Table view not updating with Firebase - swift

Question

I am trying to get a table view to update from my Firebase database. My data is structured like this (for reporting automobiles):
Reports:
Randomly generated report ID number:
make: "make of car"
model: "make of model"
I don't think that I am calling the data correctly. I do not know how to select for the random report ID. But there may be something else that I am missing. I am trying to get only the make and model of the vehicle to display in the text of the cell
var reportList:[String] = []
var ref: DatabaseReference!
var handle: DatabaseHandle?
#IBOutlet weak var reportsTableView: UITableView!
#IBAction func backButtonPressed(_ sender: UIBarButtonItem) {
self.performSegue(withIdentifier: "reportsToHome", sender: self)
}
public func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
return reportList.count
}
public func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell{
let cell = UITableViewCell(style: .default, reuseIdentifier: "cell")
cell.textLabel?.text = reportList[indexPath.row]
return cell
}
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
ref = Database.database().reference()
handle = ref.child("Reports").observe(.childAdded, with: { (snapshot) in
if (snapshot.value as? String) != nil
{
let make = String(describing: self.ref.child("Reports").child("make"))
let model = String(describing: self.ref.child("Reports").child("model"))
self.reportList.append(make + model)
self.reportsTableView.reloadData()
}
}
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
)}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
}

Answer 1

I'm not able to test this, but I have feeling that you were trying to cast the snapshot as a string. Instead, you should cast it as a Dictionary so you can easily retrieve the data by key.
Try this code. It sets the snapshot as a dictionary, and from there you are able to retrieve the make and model:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
ref = Database.database().reference()
handle = ref.child("Reports").observe(.childAdded, with: { (snapshot) in
if let reports = snapshot.value as? NSDictionary {
var make = reports?["make"] as? String
var model = reports?["model"] as? String
self.reportList.append(make + model)
self.reportsTableView.reloadData()
}
}
)}
Going further, you can create a Report class:
class Report: NSObject {
var make: String?
var model: String?
}
You can then set the make and model from the snapshot to create a new Report object.
var make = reports?["make"] as? String
var model = reports?["model"] as? String
let newReport = Report()
newReport.setValuesForKeys(reports)
I hope this works, if not I'll look again.