Swift

Building URLs safely and expressively is a common requirement in Swift applications—especially when dealing with REST APIs. In this post, we’ll explore four elegant approaches to construct URLs in Swift: manual string interpolation, Foundation’s URLComponents, a custom URL‐builder DSL, and an enum‐driven router. By the end, you’ll have a clear sense of trade‐offs and patterns you can adopt in your own codebase. Manual String Interpolation The simplest approach is to build the URL by concatenating strings: ...

In Swift 5.4, a powerful new feature was introduced that revolutionised how we can work with composable pieces of code: Result Builders. If you’ve written any SwiftUI code, you’ve probably already encountered this feature without realizing it. Result Builders underpin much of the magic that makes SwiftUI’s declarative syntax possible. However, their use isn’t limited to SwiftUI. In this blog post, we’re going to delve into Result Builders, what they are, and how you can use them to build more expressive and powerful APIs. ...

Swift’s property wrappers are a powerful tool that allows developers to change how properties are stored and manipulated while keeping their interfaces clean and consistent. This post will discuss some practical use cases for property wrappers. Let’s get started! 1. UserDefault Wrapper UserDefaults is a straightforward mechanism to store small amounts of data persistently. We can simplify UserDefaults interactions with a UserDefault property wrapper: @propertyWrapper struct UserDefault<T> { let key: String let defaultValue: T init(_ key: String, defaultValue: T) { self.key = key self.defaultValue = defaultValue } var wrappedValue: T { get { return UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: key) as? T ?? defaultValue } set { UserDefaults.standard.set(newValue, forKey: key) } } } You can now store and retrieve UserDefaults values effortlessly: ...

Property Wrappers were introduced to Swift in 5.1. Initially, they can seem a bit mystifying. However, they’re a powerful tool, helping to streamline your code and make it more expressive. Today, we’ll demystify Property Wrappers and learn how to use them in Swift. What Exactly is a Property Wrapper? Think of a Property Wrapper as a special kind of structure, class, or enumeration that “wraps” around a property in your code. This wrapper can add extra behaviour to the property, making it easier to manage and modify. ...