Two classes to use the same function to create custom view - Swift - swift

Question

I am kind of new to Swift and I can't figure this out. I have two classes where I need to use the same function to set up a custom UIStackVIew (Rating Control that shows rating stars). Each class has a variable called value that needs to be passed inside the function. I don't want to be duplicating the same code of the setUpStackView function inside each class. I have the following code:
class Class1: UIStackView {
var variable1 = "value1"
override init(frame: CGRect){
super.init(frame: frame)
}
required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder){
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
}
setUpStackView(value: variable1)
}
class Class2: UIStackView {
var variable2 = "value2"
override init(frame: CGRect){
super.init(frame: frame)
}
required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder){
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
}
setUpStackView(value: variable2)
}
extension Class1 {
func setUpStackView(value: String){
//code to set UIStackView rating control and to use the variable value
}
}
How can I implement the extension for the Class2? I am stuck with this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

One solution can be moved common code to protocol where you can abstract out:
protocol BaseStackView {
var variable :String { get set }
}
class Class1: UIStackView,BaseStackView {
var variable = "value1"
override init(frame: CGRect){
super.init(frame: frame)
self.setUpStackView(value: variable)
}
required init(coder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: coder)
self.setUpStackView(value: variable)
}
}
class Class2: UIStackView,BaseStackView {
var variable = "value2"
override init(frame: CGRect){
super.init(frame: frame)
self.setUpStackView(value: variable)
}
required init(coder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: coder)
self.setUpStackView(value: variable)
}
}
extension UIStackView {
func setUpStackView(value: String) {
//Your setup here
}
}

Answer 2

You have many options.
You can make Class2 inherit from Class1:
class Class2: Class1 {
var value = "value2" //You have access to Class1's value, so you can change it here
setUpStackView(value: value) //But there's a problem here
}
But you can't just call a function when you're in the middle of a class declaration.
But you can do this in the initializer:
class Class2: Class1 {
override init(frame: CGRect) {
super.init(frame: frame)
value = "value2"
setUpStackView(value: value)
}
required init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder){
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
value = "value2"
setUpStackView(value: value)
}
}
The above is kind of jank because you're referencing class properties within its own initializer.
Here's another solution:
You can make your setup function a function extension of UIStackView:
extension UIStackView {
func setUpStackView(value: String) {
//Your setup here
self.someProperty = value //self is referring to the stackview itself
}
}
Another option is to create a static function.
extension Class1 {
static func setUpStackView(stackVw: UIStackView, value: String) {
stackVw.someProperty = value
//Doing it like this still makes this function "belong" to Class1
//It also makes it so anyone can set up their stack view like
//this because they have to pass their stack view in here
}
}
Usage would be like this regardless of what class you're in and what inheritance hierarchy you have:
override init(frame: CGRect) {
super.init(frame: frame)
Class1.setUpStackVw(stackVw: self, value: self.variable)
}
required init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
Class1.setUpStackVw(stackVw: self, value: self.variable)
}
Yet another option is to create a protocol from which both Class1 and Class2 conform to.
protocol StackVwWithSpecialSetUp where Self: UIStackView {
var value: String {get}
}
extension StackVwWithSpecialSetUp {
func setUpStackView()
{
self.someProperty = self.value
}
}
And then you'd have your class conform to it
class Class1Or2: UIStackView, StackVwWithSpecialSetUp {
var value: String = "blah" //Compiler will force you to implement this
override init(frame: CGRect) {
super.init(frame: frame)
//Now you can use this
setUpStackVw()
}
required init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
//You can use this here too
setUpStackVw()
}
}
Perhaps the way I'd do it is to just eliminate the need for the value property altogether:
class Class1: UIStackView {
override init(frame: CGRect) {
super.init(frame: frame)
setUpStackVw()
}
required init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
setUpStackVw()
}
func setUpStackVw()
{
self.accessibilityHint = "value1"
}
}
//////////
class Class2: Class1 {
override func setUpStackVw()
{
self.someProperty = "value2"
}
}