Can't unwrap optional when calling a global class - swift

I have the following code in one of my classes.
override func tableView(tableView: UITableView!, didSelectRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath!) {
parkCode = tableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath).text
RTATab.codeText.text = parkCode.substringToIndex(3)
RTATab.codeLetter.text = parkCode.substringFromIndex(3)
self.dismissModalViewControllerAnimated(true)
}
The RTATab referenced above is another class I have made (type UIViewController) and in that class I have declared it as a global class as show below as I need to access some of the textfields (codeText and codeLetter) in its view.
import UIKit
import messageUI
import CoreData
import QuartzCore
var RTATab : ViewController = ViewController()
class ViewController: UIViewController, MFMessageComposeViewControllerDelegate {
//some code
}
When I run this, I get a can't unwrap optional.none error on the line RTATab.codeText.text = parkCode.substringToIndex(3).
Can someone please help. Do I need to have an initialiser in viewController class?
Thanks

You are getting this error the text of the cell is nil. Before calling methods on parkCode, you must first check if it is nil:
let possibleParkCode = tableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath).text
if let parkCode = possibleParkCode {
RTATab.codeText.text = parkCode.substringToIndex(3)
RTATab.codeLetter.text = parkCode.substringFromIndex(3)
}

You're getting the error because RTATab.codeText and RTATab.codeLetter are nil -- the way you're initializing RTATab doesn't actually link up its properties with the text fields in your storyboard. If you truly just need a global version of the view controller, you'd need to give it a storyboard ID and load it using something like:
var RTATab: ViewController = UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle: nil).instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier("RTA") as ViewController
However, my guess is that it's a view controller you've already displayed elsewhere that you want to update, in which case you're better off just setting up a data structure that can hold the "parkCode" values and pulling them back into the correct view controller when it's time to display them.

Either parkCode or RTATab.codeText don't exist (are nil). You need to check for their existence prior to dereferencing either of them.
override func tableView (tableView: ...) {
if let theParkCode = tableView.cellForRowAtIndexPath(indexPath).text {
parkCode = theParkCode;
if let theCodeText = RTATab.codeText {
theCodeText.text = parkCode?.substringToIndex(3)
}
if let theCodeLetter ... {
// ...
}
}
}
Note: the above code depends on how your ViewController (the class of RTATab) declares its instance variables for codeText and codeLetter - I've assumed as optionals.

Related

NSTableView not appearing at all

I've just started working on my first project for macOS and am having trouble setting up a NSTableView. When I run it the window will appear but there is nothing in it. I've made sure all the objects have the correct class in the identity inspector and can't seem to find what I'm doing wrong.
The goal of the app is to make a notes app. I want a tableView which displays the titles of all the notes in the database, in a single column, so when you click on the cell the note will then be displayed in the rest of the window.
Here's the code:
import Foundation
import AppKit
import SQLite
class NoteCloudVC: NSViewController {
// Declare an array of Note objects for populating the table view
var notesArray: [Note] = []
// IBOutlets
#IBOutlet weak var tableView: NSTableView!
// ViewDidLoad
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// set the tableViews delegate and dataSource to self
tableView.delegate = self
tableView.dataSource = self
//Establsih R/W connection to the db
do {
let path = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(
.applicationSupportDirectory, .userDomainMask, true
).first! + "/" + Bundle.main.bundleIdentifier!
// create parent directory iff it doesn’t exist
try FileManager.default.createDirectory(
atPath: path,
withIntermediateDirectories: true,
attributes: nil
)
let db = try Connection("\(path)/db.sqlite3")
//Define the Notes Table and its Columns
let notes = Table("Notes")
let id = Expression<Int64>("ID")
let title = Expression<String>("Title")
let body = Expression<String>("Body")
/*
Query the data from NotesAppDB.sqlite3 into an array of Note objs
Then use that array to populate the NSTableView
*/
for note in try db.prepare(notes) {
let noteToAdd = Note(Int(note[id]), note[title], note[body])
notesArray.append(noteToAdd)
}
} catch {
print(error)
}
}
// viewWillAppear
override func viewWillAppear() {
super.viewWillAppear()
tableView.reloadData()
}
}
// NSTableViewDataSource Extension of the NoteCloudVC
extension NoteCloudVC: NSTableViewDataSource {
// Number of rows ~ returns notesArray.count
func numberOfRows(in tableView: NSTableView) -> Int {
return notesArray.count
}
}
// NSTableViewDelegate extension of the NoteCloudVC
extension NoteCloudVC: NSTableViewDelegate {
// Configures each cell to display the title of its corresponding note
func tableView(_ tableView: NSTableView, viewFor tableColumn: NSTableColumn?, row: Int) -> NSView? {
//configure the cell
if tableColumn?.identifier == NSUserInterfaceItemIdentifier(rawValue: "NotesColumn") {
let cellIdentifier = NSUserInterfaceItemIdentifier(rawValue: "NotesCell")
guard let noteCell = tableView.makeView(withIdentifier: cellIdentifier, owner: self) as? NotesCell else { return nil }
let note = notesArray[row]
noteCell.noteTitle.stringValue = note.title
return noteCell
}
return nil
}
}
// NotesCell class
class NotesCell: NSTableCellView {
// IBOutlet for the title
#IBOutlet weak var noteTitle: NSTextField!
}
I'm pretty familiar with UIKit so I thought the learning curve of AppKit would be a little better than SwiftUI, so if anyone could provide some guidance about where I've gone wrong that would be very much appreciated. Also if it will be a better use of my time to turn towards SwiftUI please lmk.
Here's the values while debugging:
It's reading the values from the table correctly, so I've at least I know the problem lies somewhere in the tableView functions.
The most confusing part is the fact that the header doesn't even show up. This is all I see when I run it:
Here are some images of my storyboard as well:
This is for an assignment for my software modeling and design class where my professor literally doesn't teach anything. So I'm very thankful for everyone who helps with this issue because y'all are basically my "professors" for this class. When I move the tableView to the center of the view controller in the story board I can see a little dash for the far right edge of the column but that's it, and I can't progress any further without this tableView because the whole app is dependant upon it.
So, it turns out that the code itself wasn't actually the problem. I had always used basic swift files when writing stuff for iOS so it never occured to me that I'd need to import Cocoa to use AppKit but that's where the problem lied all along. Using this code inside the auto-generated ViewController class that had Cocoa imported did the trick. Also I got rid of the extensions and just did all the Delegate/ DataSource func's inside the viewController class.

How to define a variable function and call it from an extension file in swift?

I created an extension swift file, and in that file I wrote extension UIViewController{ ... } in my project, rather than writing all lines in every view controller. Everything worked ok. Later on I created a public func(i.e myFunc), with the same name inside each of the 30 view controllers, and having different outputs. I am trying to call this common named function from the extension file, but I get an error "Value of type 'UIViewController' has no member 'myFunc'. On the extension file, how can I call this common named function which executes different outputs on each different view controller?
Extension file Code:
extension UIViewController {
func sampleFunc {
let viewController = self.navigationController?.visibleViewController {
........
viewController.myFunc() }. *//error: Value of type 'UIViewController?' has no member 'myFunc'*
}
}
Note: I don't want to use like this:
if let viewController = self as? ViewController1 {viewController.myFunc()}
if let viewController = self as? ViewController2 {viewController.myFunc()}
if let ... 3,
4....30
Or maybe is there a way to check whether the function exists, and if it exists then execute command without receiving that kind of errors ?
use of unresolved identifier
or
value of type 'UIViewController?' has no member 'myFunc'
The viewController variable in the extension is could be any VC, couldn't it? Not just the 30 you created. You can't guarantee that any random VC will have a method called myFunc, so you can't call it in the extension.
One way to resolve this problem is to create a protocol that your 30 VCs all implement:
protocol MyFuncable : UIViewController { // please come up with a better name
func myFunc ()
}
This is an example of how you implement the protocol:
class ViewController: UIViewController, MyFuncable {
func myFunc() {
// do whatever you want...
print("myFunc executed")
}
}
Now we guarantee that everything that implements myFuncable will have a method called myFunc, so now in your extension, you can check whether the VCs are MyFuncable:
extension UIViewController {
func sampleFunc() {
// here is where the checking happens:
if let viewController = self.navigationController?.visibleViewController as? MyFuncable {
viewController.myFunc()
}
}
}
Try this code below.
extension UIViewController {
func sampleFunc() {
if let viewController = self.navigationController?.visibleViewController {
print("Class name: \(NSStringFromClass(type(of: viewController)))")
let anyObject = viewController as AnyObject
if anyObject.responds(to: #selector(anyObject.myFunc)) {
anyObject.myFunc()
}
}
}
}

How to access a referencing outlet from a different view controller?

I am new to Swift and Xcode. I am building an Financial Expense ios app.
In my first view controller, I created a referencing outlet for a label called expenseNum.
In my second view controller, I have a function for a button called Add Expense. When it is clicked, I need it to update the expenseNum variable with the amount of the expense.
What is the best way to go about this? I had created an object of the first view controller class and accessed it like "firstviewcontroller.expenseNum" but this will create a new instance of the class and I need it to be all the same instance so it can continuously add to the same variable. Thanks for the help!
You need a delegate
protocol SendManager {
func send(str:String)
}
In first
class FirstVc:UIViewcontroller , SendManager {
func send(str:string) {
self.expenseNum.text = str
}
}
when you present SecondVc
let sec = SecondVc()
sec.delegate = self
// present
In second
class SecondVc:UIViewcontroller {
var delegate:SendManager?
#IBAction func btnClicked(_ sender:UIButton) {
delegate?.send(str:"value")
}
}
// setting delegate
in viewDidLoad of SecondVc
if let first = self.tabBarController.viewControllers[0] as? FirstVc {
self.delegate = first
}
There are several ways you can pass data from ViewController2 to another ViewController1
The best way here is Protocol Delegates
Please follow below steps to pass data
In Your SecondViewController from where you want to send data back declare a protocol at the top of class declaration
protocol SendDataBack: class {
func sendDataFromSecondVCtoFirstVC(myValue: String)
}
Now in the class , declare a object of your protocol in same ViewController
weak var myDelegateObj: SendDataBack?
And now in your Add Expense button action just call the delegate method
myDelegateObj?.sendDataFromSecondVCtoFirstVC(myValue: yourValue)
Now go to your first ViewController
the place from where you have pushed/present to SecondViewController you must have taken the object of SecondVC to push to push from first
if let secondVC = (UIStoryboard.init(name: "Main", bundle: nil)).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "secondVCID") as? SecondViewController {
vc?.myDelegateObj = self
self.navigationController?.pushViewController(secondVC, animated: true)
**OR**
self.present(secondVC, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
now in your FirstViewController make an extension of FirstViewVC
extension FirstViewController: SendDataBack {
func sendDataFromSecondVCtoFirstVC(myValue: String) {
}
}
I think you can make a variable in your properties in second ViewController (before viewDidLoad method)
var delegate: FirstViewController? = nil
and use from the properties of the first view controller anywhere of the second view controller.
delegate!.mainTableView.alpha=1.0
//for example access to a tableView in first view controller
The simplest way to achieve this is to use a public var. Add a new Swift file to your project, call it Globals. Declare the public variable in Globals.swift like so:
public var theValue: Int = 0
Set its required value in the first ViewController, and you'll find you can read it in the second with ease.

Private IBOutlets Swift

I know that our IBOutlets should be private, but for example if I have IBOutlets in TableViewCell, how should I access them from another ViewController? Here is the example why I'm asking this kind of question:
class BookTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
#IBOutlet weak private var bookTitle: UILabel!
}
if I assign to the IBOutlet that it should be private, I got an error in another ViewController while I'm accessing the cell property: 'bookTitle' is inaccessible due to 'private' protection level
If I understand your question correctly, you are supposing the #IBOutlet properties should be marked as private all the time... Well it's not true. But also accessing the properties directly is not safe at all. You see the ViewControllers, TableViewCells and these objects use Implicit unwrapping on optional IBOutlets for reason... You don't need to init ViewController when using storyboards or just when using them somewhere in code... The other way - just imagine you are creating VC programmatically and you are passing all the labels to the initializer... It would blow your head... Instead of this, you come with this in storyboard:
#IBOutlet var myLabel: UILabel!
this is cool, you don't need to have that on init, it will just be there waiting to be set somewhere before accessing it's value... Interface builder will handle for you the initialization just before ViewDidLoad, so the label won't be nil after that time... again before AwakeFromNib method goes in the UITableViewCell subclass, when you would try to access your bookTitle label property, it would crash since it would be nil... This is the tricky part about why this should be private... Otherwise when you know that the VC is 100% on the scene allocated there's no need to be shy and make everything private...
When you for example work in prepare(for segue:) method, you SHOULD NEVER ACCESS THE #IBOutlets. Since they are not allocated and even if they were, they would get overwritten by some internal calls in push/present/ whatever functions...
Okay that's cool.. so what to do now?
When using UITableViewCell subclass, you can safely access the IBOutlets (ONLY IF YOU USE STORYBOARD AND THE CELL IS WITHIN YOUR TABLEVIEW❗️)
and change their values... you see
func tableView(_ tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAt indexPath: IndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
// We shouldn't return just some constructor with UITableViewCell, but who cares for this purposes...
guard let cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: "bookTableViewCell", for: indexPath) else { return UITableViewCell() }
cell.bookTitle.text = "any given text" // This should work ok because of interface builder...
}
The above case should work in MVC pattern, not MVVM or other patterns where you don't use storyboards with tableViewControllers and embed cells too much... (because of registering cells, but that's other article...)
I will give you few pointers, how you can setup the values in the cell/ViewController without touching the actual values and make this safe... Also good practice (safety) is to make the IBOutlets optional to be 100% Safe, but it's not necessary and honestly it would be strange approach to this problem:
ViewControllers:
class SomeVC: UIViewController {
// This solution should be effective when those labels could be marked weak too...
// Always access weak variables NOT DIRECTLY but with safe unwrap...
#IBOutlet var titleLabel: UILabel?
#IBOutlet var subtitleLabel: UILabel?
var myCustomTitle: String?
var myCustomSubtitle: String?
func setup(with dataSource: SomeVCDataSource ) {
guard let titleLabel = titleLabel, let subtitleLabel = subtitleLabel else { return }
// Now the values are safely unwrapped and nothing can crash...
titleLabel.text = dataSource.title
subtitleLabel.text = dataSource.subtitle
}
// WHen using prepare for segue, use this:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
titleLabel.text = myCustomTitle
subtitleLabel.text = myCustomSubtitle
}
}
struct SomeVCDataSource {
var title: String
var subtitle: String
}
The next problem could be this:
override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
guard let destinationVC = segue.destination as? SomeVC else { return }
let datasource = SomeVCDataSource(title: "Foo", subtitle: "Bar")
// This sets up cool labels... but the labels are Nil before the segue occurs and even after that, so the guard in setup(with dataSource:) will fail and return...
destinationVC.setup(with: datasource)
// So instead of this you should set the properties myCustomTitle and myCustomSubtitle to values you want and then in viewDidLoad set the values
destinationVC.myCustomTitle = "Foo"
destinationVC.myCustomSubtitle = "Bar"
}
You see, you don' need to set your IBOutlets to private since you never know how you will use them If you need any more examples or something is not clear to you, ask as you want... Wish you happy coding and deep learning!
You should expose only what you need.
For example you can set and get only the text property in the cell.
class BookTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {
#IBOutlet weak private var bookTitleLabel: UILabel!
var bookTitle: String? {
set {
bookTitleLabel.text = newValue
}
get {
return bookTitleLabel.text
}
}
}
And then, wherever you need:
cell.bookTitle = "It"
Now outer objects do not have access to bookTitleLabel but are able to change it's text content.
What i usually do is configure method which receives data object and privately sets all it's outlets features.
I haven't come across making IBOutlets private to be common, for cells at least. If you want to do so, provide a configure method within your cell that is not private, which you can pass values to, that you want to assign to your outlets. The function within your cell could look like this:
func configure(with bookTitle: String) {
bookTitle.text = bookTitle
}
EDIT: Such a function can be useful for the future, when you change your cell and add new outlets. You can then add parameters to your configure function to handle those. You will get compiler errors everywhere, where you use that function, which allows you to setup your cell correctly wherever you use it. That is helpful in a big project that reuses cells in different places.

Pass variables from one ViewController to another in Swift

I have a calculator class, a first ViewController to insert the values and a second ViewController to show the result of the calculation. Unfortunately I get a error called "Can't unwrap Optional.None" if I click the button. I know it's something wrong with the syntax, but I don't know how to improve it.
The button in the first Viewcontroller is set to "Segue: Show (e.g. Push)" in the storyboard to switch to the secondViewController if he gets tapped.
the calculator class is something like:
class Calculator: NSObject {
func calculate (a:Int,b:Int) -> (Int) {
var result = a * b
return (result)
}
}
The Viewcontroller calls the function, inserts a/b and wants to change the label which is located in the secondviewcontroller:
class ViewController: UIViewController {
#IBAction func myButtonPressed(sender : AnyObject) {
showResult()
}
var numberOne = 4
var numberTwo = 7
var myCalc = Calculator()
func showResult () {
var myResult = myCalc.calculate(numberOne, b: numberTwo)
println("myResult is \(String(myResult))")
var myVC = secondViewController()
myVC.setResultLabel(myResult)
}
And here is the code of the secondViewController
class secondViewController: UIViewController {
#IBOutlet var myResultLabel : UILabel = nil
func setResultLabel (resultValue:Int) {
myResultLabel.text = String(resultValue)
}
init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder!)
{
super.init(coder: aDecoder)
}
In Swift, everything is public by default.
Define your variables outside the classes:
import UIKit
var placesArray: NSMutableArray!
class FirstViewController: UIViewController {
//
..
//
}
and then access it
import UIKit
class TableViewController: UITableViewController {
//
placesArray = [1, 2, 3]
//
}
The problem here is that the FirstViewController has no reference to the instance of SecondViewController. Because of this, this line:
secondViewController.setResultLabel(myResult)
does nothing (except probably causing the Can't unwrap Optional.None error). There are a few ways to solve this problem. If you are using storyboard segues you can use the -prepareForSegue method of UIViewController. Here is an example:
In FirstViewController:
override func prepareForSegue(segue: UIStoryboardSegue!,sender: AnyObject!){
//make sure that the segue is going to secondViewController
if segue.destinationViewController is secondViewController{
// now set a var that points to that new viewcontroller so you can call the method correctly
let nextController = (segue.destinationViewController as! secondViewController)
nextController.setResultLabel((String(myResult)))
}
}
Note: this code will not run as is because the function has no access to the result variable. you'll have to figure that out yourself :)
I think the issue here is, you are trying to set the UI component (here, its the label : myResultLabel)
When segue is fired from first view controller, the second view has not yet been initialized. In other words, the UI object "myResultLabel" is still nil.
To solve this, you will need to create a local string variable in second controller. Now, set that string to what you are trying to display, and finally, set the actual label in "viewDidLoad()" of the second controller.
Best Regards,
Gopal Nair.