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I have created a utility class in my Swift project that handles all the REST requests and responses. I have built a simple REST API so I can test my code. I have created a class method that needs to return an NSArray but because the API call is async I need to return from the method inside the async call. The problem is the async returns void.
If I were doing this in Node I would use JS promises but I can't figure out a solution that works in Swift.
import Foundation
class Bookshop {
class func getGenres() -> NSArray {
println("Hello inside getGenres")
let urlPath = "http://creative.coventry.ac.uk/~bookshop/v1.1/index.php/genre/list"
println(urlPath)
let url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)
let session = NSURLSession.sharedSession()
var resultsArray:NSArray!
let task = session.dataTaskWithURL(url, completionHandler: {data, response, error -> Void in
println("Task completed")
if(error) {
println(error.localizedDescription)
}
var err: NSError?
var options:NSJSONReadingOptions = NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers
var jsonResult = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data, options: options, error: &err) as NSDictionary
if(err != nil) {
println("JSON Error \(err!.localizedDescription)")
}
//NSLog("jsonResults %#", jsonResult)
let results: NSArray = jsonResult["genres"] as NSArray
NSLog("jsonResults %#", results)
resultsArray = results
return resultsArray // error [anyObject] is not a subType of 'Void'
})
task.resume()
//return "Hello World!"
// I want to return the NSArray...
}
}
You can pass callback, and call callback inside async call
something like:
class func getGenres(completionHandler: (genres: NSArray) -> ()) {
...
let task = session.dataTaskWithURL(url) {
data, response, error in
...
resultsArray = results
completionHandler(genres: resultsArray)
}
...
task.resume()
}
and then call this method:
override func viewDidLoad() {
Bookshop.getGenres {
genres in
println("View Controller: \(genres)")
}
}
Introduced in Swift 5.5 (iOS 15, macOS 12), we would now use the async-await pattern:
func fetchGenres() async throws -> [Genre] {
…
let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.dataTask(for: request)
return try JSONDecoder().decode([Genre].self, from: data)
}
And we would call it like:
let genres = try await fetchGenres()
The async-await syntax is far more concise and natural than the traditional completion handler pattern outlined in my original answer, below.
For more information, see Meet async/await in Swift.
The historic pattern is to use completion handlers closure.
For example, we would often use Result:
func fetchGenres(completion: #escaping (Result<[Genre], Error>) -> Void) {
...
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { data, _, error in
if let error = error {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(.failure(error))
}
return
}
// parse response here
let results = ...
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(.success(results))
}
}.resume()
}
And you’d call it like so:
fetchGenres { results in
switch results {
case .failure(let error):
print(error.localizedDescription)
case .success(let genres):
// use `genres` here, e.g. update model and UI
}
}
// but don’t try to use `genres` here, as the above runs asynchronously
Note, above I’m dispatching the completion handler back to the main queue to simplify model and UI updates. Some developers take exception to this practice and either use whatever queue URLSession used or use their own queue (requiring the caller to manually synchronize the results themselves).
But that’s not material here. The key issue is the use of completion handler to specify the block of code to be run when the asynchronous request is done.
Note, above I retired the use of NSArray (we don’t use those bridged Objective-C types any more). I assume that we had a Genre type and we presumably used JSONDecoder, rather than JSONSerialization, to decode it. But this question didn’t have enough information about the underlying JSON to get into the details here, so I omitted that to avoid clouding the core issue, the use of closures as completion handlers.
Swiftz already offers Future, which is the basic building block of a Promise. A Future is a Promise that cannot fail (all terms here are based on the Scala interpretation, where a Promise is a Monad).
https://github.com/maxpow4h/swiftz/blob/master/swiftz/Future.swift
Hopefully will expand to a full Scala-style Promise eventually (I may write it myself at some point; I'm sure other PRs would be welcome; it's not that difficult with Future already in place).
In your particular case, I would probably create a Result<[Book]> (based on Alexandros Salazar's version of Result). Then your method signature would be:
class func fetchGenres() -> Future<Result<[Book]>> {
Notes
I do not recommend prefixing functions with get in Swift. It will break certain kinds of interoperability with ObjC.
I recommend parsing all the way down to a Book object before returning your results as a Future. There are several ways this system can fail, and it's much more convenient if you check for all of those things before wrapping them up into a Future. Getting to [Book] is much better for the rest of your Swift code than handing around an NSArray.
Swift 4.0
For async Request-Response you can use completion handler. See below I have modified the solution with completion handle paradigm.
func getGenres(_ completion: #escaping (NSArray) -> ()) {
let urlPath = "http://creative.coventry.ac.uk/~bookshop/v1.1/index.php/genre/list"
print(urlPath)
guard let url = URL(string: urlPath) else { return }
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, error) in
guard let data = data else { return }
do {
if let jsonResult = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: JSONSerialization.ReadingOptions.mutableContainers) as? NSDictionary {
let results = jsonResult["genres"] as! NSArray
print(results)
completion(results)
}
} catch {
//Catch Error here...
}
}
task.resume()
}
You can call this function as below:
getGenres { (array) in
// Do operation with array
}
Swift 3 version of #Alexey Globchastyy's answer:
class func getGenres(completionHandler: #escaping (genres: NSArray) -> ()) {
...
let task = session.dataTask(with:url) {
data, response, error in
...
resultsArray = results
completionHandler(genres: resultsArray)
}
...
task.resume()
}
Swift 5.5, async/wait-based solution
The original test URL provided by the original poster is no longer functional, so I had to change things a bit. This solution is based on a jokes API I found. That API returns a single joke, but I return it as an array of String ([String]), to keep it as consistent as possible with the original post.
class Bookshop {
class func getGenres() async -> [String] {
print("Hello inside getGenres")
let urlPath = "https://geek-jokes.sameerkumar.website/api?format=json"
print(urlPath)
let url = URL(string: urlPath)!
let session = URLSession.shared
typealias Continuation = CheckedContinuation<[String], Never>
let genres = await withCheckedContinuation { (continuation: Continuation) in
let task = session.dataTask(with: url) { data, response, error in
print("Task completed")
var result: [String] = []
defer {
continuation.resume(returning: result)
}
if let error = error {
print(error.localizedDescription)
return
}
guard let data = data else {
return
}
do {
let jsonResult = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: [.mutableContainers])
print("jsonResult is \(jsonResult)")
if let joke = (jsonResult as? [String: String])?["joke"] {
result = [joke]
}
} catch {
print("JSON Error \(error.localizedDescription)")
print("data was \(String(describing: String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)))")
return
}
}
task.resume()
}
return genres
}
}
async {
let final = await Bookshop.getGenres()
print("Final is \(final)")
}
The withCheckedContinuation is how you made the Swift async function actually run in a separate task/thread.
I hope you're not still stuck on this, but the short answer is that you can't do this in Swift.
An alternative approach would be to return a callback that will provide the data you need as soon as it is ready.
There are 3 ways of creating call back functions namely:
1. Completion handler
2. Notification
3. Delegates
Completion Handler
Inside set of block is executed and returned when source is available, Handler will wait until response comes so that UI can be updated after.
Notification
Bunch of information is triggered over all the app, Listner can retrieve n make use of that info. Async way of getting info through out the project.
Delegates
Set of methods will get triggered when delegate is been called, Source must be provided via methods itself
Swift 5.5:
TL;DR: Swift 5.5 is not yet released(at the time of writing). To use swift 5.5, download swift toolchain development snapshot from here and add compiler flag -Xfrontend -enable-experimental-concurrency. Read more here
This can be achieved easily with async/await feature.
To do so, you should mark your function as async then do the operation inside withUnsafeThrowingContinuation block like following.
class Bookshop {
class func getGenres() async throws -> NSArray {
print("Hello inside getGenres")
let urlPath = "http://creative.coventry.ac.uk/~bookshop/v1.1/index.php/genre/list"
print(urlPath)
let url = URL(string: urlPath)!
let session = URLSession.shared
return try await withUnsafeThrowingContinuation { continuation in
let task = session.dataTask(with: url, completionHandler: {data, response, error -> Void in
print("Task completed")
if(error != nil) {
print(error!.localizedDescription)
continuation.resume(throwing: error!)
return
}
do {
let jsonResult = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data!, options: .mutableContainers) as? [String: Any]
let results: NSArray = jsonResult!["genres"] as! NSArray
continuation.resume(returning: results)
} catch {
continuation.resume(throwing: error)
}
})
task.resume()
}
}
}
And you can call this function like
#asyncHandler
func check() {
do {
let genres = try await Bookshop.getGenres()
print("Result: \(genres)")
} catch {
print("Error: \(error)")
}
}
Keep in mind that, when calling Bookshop.getGenres method, the caller method should be either async or marked as #asyncHandler
self.urlSession.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) in
self.endNetworkActivity()
var responseError: Error? = error
// handle http response status
if let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse {
if httpResponse.statusCode > 299 , httpResponse.statusCode != 422 {
responseError = NSError.errorForHTTPStatus(httpResponse.statusCode)
}
}
var apiResponse: Response
if let _ = responseError {
apiResponse = Response(request, response as? HTTPURLResponse, responseError!)
self.logError(apiResponse.error!, request: request)
// Handle if access token is invalid
if let nsError: NSError = responseError as NSError? , nsError.code == 401 {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
apiResponse = Response(request, response as? HTTPURLResponse, data!)
let message = apiResponse.message()
// Unautorized access
// User logout
return
}
}
else if let nsError: NSError = responseError as NSError? , nsError.code == 503 {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
apiResponse = Response(request, response as? HTTPURLResponse, data!)
let message = apiResponse.message()
// Down time
// Server is currently down due to some maintenance
return
}
}
} else {
apiResponse = Response(request, response as? HTTPURLResponse, data!)
self.logResponse(data!, forRequest: request)
}
self.removeRequestedURL(request.url!)
DispatchQueue.main.async(execute: { () -> Void in
completionHandler(apiResponse)
})
}).resume()
There are mainly 3 ways of achieving callback in swift
Closures/Completion handler
Delegates
Notifications
Observers can also be used to get notified once the async task has been completed.
There are some very generic requirements that would like every good API Manager to satisfy:
will implement a protocol-oriented API Client.
APIClient Initial Interface
protocol APIClient {
func send(_ request: APIRequest,
completion: #escaping (APIResponse?, Error?) -> Void)
}
protocol APIRequest: Encodable {
var resourceName: String { get }
}
protocol APIResponse: Decodable {
}
Now Please check complete api structure
// ******* This is API Call Class *****
public typealias ResultCallback<Value> = (Result<Value, Error>) -> Void
/// Implementation of a generic-based API client
public class APIClient {
private let baseEndpointUrl = URL(string: "irl")!
private let session = URLSession(configuration: .default)
public init() {
}
/// Sends a request to servers, calling the completion method when finished
public func send<T: APIRequest>(_ request: T, completion: #escaping ResultCallback<DataContainer<T.Response>>) {
let endpoint = self.endpoint(for: request)
let task = session.dataTask(with: URLRequest(url: endpoint)) { data, response, error in
if let data = data {
do {
// Decode the top level response, and look up the decoded response to see
// if it's a success or a failure
let apiResponse = try JSONDecoder().decode(APIResponse<T.Response>.self, from: data)
if let dataContainer = apiResponse.data {
completion(.success(dataContainer))
} else if let message = apiResponse.message {
completion(.failure(APIError.server(message: message)))
} else {
completion(.failure(APIError.decoding))
}
} catch {
completion(.failure(error))
}
} else if let error = error {
completion(.failure(error))
}
}
task.resume()
}
/// Encodes a URL based on the given request
/// Everything needed for a public request to api servers is encoded directly in this URL
private func endpoint<T: APIRequest>(for request: T) -> URL {
guard let baseUrl = URL(string: request.resourceName, relativeTo: baseEndpointUrl) else {
fatalError("Bad resourceName: \(request.resourceName)")
}
var components = URLComponents(url: baseUrl, resolvingAgainstBaseURL: true)!
// Common query items needed for all api requests
let timestamp = "\(Date().timeIntervalSince1970)"
let hash = "\(timestamp)"
let commonQueryItems = [
URLQueryItem(name: "ts", value: timestamp),
URLQueryItem(name: "hash", value: hash),
URLQueryItem(name: "apikey", value: "")
]
// Custom query items needed for this specific request
let customQueryItems: [URLQueryItem]
do {
customQueryItems = try URLQueryItemEncoder.encode(request)
} catch {
fatalError("Wrong parameters: \(error)")
}
components.queryItems = commonQueryItems + customQueryItems
// Construct the final URL with all the previous data
return components.url!
}
}
// ****** API Request Encodable Protocol *****
public protocol APIRequest: Encodable {
/// Response (will be wrapped with a DataContainer)
associatedtype Response: Decodable
/// Endpoint for this request (the last part of the URL)
var resourceName: String { get }
}
// ****** This Results type Data Container Struct ******
public struct DataContainer<Results: Decodable>: Decodable {
public let offset: Int
public let limit: Int
public let total: Int
public let count: Int
public let results: Results
}
// ***** API Errro Enum ****
public enum APIError: Error {
case encoding
case decoding
case server(message: String)
}
// ****** API Response Struct ******
public struct APIResponse<Response: Decodable>: Decodable {
/// Whether it was ok or not
public let status: String?
/// Message that usually gives more information about some error
public let message: String?
/// Requested data
public let data: DataContainer<Response>?
}
// ***** URL Query Encoder OR JSON Encoder *****
enum URLQueryItemEncoder {
static func encode<T: Encodable>(_ encodable: T) throws -> [URLQueryItem] {
let parametersData = try JSONEncoder().encode(encodable)
let parameters = try JSONDecoder().decode([String: HTTPParam].self, from: parametersData)
return parameters.map { URLQueryItem(name: $0, value: $1.description) }
}
}
// ****** HTTP Pamater Conversion Enum *****
enum HTTPParam: CustomStringConvertible, Decodable {
case string(String)
case bool(Bool)
case int(Int)
case double(Double)
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
if let string = try? container.decode(String.self) {
self = .string(string)
} else if let bool = try? container.decode(Bool.self) {
self = .bool(bool)
} else if let int = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
self = .int(int)
} else if let double = try? container.decode(Double.self) {
self = .double(double)
} else {
throw APIError.decoding
}
}
var description: String {
switch self {
case .string(let string):
return string
case .bool(let bool):
return String(describing: bool)
case .int(let int):
return String(describing: int)
case .double(let double):
return String(describing: double)
}
}
}
/// **** This is your API Request Endpoint Method in Struct *****
public struct GetCharacters: APIRequest {
public typealias Response = [MyCharacter]
public var resourceName: String {
return "characters"
}
// Parameters
public let name: String?
public let nameStartsWith: String?
public let limit: Int?
public let offset: Int?
// Note that nil parameters will not be used
public init(name: String? = nil,
nameStartsWith: String? = nil,
limit: Int? = nil,
offset: Int? = nil) {
self.name = name
self.nameStartsWith = nameStartsWith
self.limit = limit
self.offset = offset
}
}
// *** This is Model for Above Api endpoint method ****
public struct MyCharacter: Decodable {
public let id: Int
public let name: String?
public let description: String?
}
// ***** These below line you used to call any api call in your controller or view model ****
func viewDidLoad() {
let apiClient = APIClient()
// A simple request with no parameters
apiClient.send(GetCharacters()) { response in
response.map { dataContainer in
print(dataContainer.results)
}
}
}
This is a small use case that might be helpful:-
func testUrlSession(urlStr:String, completionHandler: #escaping ((String) -> Void)) {
let url = URL(string: urlStr)!
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url){(data, response, error) in
guard let data = data else { return }
if let strContent = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
completionHandler(strContent)
}
}
task.resume()
}
While calling the function:-
testUrlSession(urlStr: "YOUR-URL") { (value) in
print("Your string value ::- \(value)")
}
I have this Networking class that i declared in the Model .
class Networking {
func response (url : String ) {
guard let url = URL(string: url) else {return}
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url, completionHandler: urlPathCompletionHandler(data:response:error:)).resume()
}
func urlPathCompletionHandler (data : Data? , response: URLResponse? , error: Error? ) {
guard let data = data else {return }
do {
let jsondecoder = JSONDecoder()
}catch {
print("Error \(error)")
}
}
}
In the controller . I have an array of users i declared and i want the controller to call from the Model Networking class instead of doing the networking inside the controller. This is part of my controller:
var users = [Users]()
var networking : Networking()
#IBOutlet weak var tableview : UITableView!
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
tableview.delegate = self
tableview.dataSource = self
}
func getFromModel() {
var vm = networking.response()
}
I want a way of calling the networking class and return an array of users that i can set to the users array above and use it to populate the table view . If i wanted to do that inside the controller it would easy but i am not sure how i can return an array of users from the Model Networking class .
You need to modify your Network class like this:
class Networking {
func response<T: Codable>(url: String, completion: ((T) -> Void)?) {
guard let url = URL(string: url) else {return}
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) in
self.urlPathCompletionHandler(data: data, response: response, error: error, completion: completion)
}).resume()
}
func urlPathCompletionHandler<T: Codable>(data : Data? , response: URLResponse? , error: Error?, completion: ((T) -> Void)?) {
guard let data = data else { return }
do {
let jsondecoder = JSONDecoder()
// Pseudo Code to decode users
completion?(decodedObject)
} catch {
print("Error \(error)")
}
}
}
And call it like this:
func getFromModel() {
networking.response(url: <#T##String#>) { (users: [User]) in
self.users = users
}
}
OK, there are a few thoughts:
Your response method is performing an asynchronous network request, so you need to give it a completion handler parameter. So, I might suggest something like:
class Networking {
enum NetworkingError: Error {
case invalidURL
case failed(Data?, URLResponse?)
}
private let parsingQueue = DispatchQueue(label: Bundle.main.bundleIdentifier! + ".parsing")
// response method to handle network stuff
func responseData(_ string: String, completion: #escaping (Result<Data, Error>) -> Void) {
guard let url = URL(string: string) else {
completion(.failure(NetworkingError.invalidURL))
return
}
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { data, response, error in
DispatchQueue.main.async {
if let error = error {
completion(.failure(error))
return
}
guard
let responseData = data,
let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse,
200 ..< 300 ~= httpResponse.statusCode
else {
completion(.failure(NetworkingError.failed(data, response)))
return
}
completion(.success(responseData))
}
}.resume()
}
// response method to handle the JSON parsing
func response<T: Decodable>(of type: T.Type, from string: String, completion: #escaping (Result<T, Error>) -> Void) {
responseData(string) { result in
switch result {
case .failure(let error):
completion(.failure(error))
case .success(let data):
self.parsingQueue.async {
do {
let responseObject = try JSONDecoder().decode(T.self, from: data)
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(.success(responseObject))
}
} catch let parseError {
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(.failure(parseError))
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
This obviously assumes that you have some Codable types. For example, it’s common for an API to have some common structure in its responses:
struct ResponseObject<T: Decodable>: Decodable {
let code: Int
let message: String?
let data: T?
}
And maybe the User is like so:
struct User: Decodable {
let id: String
let name: String
}
Then getFromModel (perhaps better called getFromRepository or something like that) could parse it with:
networking.response(of: ResponseObject<[User]>.self, from: urlString) { result in
switch result {
case .failure(let error):
print(error)
case .success(let responseObject):
let users = responseObject.data
// do something with users
}
}
For what it’s worth, if you didn’t want to write your own networking code, you could use Alamofire, and then getFromModel would do:
AF.request(urlString).responseDecodable(of: ResponseObject<[User]>.self) { response in
switch response.result {
case .failure(let error):
print(error)
case .success(let responseObject):
let users = responseObject.data
}
}
Now, clearly the model types are likely to be different in your example, but you didn’t share what your JSON looked like, so I had to guess, but hopefully the above illustrates the general idea. Make a generic-based network API and give it a completion handler for its asynchronous responses.
I am trying to make generic post method for API call.In my loadNew method I want to add normal dictionary inside resource object.Resource contains normal data which will pass from controller class.And dictionary is passed as body of request. but while encoding "Generic parameter 'T' could not be inferred" showing. How do I use dictionary in it?
struct Resource<T> {
let url: URL
let request: URLRequest
let dictionary : [String:Any]
let parse: (Data) -> T?
}
final class Webservice {
// MARK:- Generic
func load<T>(resource: Resource<T>, completion: #escaping (T?) -> ()) {
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: resource.url) { data, response, error in
if let data = data {
//completion call should happen in main thread
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(resource.parse(data))
}
} else {
completion(nil)
}
}.resume()
}
func loadNew<T>(resource: Resource<T>, completion: #escaping (T?) -> ()) {
var request = resource.request
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
do {
//FIXIT: error is getting here
let jsonBody = try JSONEncoder().encode(resource.dictionary)
request.httpBody = jsonBody
}catch{}
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: request) { data, response, error in
if let data = data {
//completion call should happen in main thread
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(resource.parse(data))
}
} else {
completion(nil)
}
}.resume()
}
}
This method is called inside my Login controller.I have also tried assign it directly to request object but same error is showing
func APICall(){
guard let url = URL(string: Constants.HostName.local + Constants.API.User_Login) else {
return
}
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.httpMethod = "POST"
let resources = Resource<LoginReponse>(url: url, request: request, dictionary: dict){
data in
let loginModel = try? JSONDecoder().decode(LoginReponse.self, from: data)
return loginModel
}
// var response = LoginReponse()
Webservice().loadNew(resource: resources) {
result in
if let model = result {
print(model)
}
}
}
The error is a bit misleading, and may indicate you're using an older version of Xcode. In 11.4.1, the error is much more explicit:
error: value of protocol type 'Any' cannot conform to 'Encodable'; only struct/enum/class types can conform to protocols
The problem is that [String: Any] is not Encodable, because there's no way to encode "Any" (what should happen if you passed a UIViewController here? Or a CBPeripheral?)
Instead of a dictionary here, looking at your code I would expect you to pass an encodable object here. For example:
struct Resource<Value: Decodable, Parameters: Encodable> {
let url: URL
let request: URLRequest
let parameters : Parameters?
let parse: (Data) -> Value?
}
final class Webservice {
func loadNew<Value, Parameters>(resource: Resource<Value, Parameters>, completion: #escaping (Value?) -> ()) {
var request = resource.request
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
if let parameters = resource.parameters {
request.httpBody = try? JSONEncoder().encode(parameters)
}
// ...
}
That said, I'd probably turn this system around a bit. If you want to have a Request<T> (parameterized on the thing it returns, and not on the parameters it takes to generate it), that's fine. You can pack a bit more into the struct. For example:
let baseURL = URL(string: "https://example.com/api/")!
struct Resource<Value> {
let urlRequest: URLRequest
let parse: (Data) -> Result<Value, Error>
// Things you want as default for every request
static func makeStandardURLRequest(url: URL) -> URLRequest {
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
request.httpMethod = "POST"
return request
}
}
// It would be nice to have a default parser when you can, but you don't have to put that
// into Webservice. The Resource can handle it.
extension Resource where Value: Decodable {
init(urlRequest: URLRequest) {
self.init(urlRequest: urlRequest, parse: { data in
Result { try JSONDecoder().decode(Value.self, from: data) }
})
}
}
And then Resources are smart about themselves:
struct LoginParameters: Encodable {
let username: String
let password: String
}
struct LoginResult: Decodable {
let authToken: String
}
extension Resource where Value == LoginResult {
static func login(parameters: LoginParameters) -> Resource {
var urlRequest = makeStandardURLRequest(url: baseURL.appendingPathComponent("login"))
urlRequest.httpBody = try? JSONEncoder().encode(parameters)
return Resource(urlRequest: urlRequest)
}
}
Of course that may get repeated a lot, so you can hoist it out:
extension Resource where Value: Decodable {
static func makeStandardURLRequest<Parameters>(endpoint: String, parameters: Parameters) -> URLRequest
where Parameters: Encodable {
var urlRequest = makeStandardURLRequest(url: baseURL.appendingPathComponent(endpoint))
urlRequest.httpBody = try? JSONEncoder().encode(parameters)
return Resource(urlRequest: urlRequest)
}
}
And then Login looks like:
extension Resource where Value == LoginResult {
static func login(parameters: LoginParameters) -> Resource {
return makeStandardURLRequest(endpoint: "login", parameters: parameters)
}
}
The point is that you can pull duplicated code into extensions; you don't need to stick it in the Webservice, or add more generic.
With that, your load gets a bit simpler and much more flexible. It focuses just on the networking part. That means that it's easier to swap out with something else (like something for unit tests) without having to mock out a bunch of functionality.
func load<Value>(request: Resource<Value>, completion: #escaping (Result<Value, Error>) -> ()) {
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: request.urlRequest) { data, response, error in
DispatchQueue.main.async {
if let data = data {
//completion call should happen in main thread
completion(request.parse(data))
} else if let error = error {
completion(.failure(error))
} else {
fatalError("This really should be impossible, but you can construct an 'unexpected error' here.")
}
}
}.resume()
}
There's a lots of ways to do this; for another, see this AltConf talk.
Hi I'm new to Swift and I am trying to create a reusable generic Download Manager for URL Request that can be reused throughout my project in different View Controllers or reused within the same VC for a different URL Request calls. The problem that I have is how do I pass the Data Type from the Request into the Download Manager and then return the Downloaded Data back to the VC with the corresponding Data Type. I am able to pass the Data Type in a call to downloadRequest but I can't figure out how to pass the Data Type back to the VC via a delegate DownloadManagerDelegate. Any help would be greatly appreciate it!
Generic Download Manager:
protocol DownloadManagerDelegate {
func didUpdateData<T: Codable>(modelType: T.Type, downloadedData: T.Type)
}
struct DownloadManager {
var delegate: DownloadManagerDelegate?
func downloadRequest<T: Codable>(modelType: T.Type, parameters: [String: Any]) {
guard let url = URL(string: "https://www.someAPI...") else {return}
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.httpMethod = "POST"
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
guard let httpBodyWithParameters = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: parameters, options: []) else
{
print("error")
return
}
request.httpBody = httpBodyWithParameters
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: request) { (data, response, error) in
if error != nil {
print("error")
return
}
if let safeData = data {
if let downloadedData = parseDownloadedData(data: safeData) {
self.delegate?.didUpdateData(modelType: modelType, downloadedData: downloadedData)
}
}
}.resume()
func parseDownloadedData(data: Data) -> T?{
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
do {
let decodedData = try decoder.decode(T.self, from: data)
return decodedData
} catch {
print(error)
return nil
}
}
}
Delegate in my VC:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
downloadManager.delegate = self
}
func didUpdateData(modelType: modelType,downloadedData:downloadedData){
DispatchQueue.main.async {
print(downloadedData)
}
}
To call download downloadRequest:
downloadManager.downloadrequest(modeType: Type1.self, parameters: parameters)
The Data Model is defined as a struct:
struct DataModel1: Codable {
let ItemID: String
}
Then in the same VC I call the same function downloadManager that will call a different API which should return data for a different Model Type (defined as Struct)
downloadManager.downloadRequest(modeType: Type2.self, parameters: parameters)
The Data Model is defined as a struct:
struct DataModel2: Codable {
let EmployeeeID: String
}
In the Swift times Protocol/Delegate smells a bit objective-c-ish.
I recommend a completion handler with the versatile Result type.
It returns the generic type non-optional on success and any error on failure.
The force unwrapping of data is safe because if error is nil then data has a value
struct DownloadManager {
func downloadRequest<T: Decodable>(modelType: T.Type, parameters: [String: Any], completion : #escaping (Result<T, Error>) -> Void) {
guard let url = URL(string: "https://www.someAPI...") else {return}
var request = URLRequest(url: url)
request.httpMethod = "POST"
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
do {
let httpBodyWithParameters = try JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: parameters)
request.httpBody = httpBodyWithParameters
let session = URLSession.shared
session.dataTask(with: request) { (data, response, error) in
if let error = error {
completion(.failure(error))
} else {
completion( Result { try JSONDecoder().decode(T.self, from: data!)})
}
}.resume()
} catch {
completion(.failure(error))
}
}
}
And use it
downloadManager.downloadrequest(modeType: Type1.self, parameters: parameters) { result in
switch result {
case .success(let data): print(data)
case .failure(let error): print(error)
}
}
I have two services that are working perfectly independently one is a synchronous call to get shopping-lists and another is an asynchronous call to add shopping-lists. The problem comes when i try to get a shopping-lists just after the add-Shopping-lists call has successfully completed.
The function to get shopping-lists never returns it just hangs after i call it in the closure of the add-Shopping-lists function. What is the best way to make these two calls without promises.
Create ShoppingList
func createURLRequest(with endpoint: String, data: ShoppingList? = nil, httpMethod method: String) -> URLRequest {
guard let accessToken = UserSessionInfo.accessToken else {
fatalError("Nil access token")
}
let urlString = endpoint.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlQueryAllowed)
guard let requestUrl = URLComponents(string: urlString!)?.url else {
fatalError("Nil url")
}
var request = URLRequest(url:requestUrl)
request.httpMethod = method
request.httpBody = try! data?.jsonString()?.data(using: .utf8)
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept")
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
request.setValue("Bearer \(accessToken)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization")
return request
}
func createShoppingList(with shoppingList: ShoppingList, completion: #escaping (Bool, Error?) -> Void) {
let serviceURL = environment + Endpoint.createList.rawValue
let request = createURLRequest(with: serviceURL, data: shoppingList, httpMethod: HttpBody.post.rawValue)
let session = URLSession.shared
let task = session.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: { data, response, error -> Void in
guard let _ = data,
let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse,
(200 ..< 300) ~= response.statusCode,
error == nil else {
completion(false, error)
return
}
completion(true, nil)
})
task.resume()
}
Get shoppingLists
func fetchShoppingLists(with customerId: String) throws -> [ShoppingList]? {
var serviceResponse: [ShoppingList]?
var serviceError: Error?
let serviceURL = environment + Endpoint.getLists.rawValue + customerId
let request = createURLRequest(with: serviceURL, httpMethod: HttpBody.get.rawValue)
let semaphore = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
let session = URLSession.shared
let task = session.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: { data, response, error -> Void in
defer { semaphore.signal() }
guard let data = data, // is there data
let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse, // is there HTTP response
(200 ..< 300) ~= response.statusCode, // is statusCode 2XX
error == nil else { // was there no error, otherwise ...
serviceError = error
return
}
do {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = .convertFromSnakeCase
let shoppingList = try decoder.decode([ShoppingList].self, from: data)
serviceResponse = shoppingList
} catch let error {
serviceError = error
}
})
task.resume()
semaphore.wait()
if let error = serviceError {
throw error
}
return serviceResponse
}
Usage of function
func addShoppingList(customerId: String, shoppingList: ShoppingList, completion: #escaping (Bool, Error?) -> Void) {
shoppingListService.createShoppingList(with: shoppingList, completion: { (success, error) in
if success {
self.shoppingListCache.clearCache()
let serviceResponse = try? self.fetchShoppingLists(with: customerId)
if let _ = serviceResponse {
completion(true, nil)
} else {
let fetchListError = NSError().error(description: "Unable to fetch shoppingLists")
completion(false, fetchListError)
}
} else {
completion(false, error)
}
})
}
I would like to call the fetchShoppingLists which is a synchronous call and get new data then call the completion block with success.
This question is predicated on a flawed assumption, that you need this synchronous request.
You suggested that you needed this for testing. This is not true: One uses “expectations” to test asynchronous processes; we don’t suboptimize code for testing purposes.
You also suggested that you want to “stop all processes” until the request is done. Again, this is not true and offers horrible UX and subjects your app to possibly be killed by watchdog process if you do this at the wrong time while on slow network. If, in fact, the UI needs to be blocked while the request is in progress, we usually just throw up a UIActivityIndicatorView (a.k.a. a “spinner”), perhaps on top of a dimming/blurring view over the whole UI to prevent users from interacting with the visible controls, if any.
But, bottom line, I know that synchronous requests feel so intuitive and logical, but it’s invariably the wrong approach.
Anyway, I’d make fetchShoppingLists asynchronous:
func fetchShoppingLists(with customerId: String, completion: #escaping (Result<[ShoppingList], Error>) -> Void) {
var serviceResponse: [ShoppingList]?
let serviceURL = environment + Endpoint.getLists.rawValue + customerId
let request = createURLRequest(with: serviceURL, httpMethod: .get)
let session = URLSession.shared
let task = session.dataTask(with: request) { data, response, error in
guard let data = data, // is there data
let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse, // is there HTTP response
200 ..< 300 ~= response.statusCode, // is statusCode 2XX
error == nil else { // was there no error, otherwise ...
completion(.failure(error ?? ShoppingError.unknownError))
return
}
do {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = .convertFromSnakeCase
let shoppingList = try decoder.decode([ShoppingList].self, from: data)
completion(.success(shoppingList))
} catch let jsonError {
completion(.failure(jsonError))
}
}
task.resume()
}
And then you just adopt this asynchronous pattern. Note, while I’d use the Result pattern for my completion handler, I left yours as it was to minimize integration issues:
func addShoppingList(customerId: String, shoppingList: ShoppingList, completion: #escaping (Bool, Error?) -> Void) {
shoppingListService.createShoppingList(with: shoppingList) { success, error in
if success {
self.shoppingListCache.clearCache()
self.fetchShoppingLists(with: customerId) { result in
switch result {
case .failure(let error):
completion(false, error)
case .success:
completion(true, nil)
}
}
} else {
completion(false, error)
}
}
}
Now, for example, you suggested you wanted to make fetchShoppingLists synchronous to facilitate testing. You can easily test asynchronous methods with “expectations”:
class MyAppTests: XCTestCase {
func testFetch() {
let exp = expectation(description: "Fetching ShoppingLists")
let customerId = ...
fetchShoppingLists(with: customerId) { result in
if case .failure(_) = result {
XCTFail("Fetch failed")
}
exp.fulfill()
}
waitForExpectations(timeout: 10)
}
}
FWIW, it’s debatable that you should be unit testing the server request/response at all. Often instead mock the network service, or use URLProtocol to mock it behind the scenes.
For more information about asynchronous tests, see Asynchronous Tests and Expectations.
FYI, the above uses a refactored createURLRequest, that uses the enumeration for that last parameter, not a String. The whole idea of enumerations is to make it impossible to pass invalid parameters, so let’s do the rawValue conversion here, rather than in the calling point:
enum HttpMethod: String {
case post = "POST"
case get = "GET"
}
func createURLRequest(with endpoint: String, data: ShoppingList? = nil, httpMethod method: HttpMethod) -> URLRequest {
guard let accessToken = UserSessionInfo.accessToken else {
fatalError("Nil access token")
}
guard
let urlString = endpoint.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlQueryAllowed),
let requestUrl = URLComponents(string: urlString)?.url
else {
fatalError("Nil url")
}
var request = URLRequest(url: requestUrl)
request.httpMethod = method.rawValue
request.httpBody = try! data?.jsonString()?.data(using: .utf8)
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept")
request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
request.setValue("Bearer \(accessToken)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization")
return request
}
I am sure it could be alot better, but this is my 5 minute version.
import Foundation
import UIKit
struct Todo: Codable {
let userId: Int
let id: Int
let title: String
let completed: Bool
}
enum TodoError: String, Error {
case networkError
case invalidUrl
case noData
case other
case serializationError
}
class TodoRequest {
let todoUrl = URL(string: "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos")
var todos: [Todo] = []
var responseError: TodoError?
func loadTodos() {
var responseData: Data?
guard let url = todoUrl else { return }
let group = DispatchGroup()
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { [weak self](data, response, error) in
responseData = data
self?.responseError = error != nil ? .noData : nil
group.leave()
}
group.enter()
task.resume()
group.wait()
guard responseError == nil else { return }
guard let data = responseData else { return }
do {
todos = try JSONDecoder().decode([Todo].self, from: data)
} catch {
responseError = .serializationError
}
}
func retrieveTodo(with id: Int, completion: #escaping (_ todo: Todo? , _ error: TodoError?) -> Void) {
guard var url = todoUrl else { return }
url.appendPathComponent("\(id)")
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, error) in
guard let todoData = data else { return completion(nil, .noData) }
do {
let todo = try JSONDecoder().decode(Todo.self, from: todoData)
completion(todo, nil)
} catch {
completion(nil, .serializationError)
}
}
task.resume()
}
}
class TodoViewController: UIViewController {
let request = TodoRequest()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
DispatchQueue.global(qos: .background).async { [weak self] in
self?.request.loadTodos()
self?.request.retrieveTodo(with: 1, completion: { [weak self](todoData, error) in
guard let strongSelf = self else { return }
if let todoError = error {
return debugPrint(todoError.localizedDescription)
}
guard let todo = todoData else {
return debugPrint("No todo")
}
debugPrint(strongSelf.request.todos)
debugPrint(todo)
})
}
}
}