I'm searching quite a while now but I cannot find anything. Is there a possibility in Swift to supply an own implementation of a class or a method without touching the library. Subclassing would not be an option.
As Example from ios charts (https://github.com/danielgindi/ios-charts) I only want to replace the LineScatterCandleRadarChartRenderer class (https://github.com/danielgindi/ios-charts/blob/master/Charts/Classes/Renderers/LineScatterCandleRadarChartRenderer.swift) or the single method it is implementing. It is a subclass of a subclass of a subclass used somewhere in the library when plotting the chart.
What would be the best practice to do this?
I found an answer for python: Cast base class to derived class python (or more pythonic way of extending classes)
Related
In Swift, I am trying to create a generic class that can extend another class, while inheriting from it. I am able to do it in C++ as follows, but is there a way to do the same in Swift?
class Atom {};
template<typename Base, typename Extension>
class Extend: Base {
Extension _value;
};
int main() {
return 0;
}
One approach I have been trying to apply is Protocol Oriented Design, but it doesn't seem to be able to take a class and extend it. The best I reached is something like creating the extension manually, and declaring that it does extend Atom, but at that point, I would just create another class and add to it the respective property manually.
One way to do it is by generating the code for the subclass at compile or run time. check these answers of these questions:
How to generate code dynamically with annotations at build time in Java?, and Generating, compiling and using Java code at run time?.
You can add a custom generic method to the base class that would be overridden by each subclass (in the generated code) and it may return Object. It would be a working approach, if it's worth the hassle.
As long as a Swift class extends from NSObject we can pass it to the Objective-C runtime and ask it to introspect it for us.
We have three options:
class
classForCoder
classForKeyedArchiver
. . however class is struck out. (See image). Why is this?
That's because class is a keyword in Swift, therefore any valid method cannot be named class. In the same way you cannot create a method named for, while or other keyword.
I wasn't able to reproduce the strike-out with my methods, however, naming a method var (or other keyword) in obj-c makes it impossible to be called from Swift.
Edit
I was wrong. It's still possible to call class from Swift using
var clazz: AnyClass? = self.`class`()
However, then the compiler says:
'Class' is unavailable: use 'dynamicType' instead
So the answer by Edwin Vermeers is the correct one.
As you can see in the documentation, it's only available in Objective C and not in swift.
See: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/objectivec/nsobject/1571950-class
I think this is because the AnyObject gives you enough information (More than the NSObject)
for instance you can do NSStringFromClass(BaseObject) in swift instead of the NSStringFromClass([BaseObject class]) that you do in Objective C
I want to add a method to the Graph class of the JUNG library using Eclipse. How would I do this?
I have the JUNG working correctly as a reference library by following this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/5618076/1949665
1) You have access to the source:
Simply add your method
2) You could extend the class and add the method in our extending class
3) Write a Util class with a static method implementing your method than simply uses the original class.
Your comment above implies that you want to be able to find cliques in a graph. (I didn't see the original question before you edited it.)
If so, it doesn't need to be a method on Graph itself, it just needs to accept a Graph as an argument. Graph is a type like List or Map, it should not have a method for every kind of algorithm you might want to use on a graph.
Coming from a C++ background, one thing that confuses me about Objective C is the fact that you can add a method to a class without actually specifying it in the class interface. So I had a barrage of questions:
Why would someone choose to not add the method in the class interface?
Is it simply because of visibility?
Methods without a declaration in the interface are private?
Is declaring methods in a class interface just optional?
Is it different for overriding a base class' method?
The main difference is that C++ sets up much of its inheritance and types at compile time and Objective C does it mostly at runtime.
The only differences in putting a method in the interface (if all parameters are objects) in objective-C are that the compiler can see it at compile time and check that an object could respond to the method - if it does not then you get a warning but the compilation does succeed and the program will run and loo for the method at runtime. If the method is in the implementation of the class or a category (or some other way) then the run time will find it and call it successfully.
There are NO private methods you can call any method.
I believe that this is the only way to create private methods in Objective-C. The language does not support the ability to declare a private method so by not declaring a method in the header file you are making private from all callers.
Proper data encapsulation requires that you lock down access to members that either expose data or manipulates it. Not all members ought to be exposed.
Yes it is.
Yes, this is true.
Yes, this is true as well.
This I am not sure about - perhaps someone with more Objective-C knowledge could answer this one.
Extending Andrew Hare's answer to answer 5, no, it doesn't: whether declared in an #interface or otherwise, method replacement/refinement works the same.
I have a class which is intended to be abstract. This means: When someone subclasses it, a few methods MUST be overwritten.
But on the other hand, those methods are not intended to be called manually from anywhere except inside the abstract class (the superclass of the subclass).
Must I declare these methods in .h anyways or can I just add comments in .h which say "you must overwrite -foo and -bar"? Or is there a better pattern to make abstract methods?
Related: Is there a way to create an abstract class in Objective C?
Objective-C doesn't actually have a way to declare a class as abstract. From Apple's Docs:
Abstract Classes
Some classes are designed only or
primarily so that other classes can
inherit from them. These abstract
classes group methods and instance
variables that can be used by a number
of different subclasses into a common
definition. The abstract class is
typically incomplete by itself, but
contains useful code that reduces the
implementation burden of its
subclasses. (Because abstract classes
must have subclasses to be useful,
they’re sometimes also called abstract
superclasses.)
Unlike some other languages,
Objective-C does not have syntax to
mark classes as abstract, nor does it
prevent you from creating an instance
of an abstract class.
The NSObject class is the canonical
example of an abstract class in Cocoa.
You never use instances of the
NSObject class in an application—it
wouldn’t be good for anything; it
would be a generic object with the
ability to do nothing in particular.
The NSView class, on the other hand,
provides an example of an abstract
class instances of which you might
occasionally use directly.
Abstract classes often contain code
that helps define the structure of an
application. When you create
subclasses of these classes, instances
of your new classes fit effortlessly
into the application structure and
work automatically with other objects.
So to answer your question, yes, you need to place the method signature in the header, and should implement the method in the base class such that it generates an error if called, like the related question's answer states.
You can also use a protocol to force classes to implement certain methods.
However you choose to implement the base class, clearly document in the header, as well as in your documentation, exactly what the class assumes and how to go about sub-classing it correctly.
Whenever possible write your code so that improper implementations fail to compile. If you cannot do that then you should try to generate a runtime error (at the very least in a debug build) if the subclass is not written correctly. Do not rely on comments because people will not read them.
You must declare your "protected" and "abstract" methods in a header file, but you can use separate categories to clearly indicate their purpose and intended use.
#interface MyBaseClass : NSObject {
}
- (void)foo;
#end
#interface MyBaseClass(ProtectedMethods)
- (void)bar;
#end
#interface MyBaseClass(AbstractMethods) // Subclasses must implement
- (void)internalBar;
#end
You can put everything in a single header, or you could put your protected and abstract declarations in a separate "protected" header, say MyClassProtected.h, meant to be included only by your subclass implementations. It depends on how badly you want "hide" your protected methods.
Your base class can log, assert, or throw when an abstract/pure-virtual method is called.
As other people have said, Objective-C does not support pure virtual classes.
You can enforce pure virtual behaviour at runtime though. The cleanest way to do this is by using the Objective-C runtime's _cmd and NSObject's -doesNotRecognizeSelector:
- (void)iMustBeImplementedInaSubclass;
{
[self doesNotRecognizeSelector:_cmd]; // Pure virtual
}
As ben says you are probably better served by using a protocol to get your API design right.