModel2.shared.strings)
}
}
}
class ViewModel2: ObservableObject {
static let shared: ViewModel2 = ViewModel2()
#Published var strings: [String] = [String]() {
didSet { ViewModel1.shared.onReceiveViewModel2.toggle() }
}
}

How can I Observe a var in a Class?

Here is my code for a simple class, My goal is that observeValueOfModel() function automatically put changes of valueOfModel under control and print the correct message out!
I can manually use this func for getting the Answer, but the goal is this class be able understand and react to value change of valueOfModel. Thanks for help
class Model: ObservableObject {
var valueOfModel: Bool = Bool()
private func observeValueOfModel() {
if valueOfModel {
print("valueOfModel is True!")
}
else {
print("valueOfModel is False!")
}
}
}
The didSet fits in this case
class Model: ObservableObject {
var valueOfModel: Bool = Bool() {
didSet {
observeValueOfModel()
}
}
// ... other code
Combine will help you. Define your var as #Published to be able to subscribe to it
#Published var valueOfModel: Bool = true
You can subscribe to changes in the init or viewDidLoad for example. We store the subscription in the cancelable. Put it in the VC or as class property to keep the subscription alive.
let cancelable: AnyCancellable?
cancelable = valueOfModel.sink { [weak self] value
// this will get called as soon as valueOfModel gets updated
// do smth with value here
}