func myAsyncFunction(arg: Int, completionHandler: (String) -> Void) {
completionHandler("🎉 \(arg)")
}

let syncFunction = makeSynchrone(myAsyncFunction)

print(syncFunction(42)) // prints 🎉 42
```

## Using KeyPaths instead of closures

Closures are a great way to interact with generic APIs, for instance APIs that allow to manipulate data structures through the use of generic functions, such as `filter()` or `sorted()`.

The annoying part is that closures tend to clutter your code with many instances of `{`, `}` and `$0`, which can quickly undermine its readably.

A nice alternative for a cleaner syntax is to use a `KeyPath` instead of a closure, along with an operator that will deal with transforming the provided `KeyPath` in a closure.

```swift
import Foundation

prefix operator ^

prefix func ^ (_ keyPath: KeyPath) -> (Element) -> Attribute {
return { element in element[keyPath: keyPath] }
}

struct MyData {
let int: Int
let string: String
}

let data = [MyData(int: 2, string: "Foo"), MyData(int: 4, string: "Bar")]

data.map(^\.int) // [2, 4]
data.map(^\.string) // ["Foo", "Bar"]
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnsKOxOrXnY)

## Bringing some type-safety to a `userInfo` `Dictionary`

Many iOS APIs still rely on a `userInfo` `Dictionary` to handle use-case specific data. This `Dictionary` usually stores untyped values, and is declared as follows: `[String: Any]` (or sometimes `[AnyHashable: Any]`.

Retrieving data from such a structure will involve some conditional casting (via the `as?` operator), which is prone to both errors and repetitions. Yet, by introducing a custom `subscript`, it's possible to encapsulate all the tedious logic, and end-up with an easier and more robust API.

```swift
import Foundation

typealias TypedUserInfoKey = (key: String, type: T.Type)

extension Dictionary where Key == String, Value == Any {
subscript(_ typedKey: TypedUserInfoKey) -> T? {
return self[typedKey.key] as? T
}
}

let userInfo: [String : Any] = ["Foo": 4, "Bar": "forty-two"]

let integerTypedKey = TypedUserInfoKey(key: "Foo", type: Int.self)
let intValue = userInfo[integerTypedKey] // returns 4
type(of: intValue) // returns Int?

let stringTypedKey = TypedUserInfoKey(key: "Bar", type: String.self)
let stringValue = userInfo[stringTypedKey] // returns "forty-two"
type(of: stringValue) // returns String?
```

## Lightweight data-binding for an MVVM implementation

MVVM is a great pattern to separate business logic from presentation logic. The main challenge to make it work, is to define a mechanism for the presentation layer to be notified of model updates.

[RxSwift](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxSwift) is a perfect choice to solve such a problem. Yet, some developers don't feel confortable with leveraging a third-party library for such a central part of their architecture.

For those situation, it's possible to define a lightweight `Variable` type, that will make the MVVM pattern very easy to use!

```swift
import Foundation

class Variable {
var value: Value {
didSet {
onUpdate?(value)
}
}

var onUpdate: ((Value) -> Void)? {
didSet {
onUpdate?(value)
}
}

init(_ value: Value, _ onUpdate: ((Value) -> Void)? = nil) {
self.value = value
self.onUpdate = onUpdate
self.onUpdate?(value)
}
}

let variable: Variable = Variable(nil)

variable.onUpdate = { data in
if let data = data {
print(data)
}
}

variable.value = "Foo"
variable.value = "Bar"

// prints:
// Foo
// Bar
```

## Using `typealias` to its fullest

The keyword `typealias` allows developers to give a new name to an already existing type. For instance, Swift defines `Void` as a `typealias` of `()`, the empty tuple.

But a less known feature of this mechanism is that it allows to assign concrete types for generic parameters, or to rename them. This can help make the semantics of generic types much clearer, when used in specific use cases.

```swift
import Foundation

enum Either {
case left(Left)
case right(Right)
}

typealias Result = Either

typealias IntOrString = Either
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ji0dpAkJA)

## Writing an interruptible overload of `forEach`

Iterating through objects via the `forEach(_:)` method is a great alternative to the classic `for` loop, as it allows our code to be completely oblivious of the iteration logic. One limitation, however, is that `forEach(_:)` does not allow to stop the iteration midway.

Taking inspiration from the [Objective-C implementation](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/nsarray/1415846-enumerateobjectsusingblock), we can write an overload that will allow the developer to stop the iteration, if needed.

```swift
import Foundation

extension Sequence {
func forEach(_ body: (Element, _ stop: inout Bool) throws -> Void) rethrows {
var stop = false
for element in self {
try body(element, &stop)

if stop {
return
}
}
}
}

["Foo", "Bar", "FooBar"].forEach { element, stop in
print(element)
stop = (element == "Bar")
}

// Prints:
// Foo
// Bar
```

## Optimizing the use of `reduce()`

Functional programing is a great way to simplify a codebase. For instance, `reduce` is an alternative to the classic `for` loop, without most the boilerplate. Unfortunately, simplicity often comes at the price of performance.

Consider that you want to remove duplicate values from a `Sequence`. While `reduce()` is a perfectly fine way to express this computation, the performance will be sub optimal, because of all the unnecessary `Array` copying that will happen every time its closure gets called.

That's when `reduce(into:_:)` comes into play. This version of `reduce` leverages the capacities of copy-on-write type (such as `Array` or `Dictionnary`) in order to avoid unnecessary copying, which results in a great performance boost.

```swift
import Foundation

func time(averagedExecutions: Int = 1, _ code: () -> Void) {
let start = Date()
for _ in 0..(_ class: T.Type) {
register(`class`, forCellReuseIdentifier: T.reuseIdentifier)
}
func dequeueReusableCell(for indexPath: IndexPath) -> T {
return dequeueReusableCell(withIdentifier: T.reuseIdentifier, for: indexPath) as! T
}
}

class MyCell: UITableViewCell { }

let tableView = UITableView()

tableView.register(MyCell.self)
let myCell: MyCell = tableView.dequeueReusableCell(for: [0, 0])
```

## Defining a union type

The C language has a construct called `union`, that allows a single variable to hold values from different types. While Swift does not provide such a construct, it provides enums with associated values, which allows us to define a type called `Either` that implements a `union` of two types.

```swift
import Foundation

extension Bool { static func random() -> Bool { return arc4random_uniform(2) == 0 } }

var intOrString: Either = Bool.random() ? .left(2) : .right("Foo")

intOrString.either(ifLeft: { print($0 + 1) }, ifRight: { print($0 + "Bar") })
```

If you're interested by this kind of data structure, I strongly recommend that you learn more about [Algebraic Data Types](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_data_type).

## Asserting that classes have associated NIBs and vice-versa

Most of the time, when we create a `.xib` file, we give it the same name as its associated class. From that, if we later refactor our code and rename such a class, we run the risk of forgetting to rename the associated `.xib`.

While the error will often be easy to catch, if the `.xib` is used in a remote section of its app, it might go unnoticed for sometime. Fortunately it's possible to build custom test predicates that will assert that 1) for a given class, there exists a `.nib` with the same name in a given `Bundle`, 2) for all the `.nib` in a given `Bundle`, there exists a class with the same name.

```swift
import XCTest

public func XCTAssertClassHasNib(_ class: AnyClass, bundle: Bundle, file: StaticString = #file, line: UInt = #line) {
let associatedNibURL = bundle.url(forResource: String(describing: `class`), withExtension: "nib")

XCTAssertNotNil(associatedNibURL, "Class \"\(`class`)\" has no associated nib file", file: file, line: line)
}

public func XCTAssertNibHaveClasses(_ bundle: Bundle, file: StaticString = #file, line: UInt = #line) {
guard let bundleName = bundle.infoDictionary?["CFBundleName"] as? String,
let basePath = bundle.resourcePath,
let enumerator = FileManager.default.enumerator(at: URL(fileURLWithPath: basePath),
includingPropertiesForKeys: nil,
options: [.skipsHiddenFiles, .skipsSubdirectoryDescendants]) else { return }

var nibFilesURLs = [URL]()

for case let fileURL as URL in enumerator {
if fileURL.pathExtension.uppercased() == "NIB" {
nibFilesURLs.append(fileURL)
}
}

nibFilesURLs.map { $0.lastPathComponent }
.compactMap { $0.split(separator: ".").first }
.map { String($0) }
.forEach {
let associatedClass: AnyClass? = bundle.classNamed("\(bundleName).\($0)")

XCTAssertNotNil(associatedClass, "File \"\($0).nib\" has no associated class", file: file, line: line)
}
}

XCTAssertClassHasNib(MyFirstTableViewCell.self, bundle: Bundle(for: AppDelegate.self))
XCTAssertClassHasNib(MySecondTableViewCell.self, bundle: Bundle(for: AppDelegate.self))

XCTAssertNibHaveClasses(Bundle(for: AppDelegate.self))
```

Many thanks [Benjamin Lavialle](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-lavialle-0a184140/) for coming up with the idea behind the second test predicate.

## Small footprint type-erasing with functions

Seasoned Swift developers know it: a protocol with associated type (PAT) "can only be used as a generic constraint because it has Self or associated type requirements". When we really need to use a PAT to type a variable, the goto workaround is to use a [type-erased wrapper](https://academy.realm.io/posts/type-erased-wrappers-in-swift/).

While this solution works perfectly, it requires a fair amount of boilerplate code. In instances where we are only interested in exposing one particular function of the PAT, a shorter approach using function types is possible.

```swift
import Foundation
import UIKit

protocol Configurable {
associatedtype Model

func configure(with model: Model)
}

typealias Configurator = (Model) -> ()

extension UILabel: Configurable {
func configure(with model: String) {
self.text = model
}
}

let label = UILabel()
let configurator: Configurator = label.configure

configurator("Foo")

label.text // "Foo"
```

## Performing animations sequentially

`UIKit` exposes a very powerful and simple API to perform view animations. However, this API can become a little bit quirky to use when we want to perform animations sequentially, because it involves nesting closure within one another, which produces notoriously hard to maintain code.

Nonetheless, it's possible to define a rather simple class, that will expose a really nicer API for this particular use case 👌

```swift
import Foundation
import UIKit

class AnimationSequence {
typealias Animations = () -> Void

private let current: Animations
private let duration: TimeInterval
private var next: AnimationSequence? = nil

init(animations: @escaping Animations, duration: TimeInterval) {
self.current = animations
self.duration = duration
}

@discardableResult func append(animations: @escaping Animations, duration: TimeInterval) -> AnimationSequence {
var lastAnimation = self
while let nextAnimation = lastAnimation.next {
lastAnimation = nextAnimation
}
lastAnimation.next = AnimationSequence(animations: animations, duration: duration)
return self
}

func run() {
UIView.animate(withDuration: duration, animations: current, completion: { finished in
if finished, let next = self.next {
next.run()
}
})
}
}

var firstView = UIView()
var secondView = UIView()

firstView.alpha = 0
secondView.alpha = 0

AnimationSequence(animations: { firstView.alpha = 1.0 }, duration: 1)
.append(animations: { secondView.alpha = 1.0 }, duration: 0.5)
.append(animations: { firstView.alpha = 0.0 }, duration: 2.0)
.run()
```

## Debouncing a function call

Debouncing is a very useful tool when dealing with UI inputs. Consider a search bar, whose content is used to query an API. It wouldn't make sense to perform a request for every character the user is typing, because as soon as a new character is entered, the result of the previous request has become irrelevant.

Instead, our code will perform much better if we "debounce" the API call, meaning that we will wait until some delay has passed, without the input being modified, before actually performing the call.

```swift
import Foundation

func debounced(delay: TimeInterval, queue: DispatchQueue = .main, action: @escaping (() -> Void)) -> () -> Void {
var workItem: DispatchWorkItem?

return {
workItem?.cancel()
workItem = DispatchWorkItem(block: action)
queue.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + delay, execute: workItem!)
}
}

let debouncedPrint = debounced(delay: 1.0) { print("Action performed!") }

debouncedPrint()
debouncedPrint()
debouncedPrint()

// After a 1 second delay, this gets
// printed only once to the console:

// Action performed!
```

## Providing useful operators for `Optional` booleans

When we need to apply the standard boolean operators to `Optional` booleans, we often end up with a syntax unnecessarily crowded with unwrapping operations. By taking a cue from the world of [three-valued logics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-valued_logic), we can define a couple operators that make working with `Bool?` values much nicer.

```swift
import Foundation

func && (lhs: Bool?, rhs: Bool?) -> Bool? {
switch (lhs, rhs) {
case (false, _), (_, false):
return false
case let (unwrapLhs?, unwrapRhs?):
return unwrapLhs && unwrapRhs
default:
return nil
}
}

func || (lhs: Bool?, rhs: Bool?) -> Bool? {
switch (lhs, rhs) {
case (true, _), (_, true):
return true
case let (unwrapLhs?, unwrapRhs?):
return unwrapLhs || unwrapRhs
default:
return nil
}
}

false && nil // false
true && nil // nil
[true, nil, false].reduce(true, &&) // false

nil || true // true
nil || false // nil
[true, nil, false].reduce(false, ||) // true
```

## Removing duplicate values from a `Sequence`

Transforming a `Sequence` in order to remove all the duplicate values it contains is a classic use case. To implement it, one could be tempted to transform the `Sequence` into a `Set`, then back to an `Array`. The downside with this approach is that it will not preserve the order of the sequence, which can definitely be a dealbreaker. Using `reduce()` it is possible to provide a concise implementation that preserves ordering:

```swift
import Foundation

extension Sequence where Element: Equatable {
func duplicatesRemoved() -> [Element] {
return reduce([], { $0.contains($1) ? $0 : $0 + [$1] })
}
}

let data = [2, 5, 2, 3, 6, 5, 2]

data.duplicatesRemoved() // [2, 5, 3, 6]
```

## Shorter syntax to deal with optional strings

Optional strings are very common in Swift code, for instance many objects from `UIKit` expose the text they display as a `String?`. Many times you will need to manipulate this data as an unwrapped `String`, with a default value set to the empty string for `nil` cases.

While the nil-coalescing operator (e.g. `??`) is a perfectly fine way to a achieve this goal, defining a computed variable like `orEmpty` can help a lot in cleaning the syntax.

```swift
import Foundation
import UIKit

extension Optional where Wrapped == String {
var orEmpty: String {
switch self {
case .some(let value):
return value
case .none:
return ""
}
}
}

func doesNotWorkWithOptionalString(_ param: String) {
// do something with `param`
}

let label = UILabel()
label.text = "This is some text."

doesNotWorkWithOptionalString(label.text.orEmpty)
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lwxysw22GA)

## Encapsulating background computation and UI update

Every seasoned iOS developers knows it: objects from `UIKit` can only be accessed from the main thread. Any attempt to access them from a background thread is a guaranteed crash.

Still, running a costly computation on the background, and then using it to update the UI can be a common pattern.

In such cases you can rely on `asyncUI` to encapsulate all the boilerplate code.

```swift
import Foundation
import UIKit

func asyncUI(_ computation: @autoclosure @escaping () -> T, qos: DispatchQoS.QoSClass = .userInitiated, _ completion: @escaping (T) -> Void) {
DispatchQueue.global(qos: qos).async {
let value = computation()
DispatchQueue.main.async {
completion(value)
}
}
}

let label = UILabel()

func costlyComputation() -> Int { return (0..<10_000).reduce(0, +) }

asyncUI(costlyComputation()) { value in
label.text = "\(value)"
}
```

## Retrieving all the necessary data to build a debug view

A debug view, from which any controller of an app can be instantiated and pushed on the navigation stack, has the potential to bring some real value to a development process. A requirement to build such a view is to have a list of all the classes from a given `Bundle` that inherit from `UIViewController`. With the following `extension`, retrieving this list becomes a piece of cake 🍰

```swift
import Foundation
import UIKit
import ObjectiveC

extension Bundle {
func viewControllerTypes() -> [UIViewController.Type] {
guard let bundlePath = self.executablePath else { return [] }

var size: UInt32 = 0
var rawClassNames: UnsafeMutablePointer>!
var parsedClassNames = [String]()

rawClassNames = objc_copyClassNamesForImage(bundlePath, &size)

for index in 0.. I share the credit for this tip with [Benoît Caron](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benoît-caron-57530634/).

## Defining a function to map over dictionaries

**Update** As it turns out, `map` is actually a really bad name for this function, because it does not preserve composition of transformations, a property that is required to fit the [definition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functor) of a real `map` function.

Surprisingly enough, the standard library doesn't define a `map()` function for dictionaries that allows to map both `keys` and `values` into a new `Dictionary`. Nevertheless, such a function can be helpful, for instance when converting data across different frameworks.

```swift
import Foundation

extension Dictionary {
func map(_ transform: (Key, Value) throws -> (T, U)) rethrows -> [T: U] {
var result: [T: U] = [:]

for (key, value) in self {
let (transformedKey, transformedValue) = try transform(key, value)
result[transformedKey] = transformedValue
}

return result
}
}

let data = [0: 5, 1: 6, 2: 7]
data.map { ("\($0)", $1 * $1) } // ["2": 49, "0": 25, "1": 36]
```

## A shorter syntax to remove `nil` values

Swift provides the function `compactMap()`, that can be used to remove `nil` values from a `Sequence` of optionals when calling it with an argument that just returns its parameter (i.e. `compactMap { $0 }`). Still, for such use cases it would be nice to get rid of the trailing closure.

The implementation isn't as straightforward as your usual `extension`, but once it has been written, the call site definitely gets cleaner 👌

```swift
import Foundation

protocol OptionalConvertible {
associatedtype Wrapped
func asOptional() -> Wrapped?
}

extension Optional: OptionalConvertible {
func asOptional() -> Wrapped? {
return self
}
}

extension Sequence where Element: OptionalConvertible {
func compacted() -> [Element.Wrapped] {
return compactMap { $0.asOptional() }
}
}

let data = [nil, 1, 2, nil, 3, 5, nil, 8, nil]
data.compacted() // [1, 2, 3, 5, 8]
```

## Dealing with expirable values

It might happen that your code has to deal with values that come with an expiration date. In a game, it could be a score multiplier that will only last for 30 seconds. Or it could be an authentication token for an API, with a 15 minutes lifespan. In both instances you can rely on the type `Expirable` to encapsulate the expiration logic.

```swift
import Foundation

struct Expirable {
private var innerValue: T
private(set) var expirationDate: Date

var value: T? {
return hasExpired() ? nil : innerValue
}

init(value: T, expirationDate: Date) {
self.innerValue = value
self.expirationDate = expirationDate
}

init(value: T, duration: Double) {
self.innerValue = value
self.expirationDate = Date().addingTimeInterval(duration)
}

func hasExpired() -> Bool {
return expirationDate < Date()
}
}

let expirable = Expirable(value: 42, duration: 3)

sleep(2)
expirable.value // 42
sleep(2)
expirable.value // nil
```

> I share the credit for this tip with [Benoît Caron](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benoît-caron-57530634/).

## Using parallelism to speed-up `map()`

Almost all Apple devices able to run Swift code are powered by a multi-core CPU, consequently making a good use of parallelism is a great way to improve code performance. `map()` is a perfect candidate for such an optimization, because it is almost trivial to define a parallel implementation.

```swift
import Foundation

extension Array {
func parallelMap(_ transform: (Element) -> T) -> [T] {
let res = UnsafeMutablePointer.allocate(capacity: count)

DispatchQueue.concurrentPerform(iterations: count) { i in
res[i] = transform(self[i])
}

let finalResult = Array(UnsafeBufferPointer(start: res, count: count))
res.deallocate(capacity: count)

return finalResult
}
}

let array = (0..<1_000).map { $0 }

func work(_ n: Int) -> Int {
return (0.. Void) {
let start = Date()
for _ in 0..(_ left: @autoclosure () -> T, _ right: @autoclosure () -> U) -> (T, U) {
var leftRes: T?
var rightRes: U?

DispatchQueue.concurrentPerform(iterations: 2, execute: { id in
if id == 0 {
leftRes = left()
} else {
rightRes = right()
}
})

return (leftRes!, rightRes!)
}

let values = (1...100_000).map { $0 }

let results = parallel(values.map { $0 * $0 }, values.reduce(0, +))
```

## Making good use of \#file, \#line and \#function

Swift exposes three special variables `#file`, `#line` and `#function`, that are respectively set to the name of the current file, line and function. Those variables become very useful when writing custom logging functions or test predicates.

```swift
import Foundation

func log(_ message: String, _ file: String = #file, _ line: Int = #line, _ function: String = #function) {
print("[\(file):\(line)] \(function) - \(message)")
}

func foo() {
log("Hello world!")
}

foo() // [MyPlayground.playground:8] foo() - Hello world!
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhZSmY2CqBk)

## Comparing Optionals through Conditional Conformance

Swift 4.1 has introduced a new feature called [Conditional Conformance](https://swift.org/blog/conditional-conformance/), which allows a type to implement a protocol only when its generic type also does.

With this addition it becomes easy to let `Optional` implement `Comparable` only when `Wrapped` also implements `Comparable`:

```swift
import Foundation

extension Optional: Comparable where Wrapped: Comparable {
public static func < (lhs: Optional, rhs: Optional) -> Bool {
switch (lhs, rhs) {
case let (lhs?, rhs?):
return lhs < rhs
case (nil, _?):
return true // anything is greater than nil
case (_?, nil):
return false // nil in smaller than anything
case (nil, nil):
return true // nil is not smaller than itself
}
}
}

let data: [Int?] = [8, 4, 3, nil, 12, 4, 2, nil, -5]
data.sorted() // [nil, nil, Optional(-5), Optional(2), Optional(3), Optional(4), Optional(4), Optional(8), Optional(12)]
```

## Safely subscripting a Collection

Any attempt to access an `Array` beyond its bounds will result in a crash. While it's possible to write conditions such as `if index < array.count { array[index] }` in order to prevent such crashes, this approach will rapidly become cumbersome.

A great thing is that this condition can be encapsulated in a custom `subscript` that will work on any `Collection`:

```swift
import Foundation

extension Collection {
subscript (safe index: Index) -> Element? {
return indices.contains(index) ? self[index] : nil
}
}

let data = [1, 3, 4]

data[safe: 1] // Optional(3)
data[safe: 10] // nil
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wps0HYAbUK0)

## Easier String slicing using ranges

Subscripting a string with a range can be very cumbersome in Swift 4. Let's face it, no one wants to write lines like `someString[index(startIndex, offsetBy: 0)..) -> Substring {
get {
return self[index(startIndex, offsetBy: value.lowerBound)...index(startIndex, offsetBy: value.upperBound)]
}
}

public subscript(value: CountableRange) -> Substring {
get {
return self[index(startIndex, offsetBy: value.lowerBound)..) -> Substring {
get {
return self[..) -> Substring {
get {
return self[...index(startIndex, offsetBy: value.upperBound)]
}
}

public subscript(value: PartialRangeFrom) -> Substring {
get {
return self[index(startIndex, offsetBy: value.lowerBound)...]
}
}
}

let data = "This is a string!"

data[..<4] // "This"
data[5..<9] // "is a"
data[10...] // "string!"
```

## Concise syntax for sorting using a KeyPath

By using a `KeyPath` along with a generic type, a very clean and concise syntax for sorting data can be implemented:

```swift
import Foundation

extension Sequence {
func sorted(by attribute: KeyPath) -> [Element] {
return sorted(by: { $0[keyPath: attribute] < $1[keyPath: attribute] })
}
}

let data = ["Some", "words", "of", "different", "lengths"]

data.sorted(by: \.count) // ["of", "Some", "words", "lengths", "different"]
```

If you like this syntax, make sure to checkout [KeyPathKit](https://github.com/vincent-pradeilles/KeyPathKit)!

## Manufacturing cache-efficient versions of pure functions

By capturing a local variable in a returned closure, it is possible to manufacture cache-efficient versions of [pure functions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_function). Be careful though, this trick only works with non-recursive function!

```swift
import Foundation

func cached(_ f: @escaping (In) -> Out) -> (In) -> Out {
var cache = [In: Out]()

return { (input: In) -> Out in
if let cachedValue = cache[input] {
return cachedValue
} else {
let result = f(input)
cache[input] = result
return result
}
}
}

let cachedCos = cached { (x: Double) in cos(x) }

cachedCos(.pi * 2) // value of cos for 2π is now cached
```

## Simplifying complex conditions with pattern matching

When distinguishing between complex boolean conditions, using a `switch` statement along with pattern matching can be more readable than the classic series of `if {} else if {}`.

```swift
import Foundation

let expr1: Bool
let expr2: Bool
let expr3: Bool

if expr1 && !expr3 {
functionA()
} else if !expr2 && expr3 {
functionB()
} else if expr1 && !expr2 && expr3 {
functionC()
}

switch (expr1, expr2, expr3) {

case (true, _, false):
functionA()
case (_, false, true):
functionB()
case (true, false, true):
functionC()
default:
break
}
```

## Easily generating arrays of data

Using `map()` on a range makes it easy to generate an array of data.

```swift
import Foundation

func randomInt() -> Int { return Int(arc4random()) }

let randomArray = (1...10).map { _ in randomInt() }
```

## Using @autoclosure for cleaner call sites

Using `@autoclosure` enables the compiler to automatically wrap an argument within a closure, thus allowing for a very clean syntax at call sites.

```swift
import UIKit

extension UIView {
class func animate(withDuration duration: TimeInterval, _ animations: @escaping @autoclosure () -> Void) {
UIView.animate(withDuration: duration, animations: animations)
}
}

let view = UIView()

UIView.animate(withDuration: 0.3, view.backgroundColor = .orange)
```

## Observing new and old value with RxSwift

When working with RxSwift, it's very easy to observe both the current and previous value of an observable sequence by simply introducing a shift using `skip()`.

```swift
import RxSwift

let values = Observable.of(4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)

let newAndOld = Observable.zip(values, values.skip(1)) { (previous: $0, current: $1) }
.subscribe(onNext: { pair in
print("current: \(pair.current) - previous: \(pair.previous)")
})

//current: 8 - previous: 4
//current: 15 - previous: 8
//current: 16 - previous: 15
//current: 23 - previous: 16
//current: 42 - previous: 23
```

## Implicit initialization from literal values

Using protocols such as `ExpressibleByStringLiteral` it is possible to provide an `init` that will be automatically when a literal value is provided, allowing for nice and short syntax. This can be very helpful when writing mock or test data.

```swift
import Foundation

extension URL: ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
self.init(string: value)!
}
}

let url: URL = "http://www.google.fr"

NSURLConnection.canHandle(URLRequest(url: "http://www.google.fr"))
```

[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG4YXbQXhxY)

## Achieving systematic validation of data

Through some clever use of Swift `private` visibility it is possible to define a container that holds any untrusted value (such as a user input) from which the only way to retrieve the value is by making it successfully pass a validation test.

```swift
import Foundation

struct Untrusted {
private(set) var value: T
}

protocol Validator {
associatedtype T
static func validation(value: T) -> Bool
}

extension Validator {
static func validate(untrusted: Untrusted) -> T? {
if self.validation(value: untrusted.value) {
return untrusted.value
} else {
return nil
}
}
}

struct FrenchPhoneNumberValidator: Validator {
static func validation(value: String) -> Bool {
return (value.count) == 10 && CharacterSet(charactersIn: value).isSubset(of: CharacterSet.decimalDigits)
}
}

let validInput = Untrusted(value: "0122334455")
let invalidInput = Untrusted(value: "0123")

FrenchPhoneNumberValidator.validate(untrusted: validInput) // returns "0122334455"
FrenchPhoneNumberValidator.validate(untrusted: invalidInput) // returns nil
```

## Implementing the builder pattern with keypaths

With the addition of keypaths in Swift 4, it is now possible to easily implement the builder pattern, that allows the developer to clearly separate the code that initializes a value from the code that uses it, without the burden of defining a factory method.

```swift
import UIKit

protocol With {}

extension With where Self: AnyObject {
@discardableResult
func with(_ property: ReferenceWritableKeyPath, setTo value: T) -> Self {
self[keyPath: property] = value
return self
}
}

extension UIView: With {}

let view = UIView()

let label = UILabel()
.with(\.textColor, setTo: .red)
.with(\.text, setTo: "Foo")
.with(\.textAlignment, setTo: .right)
.with(\.layer.cornerRadius, setTo: 5)

view.addSubview(label)
```

🚨 The Swift compiler **does not** perform OS availability checks on properties referenced by keypaths. Any attempt to use a `KeyPath` for an unavailable property will result in a runtime crash.

> I share the credit for this tip with [Marion Curtil](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marion-curtil-1a478970/).

## Storing functions rather than values

When a type stores values for the sole purpose of parametrizing its functions, it’s then possible to not store the values but directly the function, with no discernable difference at the call site.

```swift
import Foundation

struct MaxValidator {
let max: Int
let strictComparison: Bool

func isValid(_ value: Int) -> Bool {
return self.strictComparison ? value < self.max : value <= self.max
}
}

struct MaxValidator2 {
var isValid: (_ value: Int) -> Bool

init(max: Int, strictComparison: Bool) {
self.isValid = strictComparison ? { $0 < max } : { $0 <= max }
}
}

MaxValidator(max: 5, strictComparison: true).isValid(5) // false
MaxValidator2(max: 5, strictComparison: false).isValid(5) // true
```

## Defining operators on function types

Functions are first-class citizen types in Swift, so it is perfectly legal to define operators for them.

```swift
import Foundation

let firstRange = { (0...3).contains($0) }
let secondRange = { (5...6).contains($0) }

func ||(_ lhs: @escaping (Int) -> Bool, _ rhs: @escaping (Int) -> Bool) -> (Int) -> Bool {
return { value in
return lhs(value) || rhs(value)
}
}

(firstRange || secondRange)(2) // true
(firstRange || secondRange)(4) // false
(firstRange || secondRange)(6) // true
```

## Typealiases for functions

Typealiases are great to express function signatures in a more comprehensive manner, which then enables us to easily define functions that operate on them, resulting in a nice way to write and use some powerful API.

```swift
import Foundation

typealias RangeSet = (Int) -> Bool

func union(_ left: @escaping RangeSet, _ right: @escaping RangeSet) -> RangeSet {
return { left($0) || right($0) }
}

let firstRange = { (0...3).contains($0) }
let secondRange = { (5...6).contains($0) }

let unionRange = union(firstRange, secondRange)

unionRange(2) // true
unionRange(4) // false
```

## Encapsulating state within a function

By returning a closure that captures a local variable, it's possible to encapsulate a mutable state within a function.

```swift
import Foundation

func counterFactory() -> () -> Int {
var counter = 0

return {
counter += 1
return counter
}
}

let counter = counterFactory()

counter() // returns 1
counter() // returns 2
```

## Generating all cases for an Enum

> ⚠️ Since Swift 4.2, `allCases` can now be synthesized at compile-time by simply conforming to the protocol `CaseIterable`. The implementation below should no longer be used in production code.

Through some clever leveraging of how enums are stored in memory, it is possible to generate an array that contains all the possible cases of an enum. This can prove particularly useful when writing unit tests that consume random data.

```swift
import Foundation

enum MyEnum { case first; case second; case third; case fourth }

protocol EnumCollection: Hashable {
static var allCases: [Self] { get }
}

extension EnumCollection {
public static var allCases: [Self] {
var i = 0
return Array(AnyIterator {
let next = withUnsafePointer(to: &i) {
$0.withMemoryRebound(to: Self.self, capacity: 1) { $0.pointee }
}
if next.hashValue != i { return nil }
i += 1
return next
})
}
}

extension MyEnum: EnumCollection { }

MyEnum.allCases // [.first, .second, .third, .fourth]
```

## Using map on optional values

The if-let syntax is a great way to deal with optional values in a safe manner, but at times it can prove to be just a little bit to cumbersome. In such cases, using the `Optional.map()` function is a nice way to achieve a shorter code while retaining safeness and readability.

```swift
import UIKit

let date: Date? = Date() // or could be nil, doesn't matter
let formatter = DateFormatter()
let label = UILabel()

if let safeDate = date {
label.text = formatter.string(from: safeDate)
}

label.text = date.map { return formatter.string(from: $0) }

label.text = date.map(formatter.string(from:)) // even shorter, tough less readable
```