So I had this idea of creating an expiry for UserDefaults. This is the approach I was starting to take but I'm stuck.
struct TimedObject<T: Codable>: Codable {
let object: T
let expireDate: Date
}
and then:
extension UserDefaults {
func set<T: Codable>(_ value: T, forKey key: String, expireDate: Date) {
let timedObject = TimedObject<T>(object: value, expireDate: expireDate)
let encoder = JSONEncoder()
if let encoded = try? encoder.encode(timedObject) {
UserDefaults.standard.set(encoded, forKey: key)
}
override open class func value(forKey key: String) -> Any? {
guard let value = self.value(forKey: key) else {
return nil
}
if TimedObject<???>.self == type(of: value) { // This is where I'm stuck
...
}
}
So if I would name the type and not use generics I would easily solve this. But naturally I prefer to use generics. Can this be done?
I know OP is using a struct to wrap the stored value but I would still like to offer a different protocol based solution where any type that should be stored with an expiration date needs to conform to this protocol.
Here is the protocol for I am using
protocol TimedObject: Codable {
associatedtype Value: Codable
var value: Value { get }
var expirationDate: Date { get }
}
and the functions to store and retrieve from UserDefaults
extension UserDefaults {
func set<Timed: TimedObject>(_ value: Timed, forKey key: String) {
if let encoded = try? JSONEncoder().encode(value) {
self.set(encoded, forKey: key)
}
}
func value<Timed: TimedObject>(_ type: Timed.Type, forKey key: String) -> Timed.Value? {
guard let data = self.value(forKey: key) as? Data, let object = try? JSONDecoder().decode(Timed.self, from: data) else {
return nil
}
return object.expirationDate > .now ? object.value : nil
}
}
Finally an example
struct MyStruct: Codable {
let id: Int
let name: String
}
extension MyStruct: TimedObject {
typealias Value = Self
var value: MyStruct { self }
var expirationDate: Date {
.now.addingTimeInterval(24 * 60 * 60)
}
}
let my = MyStruct(id: 12, name: "abc")
UserDefaults.standard.set(my, forKey: "my")
let my2 = UserDefaults.standard.value(MyStruct.self, forKey: "my")
Since you're returning Any?, it is best to create another struct to point to TimedObject as you don't need the object property when returning Any?:
struct Expiry: Codable {
var expireDate: Date
}
struct TimedObject<T: Codable>: Timable {
let object: T
var expireDate: Date
}
override open class func value(forKey key: String) -> Any? {
guard let value = self.value(forKey: key) as? Data else {
return nil
}
if let timed = try? JSONDecoder().decode(Expiry.self, from: value) {
//do anything with timed
}
//make sure to return value
}
And here's a method to access TimedObject:
func timedObject<T: Codable>(forKey key: String) -> TimedObject<T>? {
guard let value = self.data(forKey: key) as? Data, let timed = try? JSONDecoder().decode(TimedObject<T>.self, from: value) else {
return nil
}
return value
}
If you make the value() method generic then you can reverse the process done in the set() method: retrieve the data and decode it as a TimedObject<T>.
However, I would choose a different name to avoid possible ambiguities with the exisiting value(forKey:) method. Also I see no reason why this should be a class method.
Note also that your generic set() method should call the non-generic version on the same instance.
extension UserDefaults {
func set<T: Codable>(_ value: T, forKey key: String, expireDate: Date) {
let timedObject = TimedObject(object: value, expireDate: expireDate)
let encoder = JSONEncoder()
if let encoded = try? encoder.encode(timedObject) {
set(encoded, forKey: key)
}
}
func expiringValue<T: Codable>(forKey key: String) -> T? {
guard let data = self.data(forKey: key) else {
return nil
}
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
guard let decoded = try? decoder.decode(TimedObject<T>.self, from: data) else {
return nil
}
// check expire date ...
return decoded.object
}
}
Example usage:
let val1 = UserDefaults.standard.expiringValue(forKey: "foo") as String?
let val2: String? = UserDefaults.standard.expiringValue(forKey: "bar")
In both cases, expiringValue(forKey:) is called with the inferred type.
Or in combination with optional binding:
if let val: String = UserDefaults.standard.expiringValue(forKey: "test") {
print(val)
}
Another option is to pass the desired type as an additional argument:
func value<T: Codable>(forKey key: String, as: T.Type) -> T? {
guard let data = self.data(forKey: key) else {
return nil
}
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
guard let decoded = try? decoder.decode(TimedObject<T>.self, from: data) else {
return nil
}
// check expire date ...
return decoded.object
}
which is then used as
let val = UserDefaults.standard.value(forKey: "foo", as: String.self)
I have some generic code that allows me to read and write various types to the defaults system, e.g. value getters and setters:
var value : T {
get {
if T.self == Int.self {
return UserDefaults.standard.integer(forKey: storageKey) as! T
} else if T.self == Double.self {
return UserDefaults.standard.double(forKey: storageKey) as! T
} else if T.self == Float.self {
return UserDefaults.standard.float(forKey: storageKey) as! T
} else if T.self == Bool.self {
return UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: storageKey) as! T
} else if T.self == String.self {
return UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: storageKey) as! T
} else {
return UserDefaults.standard.value(forKey: self.storageKey) as! T
}
}
set(value) {
UserDefaults.standard.set(value, forKey: storageKey)
UserDefaults.standard.synchronize()
}
}
Now I want to add my own enum types to this mechanism by making them RawRepresentable<Int>, e.g.
enum Direction : Int, RawRepresentable {
case left = 0
case right = 1
}
Unfortunately, I can neither find the magic incantation to test whether T conforms to the RawRepresentable protocol, nor can I cast T to the RawRepresentable protocol, because no matter what I try, I always end up with a Protocol 'RawRepresentable' can only be used as a generic constraint because it has Self or associated type requirements.
I have tried every where and as incantation until I have started doubting that it can be done at all!?
I'm in Swift 5 and the goal is to create new instance by invoking CustomType(rawValue:) and getting the Int value by calling myValue.rawValue.
As #vadian said, all those type checks can be replaced be a single call to UserDefaults.standard.object() and conditional casting. Also the type of the value property needs to be an optional to handle the case where the property is not set (or not of the correct type):
struct DefaultKey<T> {
let storageKey: String
var value: T? {
get {
return UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: storageKey) as? T
}
nonmutating set {
UserDefaults.standard.set(newValue, forKey: storageKey)
}
}
}
And then you can define a constrained extension method where you specialize the computed property for the case of RawRepresentable types:
extension DefaultKey where T: RawRepresentable {
var value: T? {
get {
if let rawValue = UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: storageKey) as? T.RawValue {
return T(rawValue: rawValue)
}
return nil
}
nonmutating set {
UserDefaults.standard.set(newValue?.rawValue, forKey: storageKey)
}
}
}
Example usage:
enum Direction : Int {
case left = 0
case right = 1
}
let key1 = DefaultKey<Int>(storageKey: "foo")
key1.value = 123
let key2 = DefaultKey<Direction>(storageKey: "bar")
key2.value = .right
print(key1.value as Any) // Optional(123)
print(key2.value as Any) // Optional(Direction.right)
Note that this can still crash if used with non-property-list types. To be on the safe side, you would have to restrict the extensions to types which are known to be user defaults storable (integers, floats, strings, ...):
protocol UserDefaultsStorable {}
extension Int: UserDefaultsStorable {}
extension Float: UserDefaultsStorable {}
// ...
struct DefaultKey<T> {
let storageKey: String
}
extension DefaultKey where T: UserDefaultsStorable { .. }
extension DefaultKey where T: RawRepresentable, T.RawValue: UserDefaultsStorable { ... }
I'm trying to get all the members of a generic class T, I can get the properties based on a specific class.
But, how I can do it using Mirror ?
let mirrored_object = Mirror(reflecting: user)
for (index, attr) in mirrored_object.children.enumerated() {
if let propertyName = attr.label as String! {
print("Attr \(index): \(propertyName) = \(attr.value)")
}
}
I added this as extension
extension NSObject {
public func GetAsJson() -> [[String:Any?]] {
var result:[[String: Any?]] = [[String: Any?]]()
for item in self {
var dict: [String: Any?] = [:]
for property in Mirror(reflecting: self).children {
dict[property.label!] = property.value
}
result.append(dict)
}
return result
}
}
I have a struct that implements Swift 4’s Codable. Is there a simple built-in way to encode that struct into a dictionary?
let struct = Foo(a: 1, b: 2)
let dict = something(struct)
// now dict is ["a": 1, "b": 2]
If you don't mind a bit of shifting of data around you could use something like this:
extension Encodable {
func asDictionary() throws -> [String: Any] {
let data = try JSONEncoder().encode(self)
guard let dictionary = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .allowFragments) as? [String: Any] else {
throw NSError()
}
return dictionary
}
}
Or an optional variant
extension Encodable {
var dictionary: [String: Any]? {
guard let data = try? JSONEncoder().encode(self) else { return nil }
return (try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .allowFragments)).flatMap { $0 as? [String: Any] }
}
}
Assuming Foo conforms to Codable or really Encodable then you can do this.
let struct = Foo(a: 1, b: 2)
let dict = try struct.asDictionary()
let optionalDict = struct.dictionary
If you want to go the other way(init(any)), take a look at this Init an object conforming to Codable with a dictionary/array
Here are simple implementations of DictionaryEncoder / DictionaryDecoder that wrap JSONEncoder, JSONDecoder and JSONSerialization, that also handle encoding / decoding strategies…
class DictionaryEncoder {
private let encoder = JSONEncoder()
var dateEncodingStrategy: JSONEncoder.DateEncodingStrategy {
set { encoder.dateEncodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return encoder.dateEncodingStrategy }
}
var dataEncodingStrategy: JSONEncoder.DataEncodingStrategy {
set { encoder.dataEncodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return encoder.dataEncodingStrategy }
}
var nonConformingFloatEncodingStrategy: JSONEncoder.NonConformingFloatEncodingStrategy {
set { encoder.nonConformingFloatEncodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return encoder.nonConformingFloatEncodingStrategy }
}
var keyEncodingStrategy: JSONEncoder.KeyEncodingStrategy {
set { encoder.keyEncodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return encoder.keyEncodingStrategy }
}
func encode<T>(_ value: T) throws -> [String: Any] where T : Encodable {
let data = try encoder.encode(value)
return try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .allowFragments) as! [String: Any]
}
}
class DictionaryDecoder {
private let decoder = JSONDecoder()
var dateDecodingStrategy: JSONDecoder.DateDecodingStrategy {
set { decoder.dateDecodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return decoder.dateDecodingStrategy }
}
var dataDecodingStrategy: JSONDecoder.DataDecodingStrategy {
set { decoder.dataDecodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return decoder.dataDecodingStrategy }
}
var nonConformingFloatDecodingStrategy: JSONDecoder.NonConformingFloatDecodingStrategy {
set { decoder.nonConformingFloatDecodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return decoder.nonConformingFloatDecodingStrategy }
}
var keyDecodingStrategy: JSONDecoder.KeyDecodingStrategy {
set { decoder.keyDecodingStrategy = newValue }
get { return decoder.keyDecodingStrategy }
}
func decode<T>(_ type: T.Type, from dictionary: [String: Any]) throws -> T where T : Decodable {
let data = try JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: dictionary, options: [])
return try decoder.decode(type, from: data)
}
}
Usage is similar to JSONEncoder / JSONDecoder…
let dictionary = try DictionaryEncoder().encode(object)
and
let object = try DictionaryDecoder().decode(Object.self, from: dictionary)
For convenience, I've put this all in a repo… https://github.com/ashleymills/SwiftDictionaryCoding
I have create a library called CodableFirebase and it's initial purpose was to use it with Firebase Database, but it does actually what you need: it creates a dictionary or any other type just like in JSONDecoder but you don't need to do the double conversion here like you do in other answers. So it would look something like:
import CodableFirebase
let model = Foo(a: 1, b: 2)
let dict = try! FirebaseEncoder().encode(model)
There is no built in way to do that.
As answered above if you have no performance issues then you can accept the JSONEncoder + JSONSerialization implementation.
But I would rather go the standard library's way to provide an encoder/decoder object.
class DictionaryEncoder {
private let jsonEncoder = JSONEncoder()
/// Encodes given Encodable value into an array or dictionary
func encode<T>(_ value: T) throws -> Any where T: Encodable {
let jsonData = try jsonEncoder.encode(value)
return try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: jsonData, options: .allowFragments)
}
}
class DictionaryDecoder {
private let jsonDecoder = JSONDecoder()
/// Decodes given Decodable type from given array or dictionary
func decode<T>(_ type: T.Type, from json: Any) throws -> T where T: Decodable {
let jsonData = try JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: json, options: [])
return try jsonDecoder.decode(type, from: jsonData)
}
}
You can try it with following code:
struct Computer: Codable {
var owner: String?
var cpuCores: Int
var ram: Double
}
let computer = Computer(owner: "5keeve", cpuCores: 8, ram: 4)
let dictionary = try! DictionaryEncoder().encode(computer)
let decodedComputer = try! DictionaryDecoder().decode(Computer.self, from: dictionary)
I am force-trying here to make the example shorter. In production code you should handle the errors appropriately.
I'm not sure if it's the best way but you definitely can do something like:
struct Foo: Codable {
var a: Int
var b: Int
init(a: Int, b: Int) {
self.a = a
self.b = b
}
}
let foo = Foo(a: 1, b: 2)
let dict = try JSONDecoder().decode([String: Int].self, from: JSONEncoder().encode(foo))
print(dict)
let dict = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: try JSONEncoder().encode(struct), options: []) as? [String: Any]
I have modified the PropertyListEncoder from the Swift project into a DictionaryEncoder, simply by removing the final serialisation from dictionary into binary format. You can do the same yourself, or you can take my code from here
It can be used like this:
do {
let employeeDictionary: [String: Any] = try DictionaryEncoder().encode(employee)
} catch let error {
// handle error
}
In some project, i'm used the swift reflection. But be careful, nested codable objects, are not mapped also there.
let dict = Dictionary(uniqueKeysWithValues: Mirror(reflecting: foo).children.map{ ($0.label!, $0.value) })
I definitely think that there's some value in just being able to use Codable to encode to/from dictionaries, without the intention of ever hitting JSON/Plists/whatever. There are plenty of APIs which just give you back a dictionary, or expect a dictionary, and it's nice to be able to interchange them easily with Swift structs or objects, without having to write endless boilerplate code.
I've been playing round with some code based on the Foundation JSONEncoder.swift source (which actually does implement dictionary encoding/decoding internally, but doesn't export it).
The code can be found here: https://github.com/elegantchaos/DictionaryCoding
It's still quite rough, but I've expanded it a bit so that, for example, it can fill in missing values with defaults when decoding.
Here is a protocol based solution:
protocol DictionaryEncodable {
func encode() throws -> Any
}
extension DictionaryEncodable where Self: Encodable {
func encode() throws -> Any {
let jsonData = try JSONEncoder().encode(self)
return try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: jsonData, options: .allowFragments)
}
}
protocol DictionaryDecodable {
static func decode(_ dictionary: Any) throws -> Self
}
extension DictionaryDecodable where Self: Decodable {
static func decode(_ dictionary: Any) throws -> Self {
let jsonData = try JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: dictionary, options: [])
return try JSONDecoder().decode(Self.self, from: jsonData)
}
}
typealias DictionaryCodable = DictionaryEncodable & DictionaryDecodable
And here is how to use it:
class AClass: Codable, DictionaryCodable {
var name: String
var age: Int
init(name: String, age: Int) {
self.name = name
self.age = age
}
}
struct AStruct: Codable, DictionaryEncodable, DictionaryDecodable {
var name: String
var age: Int
}
let aClass = AClass(name: "Max", age: 24)
if let dict = try? aClass.encode(), let theClass = try? AClass.decode(dict) {
print("Encoded dictionary: \n\(dict)\n\ndata from decoded dictionary: \"name: \(theClass.name), age: \(theClass.age)\"")
}
let aStruct = AStruct(name: "George", age: 30)
if let dict = try? aStruct.encode(), let theStruct = try? AStruct.decode(dict) {
print("Encoded dictionary: \n\(dict)\n\ndata from decoded dictionary: \"name: \(theStruct.name), age: \(theStruct.age)\"")
}
I wrote a quick gist to handle this (not using the Codable protocol). Be careful, it doesn't type-check any values and doesn't work recursively on values that are encodable.
class DictionaryEncoder {
var result: [String: Any]
init() {
result = [:]
}
func encode(_ encodable: DictionaryEncodable) -> [String: Any] {
encodable.encode(self)
return result
}
func encode<T, K>(_ value: T, key: K) where K: RawRepresentable, K.RawValue == String {
result[key.rawValue] = value
}
}
protocol DictionaryEncodable {
func encode(_ encoder: DictionaryEncoder)
}
There no straight forward way of doing this in Codable. You need to implement Encodable/Decodable protocol for your struct. For your example, you might need to write as below
typealias EventDict = [String:Int]
struct Favorite {
var all:EventDict
init(all: EventDict = [:]) {
self.all = all
}
}
extension Favorite: Encodable {
struct FavoriteKey: CodingKey {
var stringValue: String
init?(stringValue: String) {
self.stringValue = stringValue
}
var intValue: Int? { return nil }
init?(intValue: Int) { return nil }
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: FavoriteKey.self)
for eventId in all {
let nameKey = FavoriteKey(stringValue: eventId.key)!
try container.encode(eventId.value, forKey: nameKey)
}
}
}
extension Favorite: Decodable {
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var events = EventDict()
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: FavoriteKey.self)
for key in container.allKeys {
let fav = try container.decode(Int.self, forKey: key)
events[key.stringValue] = fav
}
self.init(all: events)
}
}
I have made a pod here https://github.com/levantAJ/AnyCodable to facilitate decode and encode [String: Any] and [Any]
pod 'DynamicCodable', '1.0'
And you are able to decode & encode [String: Any] and [Any]
import DynamicCodable
struct YourObject: Codable {
var dict: [String: Any]
var array: [Any]
var optionalDict: [String: Any]?
var optionalArray: [Any]?
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case dict
case array
case optionalDict
case optionalArray
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
dict = try values.decode([String: Any].self, forKey: .dict)
array = try values.decode([Any].self, forKey: .array)
optionalDict = try values.decodeIfPresent([String: Any].self, forKey: .optionalDict)
optionalArray = try values.decodeIfPresent([Any].self, forKey: .optionalArray)
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
try container.encode(dict, forKey: .dict)
try container.encode(array, forKey: .array)
try container.encodeIfPresent(optionalDict, forKey: .optionalDict)
try container.encodeIfPresent(optionalArray, forKey: .optionalArray)
}
}
After research, we find that if we use the keyword Any in the class which is inherited from the Codable & Decodable it will give the error. So if you want to use a dictionary user with the types of data coming from the server.
For example, the server is sending the dictionary of type [String : Int] then use [String : Int] if you will try [String : Any] it will not work.
Here is dictionary -> object. Swift 5.
extension Dictionary where Key == String, Value: Any {
func object<T: Decodable>() -> T? {
if let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: self, options: []) {
return try? JSONDecoder().decode(T.self, from: data)
} else {
return nil
}
}
}
Come to think of it, the question does not have an answer in the general case, since the Encodable instance may be something not serializable into a dictionary, such as an array:
let payload = [1, 2, 3]
let encoded = try JSONEncoder().encode(payload) // "[1,2,3]"
Other than that, I have written something similar as a framework.
so I have a function which receives an Any and it checks if the Any is an enum by using reflection:
func extractRawValue(subject: Any) throws -> Any {
let mirror = Mirror(reflecting: subject)
guard let displayStyle = mirror.displayStyle,
case .`enum` = displayStyle else {
throw Errors.NoEnum
}
// And from here I don't know how to go any further...
// I wish I could do something like this:
guard let subject = subject as? RawRepresentable where let rawValue = subject.rawValue as Any else {
throw Errors.NoRawRepresenable
}
return rawValue
}
Does anyone know how I can accomplish something like that?
I think the Swifty way to do this is to use a protocol for the enums you want to use:
protocol ValueAsAnyable {
func valueAsAny() -> Any
}
extension ValueAsAnyable where Self: RawRepresentable {
func valueAsAny() -> Any {
return rawValue as Any
}
}
func extractRawValue(subject: Any) throws -> Any {
let mirror = Mirror(reflecting: subject)
guard let displayStyle = mirror.displayStyle,
case .`enum` = displayStyle else {
throw Errors.NoEnum
}
guard let anyable = subject as? ValueAsAnyable else {
throw Errors.NoRawRepresentable
}
return anyable.valueAsAny()
}
let subject: Any = TestEnum.test
let thing = try? extractRawValue(subject: subject) //prints "test"
This should allow you to do what you need, but keep Type safety.