Using an overriden static property during initialization - swift

Question

I would like to create a class with a static property that subclasses can override, which would be used to initialize instances. So far, I've tried to accomplish this like this:
import Cocoa
class A: NSObject {
class var staticProperty: String {
return "A"
}
var property: String = A.staticProperty
}
class B: A {
override class var staticProperty: String {
return "B"
}
}
This does not work, since B().property still returns "A". How could I change this code so that property contains the value specified by the subclass? Any help would be appreciated!
Edit
I would like to initialize property with the value of staticProperty, so this could also look like this:
var property: SomeClass = SomeClass(A.staticProperty)
But then, this initialization should still use "A" for class A, and "B" for class B.
Edit 2 (After #RakeshaShastri's comment)
For my specific use-case, I need property to be stored (so not computed) and non-lazy.
Edit 3
In short, I'm trying to build a Realm model class which has a few to-many relationships to other models. For these models (which are quite similar), I'm trying to create a superclass which contains the shared functionality, amongst which is also the inverse relationship. Therefore, I want to have a static property which contains the key in the first model to either of the other models, and then initialize a LinkingObjects property using this key name. Since Realm does not allow this to be lazy or computed, I cannot use these functionalities here.

Answer 1

If you inherit from NSObject why not using it ?
import Cocoa
class A: NSObject {
var property: String
public override init() {
let str = type(of: self).perform(#selector(getter: type(of: self).staticProperty))?.takeUnretainedValue() as! String
property = str
}
#objc class var staticProperty: String {
return "A"
}
}
class B: A {
override class var staticProperty: String {
return "B"
}
}

Answer 2

You can do this with this aproach
class A {
var prop: String{
return "A"
}
}
class B: A {
override var prop: String{
return "B"
}
}
print(A().prop) // "PRINTS A"
print(B().prop) // "PRINTS B"

Answer 3

A.staticProperty will use static dispatch and will always point to A's class property. You need dynamic dispatch here, aka type(of: self).
However, self needs an instance to work with, thus var property: String = type(of: self.staticProperty won't compile.
However, lazy properties can work around this limitation, so you could declare property as a lazy one:
class A: NSObject {
class var staticProperty: String {
return "A"
}
private(set) lazy var property: String = { type(of: self).staticProperty }()
}
class B: A {
override class var staticProperty: String {
return "B"
}
}
print(B().property) // B
P.S. the private(set) part is just something I usually do, I rarely allow extrinsic factors to change my object.
Update As #MartinR has pointed out, lazy is not a choice for the OP. An alternative solution that doesn't use a lazy var is to use a "shadowing" property:
class A: NSObject {
class var staticProperty: String {
return "A"
}
private var _property: String?
var property: String {
get {
return _property ?? type(of: self).staticProperty
}
set {
_property = newValue
}
}
}
class B: A {
override class var staticProperty: String {
return "B"
}
}
let b = B()
print(b.property) // B
b.property = "B'"
print(b.property) // B'