I'm working on a code where I need to get 2 user inputted integers and output the smaller one. I am new to swift, and every time I try to get a user to input an integer, I get this error "Value of optional type 'String?' must be unwrapped to a value of type 'String'". I don't understand why I always need to put a "!" after readLine(), but thats what it makes me do.
print("Enter the first integer")
let int1 = Int(readLine()!)
print("Enter the second integer")
let int2 = Int(readLine()!)
let small_int = min(int1!, int2!)
print("The smaller integer is", small_int)
As you can read in docs:
The string of characters read from standard input. If EOF has already been reached when readLine() is called, the result is nil.
... so, simplified, readLine(strippingNewline:) always doesn't have to return value and it also can return nil (no value), so return type is String? which is optional type which says that your constant is String or nil
If you need to get non-optional value you can either force-unwrap optional value or check if value exists and if does, assign some non-optional constant/variable using optional binding. The same you can do for Int initializer which can also return nil since not every String is necessarily a integer
print("Enter the first integer")
let input1 = readLine()
print("Enter the second integer")
let input2 = readLine()
if let string1 = input1, let int1 = Int(string1), let string2 = input2, let int2 = Int(string2) {
let small_int = min(int1, int2)
print("The smaller integer is", small_int)
} else {
print("Invalid input")
}
alternatively you can use default value so if value is nil your constant will be assigned with given default value
print("Enter the first integer")
let int1 = Int(readLine() ?? "") ?? 0
print("Enter the second integer")
let int2 = Int(readLine() ?? "") ?? 0
let small_int = min(int1, int2)
print("The smaller integer is", small_int)
I recommend writing your code in a defensive way. That includes dealing with unexpected results.
Both, readline() and Int() can return nil. As the other answer already explained, readline returns nil if you have reached EOF.
So my recommendation is to use the ?? operator to provide alternative values for the failure cases. For example: let line = readline() ?? “”.
Alternatively, especially inside methods, you may want to bail out early with guard and have the actual work at the end of the method with validated and non-nil inputs.
With that in mind, your example can be rewritten like this:
let line = readline() ?? “”
let int1 = Int(line) ?? 0
//...
Or as a method with guard:
func smallerInteger() -> Int? {
print("Enter the first integer")
guard let line1 = readline() else {
return nil
}
guard let int1 = Int(line1) else {
return nil
}
print("Enter the second integer")
guard let line2 = readline() else {
return nil
}
guard let int2 = Int(line2) else {
return nil
}
return min(int1, int2)
}
Of course this can be improved by returning both an Int? and an Error? like (Int?, Error?) or with the latest Swift, a Result.
Related
Is if let kind of if statement, or is if let different?
Does the compiler treat if let and if statement differently?
if let is for unwrapping optional values.
if is for evaluating a condition
var example: String? = "rick"
if let name = example{
print(name) //name is the unwrapped version of example
}
If example is nil (no value), then the if let statement will fall through and the code inside of it will not run.
var example: Bool = true
if example{
print("Example is true")
} else{
print("Example is false")
}
I am trying to convert an Int16 value to String but it gives value with Optional, won't allow me to forced unwrap it.
String(describing:intValue)
Result : Optional(intValue)
Unwrap intValue first, then pass it to the string initializer: String(unwrappedIntValue)
Here are some ways of handling the optional. I've added explicit string# variables with type annotations, to make it clear what types are involved
let optionalInt: Int? = 1
// Example 1
// some case: print the value within `optionalInt` as a String
// nil case: "optionalInt was nil"
if let int = optionalInt {
let string1: String = String(int)
print(string1)
}
else {
print("optionalInt was nil")
}
// Example 2, use the nil-coalescing operator (??) to provide a default value
// some case: print the value within `optionalInt` as a String
// nil case: print the default value, 123
let string2: String = String(optionalInt ?? 123)
print(string2)
// Example 3, use Optional.map to convert optionalInt to a String only when there is a value
// some case: print the value within `optionalInt` as a String
// nil case: print `nil`
let string3: String? = optionalInt.map(String.init)
print(string3 as Any)
// Optionally, combine it with the nil-coalescing operator (??) to provide a default string value
// for when the map function encounters nil:
// some case: print the value within `optionalInt` as a String
// nil case: print the default string value "optionalInt was nil"
let string4: String = optionalInt.map(String.init) ?? "optionalInt was nil"
print(string4)
You can convert a number to a String with string interpolation:
let stringValue = "\(intValue)"
Or you can use a standard String initializer:
let stringValue = String(intValue)
If the number is an Optional, just unwrap it first:
let optionalNumber: Int? = 15
if let unwrappedNumber = optionalNumber {
let stringValue = "\(unwrappedNumber)"
}
Or
if let unwrappedNumber = optionalNumber {
let stringValue = String(unwrappedNumber)
}
I am using an SQLite library in which queries return optional values as well as can throw errors. I would like to conditionally unwrap the value, or receive nil if it returns an error. I'm not totally sure how to word this, this code will explain, this is what it looks like:
func getSomething() throws -> Value? {
//example function from library, returns optional or throws errors
}
func myFunctionToGetSpecificDate() -> Date? {
if let specificValue = db!.getSomething() {
let returnedValue = specificValue!
// it says I need to force unwrap specificValue,
// shouldn't it be unwrapped already?
let specificDate = Date.init(timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate: TimeInterval(returnedValue))
return time
} else {
return nil
}
}
Is there a way to avoid having to force unwrap there? Prior to updating to Swift3, I wasn't forced to force unwrap here.
The following is the actual code. Just trying to get the latest timestamp from all entries:
func getLastDateWithData() -> Date? {
if let max = try? db!.scalar(eventTable.select(timestamp.max)){
let time = Date.init(timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate: TimeInterval(max!))
// will max ever be nil here? I don't want to force unwrap!
return time
} else {
return nil
}
}
Update: As of Swift 5, try? applied to an optional expression does not add another level of optionality, so that a “simple” optional binding is sufficient. It succeeds if the function did not throw an error and did not return nil. val is then bound to the unwrapped result:
if let val = try? getSomething() {
// ...
}
(Previous answer for Swift ≤ 4:) If a function throws and returns an optional
func getSomething() throws -> Value? { ... }
then try? getSomething() returns a "double optional" of the
type Value?? and you have to unwrap twice:
if let optval = try? getSomething(), let val = optval {
}
Here the first binding let optval = ... succeeds if the function did
not throw, and the second binding let val = optval succeeds
if the return value is not nil.
This can be shortened with case let pattern matching to
if case let val?? = try? getSomething() {
}
where val?? is a shortcut for .some(.some(val)).
I like Martin's answer but wanted to show another option:
if let value = (try? getSomething()) ?? nil {
}
This has the advantage of working outside of if, guard, or switch statements. The type specifier Any? isn't necessary but just included to show that it returns an optional:
let value: Any? = (try? getSomething()) ?? nil
i am new to swift i just started with the basics. In one of the Blog i saw a simple task which goes like this read a line from the stdin and check whether it is a integer,float,String.
I tried with the following code
let input = readLine()
var result = test(input)
print (result)
func test (obj:Any) -> String {
if obj is Int { return "This input is of type Intger." }
else if obj is String { return "This input is of type String." }
else { return "This input is something else. " }
}
when the input of 3245 is given it stores in the string format. and returns output as string.
how to overcome it..?
The readLine function returns a value of type String?. So your input variable can only be a String. It will never be Int or anything else.
If you want to see if the entered value is a valid number, you can try to convert the string to an Int.
if let input = readLine() {
if let num = Int(input) {
// the user entered a valid integer
} else {
// the user entered something other than an integer
}
}
As others have pointed out, readline() always returns a String?. It's up to you to parse that into whatever format you use it.
This is how I would do this:
let line = readLine()
switch line {
case let s? where Int(s) != nil:
print("This input is of type Intger.")
case let s? where Float(s) != nil:
print("This input is of type Float.")
case let s? where s.hasPrefix("\"") && s.hasSuffix("\""):
print("This input is of type String.")
default: print("This input is something else. ")
}
It exploits the ability of Int and Float's initializers to test the validity of a String, which almost entirely defeats the purpose of this exercise. But hey, it works, right? 😄
You can find of the type of object as
if let intt = obj as? Int {
// obj is a String. Do something with intt
}
else if let str = obj as? String {
// obj is a String. Do something with str
}
else {
//obj is something else
}
I am using an SQLite library in which queries return optional values as well as can throw errors. I would like to conditionally unwrap the value, or receive nil if it returns an error. I'm not totally sure how to word this, this code will explain, this is what it looks like:
func getSomething() throws -> Value? {
//example function from library, returns optional or throws errors
}
func myFunctionToGetSpecificDate() -> Date? {
if let specificValue = db!.getSomething() {
let returnedValue = specificValue!
// it says I need to force unwrap specificValue,
// shouldn't it be unwrapped already?
let specificDate = Date.init(timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate: TimeInterval(returnedValue))
return time
} else {
return nil
}
}
Is there a way to avoid having to force unwrap there? Prior to updating to Swift3, I wasn't forced to force unwrap here.
The following is the actual code. Just trying to get the latest timestamp from all entries:
func getLastDateWithData() -> Date? {
if let max = try? db!.scalar(eventTable.select(timestamp.max)){
let time = Date.init(timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate: TimeInterval(max!))
// will max ever be nil here? I don't want to force unwrap!
return time
} else {
return nil
}
}
Update: As of Swift 5, try? applied to an optional expression does not add another level of optionality, so that a “simple” optional binding is sufficient. It succeeds if the function did not throw an error and did not return nil. val is then bound to the unwrapped result:
if let val = try? getSomething() {
// ...
}
(Previous answer for Swift ≤ 4:) If a function throws and returns an optional
func getSomething() throws -> Value? { ... }
then try? getSomething() returns a "double optional" of the
type Value?? and you have to unwrap twice:
if let optval = try? getSomething(), let val = optval {
}
Here the first binding let optval = ... succeeds if the function did
not throw, and the second binding let val = optval succeeds
if the return value is not nil.
This can be shortened with case let pattern matching to
if case let val?? = try? getSomething() {
}
where val?? is a shortcut for .some(.some(val)).
I like Martin's answer but wanted to show another option:
if let value = (try? getSomething()) ?? nil {
}
This has the advantage of working outside of if, guard, or switch statements. The type specifier Any? isn't necessary but just included to show that it returns an optional:
let value: Any? = (try? getSomething()) ?? nil