I have two views each with their own class. The first view has an #StateObject of class "DataClass" that initializes a simple struct DataStruct:
struct View1 : View {
#StateObject var dataToPass = DataClass()
var body: some View {
NavigationView{
ZStack{
NavigationLink(destination: View2(data: dataToPass)){
Text("Navigation Link to View2")
}
}
}
}
}
struct dataStruct {
var variable1 : String
var variable2 : String
}
class DataClass : ObservableObject {
var data : dataStruct
init(){
data = dataStruct(variable1: "1", variable2: "2")
}
}
I'm trying to keep this same instance of the DataClass/dataStruct and pass it on to View2 and its View2Class:
struct View2: View {
#ObservedObject var data : DataClass
#StateObject var game = View2Class(data: data)
var body: some View {
Text("Hello")
}
}
class View2Class : ObservableObject {
#ObservedObject var data : DataClass
init(data : DataClass){
self.data = data
}
}
I want it so that there is only ever one instance/initialization of dataStruct and thus dataClass and View2Class has access to it. View2Class must remain a StateObject. As of right now I am getting an error on the declaration of View2's StateObject: "Cannot use instance member 'data' within property initializer; property initializers run before 'self' is available."
I'm sure it is an easy conceptual fix that I am not understanding right now. Thank you!
To fix the error ("Cannot use instance member 'data'...") try something like this:
struct View1 : View {
#StateObject var dataToPass = DataClass()
var body: some View {
NavigationView{
ZStack{
NavigationLink(destination: View2(data: dataToPass, game: View2Class(data: dataToPass))){
Text("Navigation Link to View2")
}
}
}
}
}
// ...
struct View2: View {
#ObservedObject var data: DataClass
#StateObject var game: View2Class
var body: some View {
Text("Hello")
}
}
You cannot use data to declare game, because data is not "available" before View2 is setup. That is the reason you get the error.
Try this approach, using #Published in the ObservableObject classes,
and passing DataStruct from DataClass to your View2Class with a function in
.onAppear {...}:
struct DataStruct {
var variable1: String
var variable2: String
}
class DataClass: ObservableObject {
#Published var data = DataStruct(variable1: "1", variable2: "2")
}
struct View2: View {
#ObservedObject var dataClass: DataClass
#StateObject var game = View2Class()
var body: some View {
Text("Hello")
.onAppear {
game.setData(dataClass.data)
}
}
}
class View2Class: ObservableObject {
#Published var data: DataStruct?
func setData(_ data: DataStruct){
self.data = data
}
}
#StateObject is used to declare a source of truth with a lifetime automatically tied to a view that requires reference type semantics (i.e. needs to perform tasks other than simply holding data where #State would be more suitable). It doesn't make sense to pass data into one because it is no longer a source of truth because it now has a dependency on another object - the problem is the object doesn't know when the data being passed in has changed (Which SwiftUI supports natively with its View struct and body method). I would suggest redesigning your data flow to be more SwiftUI compatible, there are some great WWDC data flow talks like this one.
I would like to use a picker to select a value and store that value in a variable contained in another class. How can I do that? Here is my code:
my contentview
struct ContentView: View {
#State public var selectedOperator = ""
#ObservedObject var bitwiseCalculator = BitwiseCalculator()
let operators = ["AND", "OR", "XOR"]
var body: some View {
VStack {
Picker("Operator", selection: $selectedOperator) {
ForEach(operators, id: \.self) { op in
Text(op)
}
}
}
}
}
and the variable in the class where I want to save it
class BitwiseCalculator: ObservableObject {
#Published var bitwiseOperator = ""
}
Use
$bitwiseCalculator.bitwiseOperator
& switch your
#ObservedObject to #StateObject
I am reading a FileDocument using SwiftUI. This document is available though a binding to the top-most view:
struct ContentView: View {
#Binding var document: SomeDocument
var body: some View {
Text(self.document.someString)
NestedChildViews().environmentObject(self.document)
}
}
Is there are a way to turn this #Binding of the document into an #EnvironmentObject to make it available to all nested views? Simply replacing #Binding with #EnvironmentObject will not work, since FileDocument is a struct.
Property type 'SomeDocument' does not match that of the 'wrappedValue' property of its wrapper type 'EnvironmentObject'
Creating an in-between ObservableObject that is created as a #StateObject inside ContentView won't work, since it has to be initiated before the Binding to document is available:
struct ContentView: View {
#Binding var document: SomeDocument
#StateObject var sharedState = SomeSharedState(document: self.document) // won't work
}
What would be the best way to handle this in-between a document and a series of nested views without passing bindings between all levels of them?
You should initialize your #StateObject from within the view's init, since you are passing in the document into the init:
struct ContentView: View {
#Binding var document: SomeDocument
#StateObject var sharedState: SomeSharedState
init(document: Binding<SomeDocument>) {
_document = document
_sharedState = StateObject(wrappedValue: SomeSharedState(document: document.projectedValue))
}
var body: some View {
Text(document.someString)
.environmentObject(sharedState)
/* TEST TO SHOW IT WORKS
.onAppear {
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3) {
document = SomeDocument(someString: "New!")
}
}
*/
}
}
class SomeSharedState: ObservableObject {
#Published var document: Binding<SomeDocument>
init(document: Binding<SomeDocument>) {
_document = Published(initialValue: document)
}
}
The following code produces the runtime error: #EnvironmentObject error: may be missing as an ancestor of this view. The tState in the environment is an #ObservedObject.
struct TEditorView: View {
#EnvironmentObject private var tState: TState
#State var name = ""
init() {
self._name = State(initialValue: tState.name)
}
var body: some View {
...
}
}
XCode 12.0.1
iOS 14
The answer is that an Environment Object apparently cannot be accessed in an init() function. However, an ObservedObject can be. So I changed the code to this and it works. To make it easy I turned TState into a singleton that I could access anywhere. This could probably replace the use of #EnvironmentObject in many situations.
struct TEditorView: View {
#ObservedObject private var tState = TState.shared
//#EnvironmentObject private var tState: TState
#State var name = ""
init() {
self._name = State(initialValue: tState.name)
}
var body: some View {
...
}
}
A different approach here could be to inject the initial TState value in the constructor and do-away with the #EnvironmentObject completely. Then from the parent view you can use the #EnvironmentObject value when creating the view.
struct TEditorView: View {
#State var name = ""
init(tState: TState) {
self._name = State(initialValue: tState.name)
}
var body: some View {
...
}
}
struct ContentView: View {
#EnvironmentObject private var tState: TState
var body: some View {
TEditorView(state: tState)
}
}
Or use a #Binding instead of #State if the name value is meant to be two-way.
In general I'd also question why you need the #EnvironmentObject in the constructor. The idea is with a #EnvironmentObject is that it's represented the same in all views, so you should only need it body.
If you need any data transformations it should be done in the object model itself, not the view.
The #State should be set as private and per the documentation should only be accessed in the View body.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui/state
An #EnvironmentObject should be set using the ContentView().environmentObject(YourObservableObject)
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/combine/observableobject
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui/stateobject
Below is some Sample code
import SwiftUI
class SampleOO: ObservableObject {
#Published var name: String = "init name"
}
//ParentView
struct OOSample: View {
//The first version of an #EnvironmentObject is an #ObservedObject or #StateObject
//https://developer.apple.com/tutorials/swiftui/handling-user-input
#ObservedObject var sampleOO: SampleOO = SampleOO()
var body: some View {
VStack{
Button("change-name", action: {
self.sampleOO.name = "OOSample"
})
Text("OOSample = " + sampleOO.name)
//Doing this should fix your error code with no other workarounds
ChildEO().environmentObject(sampleOO)
SimpleChild(name: sampleOO.name)
}
}
}
//Can Display and Change name
struct ChildEO: View {
#EnvironmentObject var sampleOO: SampleOO
var body: some View {
VStack{
//Can change name
Button("ChildEO change-name", action: {
self.sampleOO.name = "ChildEO"
})
Text("ChildEO = " + sampleOO.name)
}
}
}
//Can only display name
struct SimpleChild: View {
var name: String
var body: some View {
VStack{
//Cannot change name
Button("SimpleChild - change-name", action: {
print("Can't change name")
//self.name = "SimpleChild"
})
Text("SimpleChild = " + name)
}
}
}
struct OOSample_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
OOSample()
}
}
Problem
In Order to achieve a clean look and feel of the App's code, I create ViewModels for every View that contains logic.
A normal ViewModel looks a bit like this:
class SomeViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var state = 1
// Logic and calls of Business Logic goes here
}
and is used like so:
struct SomeView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel = SomeViewModel()
var body: some View {
// Code to read and write the State goes here
}
}
This workes fine when the Views Parent is not being updated. If the parent's state changes, this View gets redrawn (pretty normal in a declarative Framework). But also the ViewModel gets recreated and does not hold the State afterward. This is unusual when you compare to other Frameworks (eg: Flutter).
In my opinion, the ViewModel should stay, or the State should persist.
If I replace the ViewModel with a #State Property and use the int (in this example) directly it stays persisted and does not get recreated:
struct SomeView: View {
#State var state = 1
var body: some View {
// Code to read and write the State goes here
}
}
This does obviously not work for more complex States. And if I set a class for #State (like the ViewModel) more and more Things are not working as expected.
Question
Is there a way of not recreating the ViewModel every time?
Is there a way of replicating the #State Propertywrapper for #ObservedObject?
Why is #State keeping the State over the redraw?
I know that usually, it is bad practice to create a ViewModel in an inner View but this behavior can be replicated by using a NavigationLink or Sheet.
Sometimes it is then just not useful to keep the State in the ParentsViewModel and work with bindings when you think of a very complex TableView, where the Cells themself contain a lot of logic.
There is always a workaround for individual cases, but I think it would be way easier if the ViewModel would not be recreated.
Duplicate Question
I know there are a lot of questions out there talking about this issue, all talking about very specific use-cases. Here I want to talk about the general problem, without going too deep into custom solutions.
Edit (adding more detailed Example)
When having a State-changing ParentView, like a list coming from a Database, API, or cache (think about something simple). Via a NavigationLink you might reach a Detail-Page where you can modify the Data. By changing the data the reactive/declarative Pattern would tell us to also update the ListView, which would then "redraw" the NavigationLink, which would then lead to a recreation of the ViewModel.
I know I could store the ViewModel in the ParentView / ParentView's ViewModel, but this is the wrong way of doing it IMO. And since subscriptions are destroyed and/or recreated - there might be some side effects.
Finally, there is a Solution provided by Apple: #StateObject.
By replacing #ObservedObject with #StateObject everything mentioned in my initial post is working.
Unfortunately, this is only available in ios 14+.
This is my Code from Xcode 12 Beta (Published June 23, 2020)
struct ContentView: View {
#State var title = 0
var body: some View {
NavigationView {
VStack {
Button("Test") {
self.title = Int.random(in: 0...1000)
}
TestView1()
TestView2()
}
.navigationTitle("\(self.title)")
}
}
}
struct TestView1: View {
#ObservedObject var model = ViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Button("Test1: \(self.model.title)") {
self.model.title += 1
}
}
}
}
class ViewModel: ObservableObject {
#Published var title = 0
}
struct TestView2: View {
#StateObject var model = ViewModel()
var body: some View {
VStack {
Button("StateObject: \(self.model.title)") {
self.model.title += 1
}
}
}
}
As you can see, the StateObject Keeps it value upon the redraw of the Parent View, while the ObservedObject is being reset.
I agree with you, I think this is one of many major problems with SwiftUI. Here's what I find myself doing, as gross as it is.
struct MyView: View {
#State var viewModel = MyViewModel()
var body : some View {
MyViewImpl(viewModel: viewModel)
}
}
fileprivate MyViewImpl : View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel : MyViewModel
var body : some View {
...
}
}
You can either construct the view model in place or pass it in, and it gets you a view that will maintain your ObservableObject across reconstruction.
Is there a way of not recreating the ViewModel every time?
Yes, keep ViewModel instance outside of SomeView and inject via constructor
struct SomeView: View {
#ObservedObject var viewModel: SomeViewModel // << only declaration
Is there a way of replicating the #State Propertywrapper for #ObservedObject?
No needs. #ObservedObject is-a already DynamicProperty similarly to #State
Why is #State keeping the State over the redraw?
Because it keeps its storage, ie. wrapped value, outside of view. (so, see first above again)
You need to provide custom PassThroughSubject in your ObservableObject class. Look at this code:
//
// Created by Франчук Андрей on 08.05.2020.
// Copyright © 2020 Франчук Андрей. All rights reserved.
//
import SwiftUI
import Combine
struct TextChanger{
var textChanged = PassthroughSubject<String,Never>()
public func changeText(newValue: String){
textChanged.send(newValue)
}
}
class ComplexState: ObservableObject{
var objectWillChange = ObservableObjectPublisher()
let textChangeListener = TextChanger()
var text: String = ""
{
willSet{
objectWillChange.send()
self.textChangeListener.changeText(newValue: newValue)
}
}
}
struct CustomState: View {
#State private var text: String = ""
let textChangeListener: TextChanger
init(textChangeListener: TextChanger){
self.textChangeListener = textChangeListener
print("did init")
}
var body: some View {
Text(text)
.onReceive(textChangeListener.textChanged){newValue in
self.text = newValue
}
}
}
struct CustomStateContainer: View {
//#ObservedObject var state = ComplexState()
var state = ComplexState()
var body: some View {
VStack{
HStack{
Text("custom state View: ")
CustomState(textChangeListener: state.textChangeListener)
}
HStack{
Text("ordinary Text View: ")
Text(state.text)
}
HStack{
Text("text input: ")
TextInput().environmentObject(state)
}
}
}
}
struct TextInput: View {
#EnvironmentObject var state: ComplexState
var body: some View {
TextField("input", text: $state.text)
}
}
struct CustomState_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
return CustomStateContainer()
}
}
First, I using TextChanger to pass new value of .text to .onReceive(...) in CustomState View. Note, that onReceive in this case gets PassthroughSubject, not the ObservableObjectPublisher. In last case you will have only Publisher.Output in perform: closure, not the NewValue. state.text in that case would have old value.
Second, look at the ComplexState class. I made an objectWillChange property to make text changes send notification to subscribers manually. Its almost the same like #Published wrapper do. But, when the text changing it will send both, and objectWillChange.send() and textChanged.send(newValue). This makes you be able to choose in exact View, how to react on state changing. If you want ordinary behavior, just put the state into #ObservedObject wrapper in CustomStateContainer View. Then, you will have all the views recreated and this section will get updated values too:
HStack{
Text("ordinary Text View: ")
Text(state.text)
}
If you don't want all of them to be recreated, just remove #ObservedObject. Ordinary text View will stop updating, but CustomState will. With no recreating.
update:
If you want more control, you can decide while changing the value, who do you want to inform about that change.
Check more complex code:
//
//
// Created by Франчук Андрей on 08.05.2020.
// Copyright © 2020 Франчук Андрей. All rights reserved.
//
import SwiftUI
import Combine
struct TextChanger{
// var objectWillChange: ObservableObjectPublisher
// #Published
var textChanged = PassthroughSubject<String,Never>()
public func changeText(newValue: String){
textChanged.send(newValue)
}
}
class ComplexState: ObservableObject{
var onlyPassthroughSend = false
var objectWillChange = ObservableObjectPublisher()
let textChangeListener = TextChanger()
var text: String = ""
{
willSet{
if !onlyPassthroughSend{
objectWillChange.send()
}
self.textChangeListener.changeText(newValue: newValue)
}
}
}
struct CustomState: View {
#State private var text: String = ""
let textChangeListener: TextChanger
init(textChangeListener: TextChanger){
self.textChangeListener = textChangeListener
print("did init")
}
var body: some View {
Text(text)
.onReceive(textChangeListener.textChanged){newValue in
self.text = newValue
}
}
}
struct CustomStateContainer: View {
//var state = ComplexState()
#ObservedObject var state = ComplexState()
var body: some View {
VStack{
HStack{
Text("custom state View: ")
CustomState(textChangeListener: state.textChangeListener)
}
HStack{
Text("ordinary Text View: ")
Text(state.text)
}
HStack{
Text("text input with full state update: ")
TextInput().environmentObject(state)
}
HStack{
Text("text input with no full state update: ")
TextInputNoUpdate().environmentObject(state)
}
}
}
}
struct TextInputNoUpdate: View {
#EnvironmentObject var state: ComplexState
var body: some View {
TextField("input", text: Binding( get: {self.state.text},
set: {newValue in
self.state.onlyPassthroughSend.toggle()
self.state.text = newValue
self.state.onlyPassthroughSend.toggle()
}
))
}
}
struct TextInput: View {
#State private var text: String = ""
#EnvironmentObject var state: ComplexState
var body: some View {
TextField("input", text: Binding(
get: {self.text},
set: {newValue in
self.state.text = newValue
// self.text = newValue
}
))
.onAppear(){
self.text = self.state.text
}.onReceive(state.textChangeListener.textChanged){newValue in
self.text = newValue
}
}
}
struct CustomState_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
return CustomStateContainer()
}
}
I made a manual Binding to stop broadcasting objectWillChange. But you still need to gets new value in all the places you changing this value to stay synchronized. Thats why I modified TextInput too.
Is that what you needed?
My solution is use EnvironmentObject and don't use ObservedObject at view it's viewModel will be reset, you pass through hierarchy by
.environmentObject(viewModel)
Just init viewModel somewhere it will not be reset(example root view).