Passing JSON Decode error into something actionable - swift

Question

I'm trying to improve my error handling when I don't get back any data in my JSON. The function below works fine without any issues except if I catch an error. I'm not sure of how to pass the error to prompt the user or is the way to handle the error if googlebusinessinfo is nil I likely have no data and pass a generic error?
Here's my function:
func getBusinessReviews(googleUrl: String, completion: #escaping (WelcomeReview?) -> ()) {
// Create URL
let url = URL(string: googleUrl)
guard let requestUrl = url else { fatalError() }
// Create URL Request
var request = URLRequest(url: requestUrl)
// Specify HTTP Method to use
request.httpMethod = "GET"
//Set HTTP Header
// Send HTTP Request
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { (data, response, error) in
// Specify HTTP Method to use
request.httpMethod = "GET"
print("(Google)Do we have any data: \(String(describing: data))")
// Check if Error took place
if let error = error {
print("Error took place \(error)")
return
}
// Read HTTP Response Status code
if let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse {
print("(Google)Response HTTP Status code: \(response.statusCode)")
}
// Convert HTTP Response Data to a simple String
if let data = data, let dataString = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
print("Googledata Response data string:\n \(dataString)")
}
if let googlebusinessdata = data {
do {
let googlebusinessinfo = try JSONDecoder().decode(WelcomeReview.self, from: googlebusinessdata)
print("googledata \(googlebusinessinfo)")
completion(googlebusinessinfo)
} catch
{
print("googledata error \(error.localizedDescription)")
let googebusinessinfoerror = error.localizedDescription
}
}
}
task.resume()
}

Answer 1

First of all you can improve the error handling immensely if you print error instead of error.localizedDescription in a Decoding catch block. The former shows the real error, the latter a meaningless generic message.
To answer your question use the generic Result type
func getBusinessReviews(googleUrl: String, completion: #escaping (Result<WelcomeReview,Error>) -> ()) {
// Create URL
let url = URL(string: googleUrl)
guard let requestUrl = url else { fatalError() }
// Create URL Request
var request = URLRequest(url: requestUrl)
// Specify HTTP Method to use
request.httpMethod = "GET"
//Set HTTP Header
// Send HTTP Request
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { (data, response, error) in
// Specify HTTP Method to use
request.httpMethod = "GET"
print("(Google)Do we have any data: \(String(describing: data))")
// Check if Error took place
if let error = error {
print("Error took place \(error)")
completion(.failure(error))
return
}
// Read HTTP Response Status code
if let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse {
print("(Google)Response HTTP Status code: \(response.statusCode)")
}
// Convert HTTP Response Data to a simple String
if let data = data, let dataString = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
print("Googledata Response data string:\n \(dataString)")
do {
let googlebusinessinfo = try JSONDecoder().decode(WelcomeReview.self, from: data)
print("googledata \(googlebusinessinfo)")
completion(.success(googlebusinessinfo))
} catch
{
print("googledata error:", error)
let googebusinessinfoerror = error.localizedDescription
completion(.failure(error))
}
}
}
task.resume()
}
and call it
getBusinessReviews(googleUrl: "Foo") { result in
switch result {
case .success(let info): print(info)
case .failure(let error): print(error)
}
}