I'm trying to use swift reflection to check for changes in objects so I can send only changed properties up to the server. Some of my properties are optional. To compare those values, I need to unwrap them but, of course, you can ONLY unwrap actual values, not nil values. So, I need to check if one of the values is nil before I compare them.
In my playground, I tried the following:
import UIKit
class myClass
{
var fieldOne:String?
var fieldTwo:Int?
var fieldThree:Float?
}
var oneMyClass = myClass()
oneMyClass.fieldOne = "blah"
oneMyClass.fieldThree = 3.5
var oneOtherClass = myClass()
oneOtherClass.fieldOne = "stuff"
oneOtherClass.fieldTwo = 3
let aMirror = Mirror(reflecting: oneMyClass)
let bMirror = Mirror(reflecting: oneOtherClass)
for thing in aMirror.children
{
for thing2 in bMirror.children
{
if thing.label! == thing2.label!
{
print("property: \(thing.label!)")
print("before: \(thing.value)")
print("after: \(thing2.value)")
print("")
//let myTest = thing.value == nil ? "nil" : "not nil"
}
}
}
And it generates the following output:
property: fieldOne
before: Optional("blah")
after: Optional("stuff")
property: fieldTwo
before: nil
after: Optional(3)
property: fieldThree
before: Optional(3.5)
after: nil
As you can see, the expected properties are displayed as "nil". However, if you uncomment the let statement, you get an error stating:
playground52.swift:37:38: error: value of type 'Any' (aka 'protocol<>') can never be nil, comparison isn't allowed
And yet, we know from the output that it IS nil. How can this be and what can I do about it?
Based on this answer, I recommend using if case Optional<Any>.some(_).
For example:
aMirror.children.forEach {
guard let propertyName = $0.label else { return }
if case Optional<Any>.some(_) = $0.value {
print("property: \(propertyName) is not nil")
} else {
print("property: \(propertyName) is nil")
}
}
Thats look like some sort of bug. Look at that
let x = childMirror.value == nil ? "Nil" : "Not Nil" //dont compile.
let y = { (value:Any?) in
return value == nil ? "Nil" : "Not Nil"
}
let z = y(childMirror.value) //compile, but doesn't evaluate.
I guess the problem is because Any can store a Optional, but can't be wrapped around one. Try this:
func getValue(unknownValue:Any) -> Any {
let value = Mirror(reflecting: unknownValue)
if value.displayStyle != .Optional || value.children.count != 0 {
return "Not Nil"
} else {
return "Nil"
}
}
Related
In Kotlin we have a list of standard (scope) functions (e.g. let, apply, run, etc)
Example of usage below
val str : String? = "123"
str?.let{ print(it) }
This makes the code looks more succinct without need to have if (str != null)
In swift, I code it as below
let str: String? = "123"
if str != nil { print(str!) }
I have to have if str != nil. Is there a let provided by default that I could use (without me writing my own)?
FYI, I'm new to Swift, and check around doesn't seems to find it.
if you like if, extend the functionality of Optional
extension Optional {
func `let`(do: (Wrapped)->()) {
guard let v = self else { return }
`do`(v)
}
}
var str: String? = "text"
str.let {
print( $0 ) // prints `text`
}
str = nil
str.let {
print( $0 ) // not executed if str == nil
}
You could use Optional.map :
let str1 : String? = "123"
str1.map { print($0) }
prints 123.
let str2 : String? = nil
str2.map { print($0) }
Doesn't print anything.
So if an optional is not nil, it is unwrapped and used as a parameter to the map closure. if not, the closure won't be called.
A more idiomatic approach in swift would be to use optional binding :
var str: String? = "123"
if let s = str {
print(s)
}
Apparently the Swift way of doing the nil check
let str: String? = "123"
if let strUnwrapped = str { print(strUnwrapped) }
And if really want to ensure it is not nil, use guard (thanks #CouchDeveloper for pointing out)
let str: String? = "123"
guard let strUnwrapped = str else { return }
I know this didn't explicitly answer the question of having scoping function or not, but it provides me my original intent of finding the Swift way of checking nil or non nil I was looking for like the let of Kotlin being used.
I have a class in my app, where the user inputs values and i set them to an instance of the class, then i upload this data to Database, but i have to convert the class to something the database accepts and i'm converting to dictionary using Mirror Reflection. Some properties in my class can be nil, because by design not all properties are required. But i can't pass nil values to the database.
I have recreated my example is very simplified playground. i didn't set a value for the name property of the class
I tried to check for nil before adding the key, value pair to the dictionary
Below is my code
import UIKit
class Color: NSObject {
var name: String?
var code: Int?
var shade: String?
}
let cl = Color()
cl.code = 3456
cl.shade = "DARK"
var colorDict = [String: Any]()
for x in Mirror(reflecting: cl).children.makeIterator() {
if let val = x.value as Any? {
print(type(of: val))
colorDict[x.label!] = val
}
}
print (colorDict)
the output in console is as below
Optional<String>
Optional<Int>
Optional<String>
["name": nil, "code": Optional(3456), "shade": Optional("DARK")]
how can i check for nil values and skip adding that property to the Dictionary
i have tried to loop through the dictionary after i add all values including nils and check for values too but i get the below warning
Comparing non-optional value of type 'Any' to nil always returns false
declaring the dictionary as below
var colorDict = [String: Any?]()
for x in colorDict {
if x.value == nil {
colorDict.removeValue(forKey: x.key)
}
}
removes the warning but it doesn't remove anything.
I would really appreciate your help.
The way of unwrapping objects of type Any that contain optionals is kind of weird but you can check that the values aren't nil in your mirror like this:
for x in Mirror(reflecting: cl).children {
if case Optional<Any>.some(let val) = x.value {
print(type(of: val))
colorDict[x.label!] = val
}
}
You can do this really easily in a one-liner, using filter:
let dict: [String : Any?] = ["Foo" : 3, "Bar" : nil, "Baz" : "Qux"]
let noNils = dict.filter { $0.value != nil }
print(noNils) // prints ["Foo": Optional(3), "Baz": Optional("Qux")]
As i have suggested, initialise all values.
If you decide not to store the nil values you will end up with children that some of them will have 1, some 2 and some 3 nodes, nothing wrong with that, BUT what happens when you go to read them?
You havent shared any info as to how these values will be used by the app, but assuming you have one function to read the properties/nodes of stored colors, it will go to read all 3 :
ref.child("colors").child("someSpecificColor").observeSingleEvent(of: .value, with: { (snapshot) in
// Get color values
let value = snapshot.value as? NSDictionary
let name = value?["name"] as? String ?? ""
let code = value?["code"] as? String ?? ""
let shade = value?["shade"] as? String ?? ""
// ...
}) { (error) in
print(error.localizedDescription)
}
See the issue?
Here is a simple solution :
var colorDict = [String: Any?]()
for x in Mirror(reflecting: cl).children.makeIterator() {
if let val = x.value, val != nil {
print(type(of: val))
colorDict[x.label!] = val
}
}
Here before to print and add you val, you check if the val is different than nil. As your output suggests in your console log you print :
Optional<String>
Optional<Int>
Optional<String>
val is an optional. So, if it's nil it won't be added. If not, you enter into the if statement and that's it.
I want to use Swift (not Objective-C runtime) Reflection to create a method like this:
func valueFor(property:String, of object:Any) -> Any? {
...
}
To some extent, I can do this using:
func valueFor(property:String, of object:Any) -> Any? {
let mirror = Mirror(reflecting: object)
return mirror.descendant(property)
}
With
class TestMe {
var x:Int!
}
let t = TestMe()
t.x = 100
let result = valueFor(property: "x", of: t)
print("\(result); \(result!)")
This prints out what I'd expect:
Optional(100); 100
When I do:
let t2 = TestMe()
let result2 = valueFor(property: "x", of: t2)
print("\(result2)")
The output is:
Optional(nil)
This might seem reasonable, except that if I do:
var x:Int!
print("\(x)")
This prints out:
nil
and not Optional(nil). The bottom line is that I'm having difficulty programmatically determining that the value of t2.x is nil using my valueFor method.
If I continue the above code with:
if result2 == Optional(nil)! {
print("Was nil1")
}
if result2 == nil {
print("Was nil2")
}
Neither of these print statements output anything.
When I put a breakpoint into Xcode and look at the value of result2 with the debugger, it shows:
▿ Optional<Any>
- some : nil
So, my question is: How can I determine if the original member variable was nil using the result from valueFor?
Additional1:
If I do:
switch result2 {
case .some(let x):
// HERE
break
default:
break
}
and put a breakpoint at HERE, the value of x turns out to be nil. But, even if I assign it to an Any?, comparing it to nil is not true.
Additional2:
If I do:
switch result2 {
case .some(let x):
let z:Any? = x
print("\(z)")
if z == nil {
print("Was nil3")
}
break
default:
break
}
This prints out (only):
Optional(nil)
I find this especially odd. result2 prints out exactly the same thing!
This is a bit of a hack, but I think it's going to solve the problem for me. I'm still looking for better solutions:
func isNilDescendant(_ any: Any?) -> Bool {
return String(describing: any) == "Optional(nil)"
}
func valueFor(property:String, of object:Any) -> Any? {
let mirror = Mirror(reflecting: object)
if let child = mirror.descendant(property), !isNilDescendant(child) {
return child
}
else {
return nil
}
}
well, i know it has been 4 years, but I am on Xcode 12 and still facing the same issue. since this question seems to be unanswered, I will add what worked for me.
func valueFor(property: String, of object: Any) -> Any? {
let optionalPropertyName = "some"
let mirror = Mirror(reflecting: object)
if let child = mirror.descendant(property) {
if let optionalMirror = Mirror(reflecting: child), optionalMirror.displayStyle == DisplayStyle.optional {
return optionalMirror.descendant(optionalPropertyName)
} else {
return child
}
} else {
return nil
}
}
by using Mirror to check for optional and then extract the optional using "some" you get back either a true object or nil. when this is returned to the caller via the Any? return, you are now able to nil check the value and have that work appropriately.
I have a class with an optional member :
class A {
var i: Int? = nil
}
Then I have an array of objects of type A. Some objects in the array have a value for i, some others don't.
I want to iterate over objects in the array that have a value for i while unwrapping the optional at the same time. I didn't find a way to do both at the same time (I don't even know if it's possible), forcing me to write a if let construct inside the loop.
For example :
// a1, a2 have a value for i
let arr: [A] = [a1, a2, a3]
for obj in arr where obj.i != nil {
// I want to avoid if let, or force unwrapping here
if let unwrapped = obj.i {
print(i)
}
// let unwrapped = obj.i! ...
}
Is it possible in Swift ?
1.Maybe you can use flatMap to get value i, then print it
arr.flatMap{ $0.i }.forEach{ print($0) }
2.or Trying simple guard statement
arr.forEach { element in
guard let i = element.i else { return }
print(i)
}
I don't think that's possible.
Even if you have a where clause in your loop the type of obj is still of type A and as such i still remains optional.
To see why this is so think about the fact that you can change the value of i on object obj inside the loop, so the compiler is not sure that the value of i is valid until you unwrapp it.
You can try something like this
for obj in arr where obj.i != nil {
guard let i = obj.i else { continue }
print( i )
}
but if you start using guard you also skip the where clause
for obj in arr {
guard let i = obj.i else { continue }
print( i )
}
You can use case let syntax, but not without the help of map, and the result isn't the most readable:
for case let .some(unwrapped) in arr.map(\.i) {
print(unwrapped)
}
It's more useful if you're e.g. casting the outer object, e.g.:
for case let object as String in arrayOfAny {
if object.hasPrefix("tw") {
print("Starts with 'tw'")
}
}
instead of:
for object in arrayOfAny where object is String {
if object.hasPrefix("tw") { // Error: Value of type 'Any' has no member 'hasPrefix'
print("Starts with 'tw'")
}
}
I have two different scenarios where I need to test the "optionality" of an optional type. I have not been able to figure how to explicitly test if the variable is a .None or a .Some other than with an unwieldy switch statement. How can I test for Someness with an if statement?
Scenario 1
I am writing an address formatter and my inputs are a number of String? types. In this example a simple test for (str != nil) will work. However, since my other need is when dealing with a 'double optional' and a nil test can't distinguish between .Some(.None) and .None a solution to this problem will solve that problem too.
Here's a version that works using a switch
let address1:String? = "123 Main St"
let address2:String? = nil
let apt:String? = "101"
let components = [address1, address2, apt].filter( { (c) -> Bool in
switch c {
case .Some: return true
case .None: return false
}
}).map { return $0! } //Had to map because casting directly to [String] crashes
print(", ".join(components)) //"123 Main St, 101"
What's I'd like to see is something like with an if:
let nice = ["123 Main St", nil, "303"].filter { (c) -> Bool in
return (c == .Some)
}
print(", ".join(nice))
Scenario 2
This is where a nil test won't work. If something is a String?? it can be any of .None, .Some(.None), or .Some(.Some(String)). In my case, the variable is carrying the recordID from an api call which might either be missing entirely (.None), a value (.Some(.Some("ABDEFG")), or explicitly NULL (.Some(.None)).
let teamNoneNone: String?? = .None
let teamSomeNone: String?? = .Some(.None)
let teamSomeSome: String?? = "My favorite local sportsball team"
if teamNoneNone == nil {
print("teamNoneNone is nil but is it .None? We don't know!") //prints
} else {
print("teamNoneNone is not nil")
}
if teamSomeNone == nil {
print("teamSomeNone is nil")
} else {
print("teamSomeNone is not nil but is it .Some(.None)? We don't know!") //prints
}
if teamSomeSome == nil {
print("teamSomeSome is nil but is it .None? We don't know!")
} else {
print("teamSomeSome is not nil but is it .Some(.None) or .Some(.Some())? We don't know!") //prints
}
Via another SO post I found a workaround like this, but it's not very clear what's happening to a casual reader:
if let team: String? = teamSomeNone {
print("teamSomeNone is Some(.None)") //prints
} else {
print("teamSomeNone is .Some(.Some())")
}
if let tests if a value is .None, and if it isn’t, it unwraps it and binds it to a local variable within an if statement.
Using switch with .Some and .None is really a secondary way of handling optionals, if if let doesn’t cut it. But it almost always does, especially now you can do multiple if lets in a single statement, following the latest release of Swift 1.2 to production.
Wanting to filter out the nils in a collection is a common-enough task that Haskell has a standard function for it, called catMaybe. Here’s a version, which I’ll call catSome, that would do the trick in Swift:
func catSome<T>(source: [T?]) -> [T] {
var result: [T] = []
// iterate over the values
for maybe in source {
// if this value isn’t nil, unwrap it
if let value = maybe {
// and append it to the array
result.append(value)
}
}
return result
}
let someStrings: [String?] = ["123 Main St", nil, "101"]
catSome(someStrings) // returns ["123 Main St", "101"]
Doubly-wrapped optionals are a bit of a pain, so the best solution is to avoid them in the first place – often, via use of optional chaining or flatMap.
But if you do find yourself with some, and all you care about is the inner value, you can unwrap them using a double if let:
// later parts of the let can rely on the earlier
if let outer = teamSomeSome, teamName = outer {
println("Fully unwrapped team is \(teamName)")
}
If you want to explicitly know if a double-optional has an inner nil inside an outer value, but isn’t nil itself, you can use if let with a where clause:
if let teamSomeMaybe = teamSomeNone where teamSomeMaybe == nil {
// this will be executed only if it was .Some(.None)
println("SomeNone")
}
The where clause is an extra conditional that can be applied to the unwrapped value.