Update UITabBarController bar item from NSObject class - swift

Question

I have NSObject class listening for a specific event from my server.
When this specific event happens, I would like to update the badge value of an existing tabBar item from my UITabBarController called TabBarController.
How can I access it from the NSObject class?
Below is the NSOBject class listening for the event.
The function connectedToSocketIo() is launched when the application is launched.
The print("Event is working") is displayed in the terminal so everything is working.
The only thing I need now is to be able to update the badge of a specific bar item.
import Foundation
import UIKit
import SwiftyJSON
class SocketIOManager: NSObject{
func connectedToSocketIo(){
socket.on("post-channel:App\\Events\\contact\\newContactRequest"){ (data, ack) -> Void in
let json = JSON(data)
if json[0]["id"].string! == self.defaults.stringForKey("user_id")! {
print("event is working")
// I want to change the tab bar item badge here
} else {
print("no event")
}
}
}
}

Answer 1

You should try to get a reference to the UITabBarController in your SocketIOManager class. Once you have a reference the tab bar controller you can change the badge value of the desired UITabBarItem.
import Foundation
import UIKit
import SwiftyJSON
class SocketIOManager: NSObject {
/*
var tabBarController: UITabBarController!
*/
// When the tabBarController gets set the connectedToSocketIO function gets automatically called.
var tabBarController: UITabBarController! {
didSet {
connectedToSocketIO()
}
}
init() {
super.init()
}
// Either call this function
init(tabBarController: UITabBarController) {
super.init()
self.tabBarController = tabBarController
connectedToSocketIO()
}
// Or create a setter
func setTabBarController(tabBarController: UITabBarController) {
self.tabBarController = tabBarController
}
func connectedToSocketIo() {
socket.on("post-channel:App\\Events\\contact\\newContactRequest"){ (data, ack) -> Void in
let json = JSON(data)
if json[0]["id"].string! == self.defaults.stringForKey("user_id")! {
print("event is working")
// Set the desired tab bar item to a given value
tabBarController!.tabBar.items![0].badgeValue = "1"
} else {
print("no event")
}
}
}
}
EDIT
class CustomTabBarController: UITabBarController {
var socketIOManager: SocketIOManager!
viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
socketIOManager = SocketIOManager(tabBarController: self)
}
}
Hope this helps!

Answer 2

#Jessy Naus
I removed:
the socket connection from the app delegate,
the override init function inside the socketIOManager so the init(UITabBarController)
and added the socket.connect() (from socket.io library) function inside the init function linked to the tab bar controller as follow:
init(tabBarController: UITabBarController) {
super.init()
self.tabBarController = tabBarController
socket.connect()
self.listeningToSocketEvent()
}
I have replaced "self.connectedToSocketIo()" by "listeningToSocketEvent()" has the meaning of this function is more clear.
All together following your instructions mentioned above = Works perfectly. So I put your answer as the good one.
Really not easy concept. Will still need some time to assimilate it and apply it to other components of the UI.
Thanks a lot for your help on this!

Answer 3

actually, I found another way which avoid touching my socket.io instance.
Source:
Swift 2: How to Load UITabBarController after Showing LoginViewController
I just make the link with my tab bar controller as follow:
In my SocketIOManager
//"MainTabBarController" being the UITabBarController identifier I have set in the storyboard.
//TabBarController being my custom UITabBarController class.
// receivedNotification() being a method defined in my custom TabBarController class
let mainStoryboard: UIStoryboard = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil)
let tabBarController: TabBarController = mainStoryboard.instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier("MainTabBarController") as! TabBarController
tabBarController.receivedNotification(1)
In my TabBarController class:
func receivedNotification(barItem: Int){
if let actualValue = self.tabBar.items![barItem].badgeValue {
let currentValue = Int(actualValue)
self.tabBar.items![barItem].badgeValue = String(currentValue! + 1)
} else {
self.tabBar.items![barItem].badgeValue = "1"
}
// Reload tab bar item
let appDelegate = UIApplication.sharedApplication().delegate as! AppDelegate
appDelegate.window?.rootViewController = self
}