Codable in Swift 4.0
Can it replace JSON encode/decode lib out there?
Table of Contents
After I watched WWDC 2017 and heard about Codable, I’m thinking of replacing my current JSON encoder/decoder in my projects or at least use it in a new one.
I’m happy to see Apple finally come up with this encoder/decoder built into Swift standard library since its such a mandatory task nowadays, and for me, I haven’t seen a clear winner in this area. I try to avoid using a third party library as much as possible, so I’m really excited to explore its possibility and limitation.
What am I looking for in encoder/decoder?
Swift optional type supported
The most important thing I need is a Swift optional type supported. This is very crucial for me; without this, it is a deal-breaker.
Luckily Codable supports optional type. If you have the following User Object.
struct User: Codable {
var firstName: String
var lastName: String
var middleName: String?
}
These JSON strings are valid.
{
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "Doe",
"middleName": null
}
{
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "Doe"
}
Be able to rename properties
If you have ever work with REST API, you will see that most JSON keys don't use CamelCase naming, but snake_case. Codable also supports rename property keys, and it's very easy to do so.
All you need to do is adding a nested enumeration named CodingKeys that conforms to the CodingKey protocol.
From the above example, we can rename it like this.
struct User: Codable {
var firstName: String
var lastName: String
var middleName: String?
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case firstName = "first_name"
case lastName = "last_name"
case middleName = "middle_name"
}
}
And you will be able to decode this JSON
{
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Doe",
"middle_name": null
}
{
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Doe"
}
Custom mapping between JSON and Swift structure.
There are cases where we have no control over how JSON looks like, be able to have different Swift structure than JSON is a nice-to-have feature.
I will examine two common cases.
- Flatten out JSON nested property.
- Make a nested structure from flat JSON.
Flatten out JSON
Let say you have User
JSON that contains nested billingAddress
property.
{
"name": "John",
"billingAddress": {
"district": "District",
"subDistrict": "Sub District",
"country": "Country",
"postalCode": "Postal Code"
}
}
But somehow you want to layout Swift User
like this.
struct User: Codable {
var name: String
var district: String
var subDistrict: String
var country: String
var postalCode: String
}
You need to define two enumerations that each list the complete set of coding keys used on a particular level.
struct User: Codable {
....
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name
case billingAddress
}
enum BillingAddressKeys: String, CodingKey {
case district
case subDistrict
case country
case postalCode
}
}
Since this isn’t direct mapping we need to implementing Decodable's required initializer, init(from:):
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
name = try values.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
let billingAddress = try values.nestedContainer(keyedBy: BillingAddressKeys.self, forKey: .billingAddress)
district = try billingAddress.decode(String.self, forKey: .district)
subDistrict = try billingAddress.decode(String.self, forKey: .subDistrict)
country = try billingAddress.decode(String.self, forKey: .country)
postalCode = try billingAddress.decode(String.self, forKey: .postalCode)
}
And same apply to Encodable protocol, a custom encode(to:):
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
try container.encode(name, forKey: .name)
var billingAddress = container.nestedContainer(keyedBy: BillingAddressKeys.self, forKey: .billingAddress)
try billingAddress.encode(district, forKey: .district)
try billingAddress.encode(subDistrict, forKey: .subDistrict)
try billingAddress.encode(country, forKey: .country)
try billingAddress.encode(postalCode, forKey: .postalCode)
}
Nested structure
This is the opposite of what we just did; we got JSON like this:
{
"name": "John",
"district": "District",
"subDistrict": "Sub District",
"country": "Country",
"postalCode": "Postal Code"
}
And want this Swift structure:
struct User: Codable {
var name: String
var billingAddress: BillingAddress
}
struct BillingAddress: Codable {
var district: String
var subDistrict: String
var country: String
var postalCode: String
}
Following are what we need to implement:
struct User: Codable {
....
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name
case billingAddress
case district
case subDistrict
case country
case postalCode
}
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
name = try values.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
billingAddress = try BillingAddress(from: decoder)
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
try container.encode(name, forKey: .name)
try container.encode(billingAddress.district, forKey: .district)
try container.encode(billingAddress.subDistrict, forKey: .subDistrict)
try container.encode(billingAddress.country, forKey: .country)
try container.encode(billingAddress.postalCode, forKey: .postalCode)
}
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Conclusion
Codable pass all my criteria; it can do what I needed with easy to understand syntax. The only aspect that I didn't touch is performance (I think it would be good). My conclusion is I definitely use it for my next project.
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Related Resources
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