ios - An equivalent to computed properties using @Published in Swift Combine?

Question

In imperative Swift, it is common to use computed properties to provide convenient access to data without duplicating state.

Let's say I have this class made for imperative MVC use:

class ImperativeUserManager {
    private(set) var currentUser: User? {
        didSet {
            if oldValue != currentUser {
                NotificationCenter.default.post(name: NSNotification.Name("userStateDidChange"), object: nil)
                // Observers that receive this notification might then check either currentUser or userIsLoggedIn for the latest state
            }
        }
    }

    var userIsLoggedIn: Bool {
        currentUser != nil
    }

    // ...
}

If I want to create a reactive equivalent with Combine, e.g. for use with SwiftUI, I can easily add @Published to stored properties to generate Publishers, but not for computed properties.

    @Published var userIsLoggedIn: Bool { // Error: Property wrapper cannot be applied to a computed property
        currentUser != nil
    }

There are various workarounds I could think of. I could make my computed property stored instead and keep it updated.

Option 1: Using a property observer:

class ReactiveUserManager1: ObservableObject {
    @Published private(set) var currentUser: User? {
        didSet {
            userIsLoggedIn = currentUser != nil
        }
    }

    @Published private(set) var userIsLoggedIn: Bool = false

    // ...
}

Option 2: Using a Subscriber in my own class:

class ReactiveUserManager2: ObservableObject {
    @Published private(set) var currentUser: User?
    @Published private(set) var userIsLoggedIn: Bool = false

    private var subscribers = Set<AnyCancellable>()

    init() {
        $currentUser
            .map { $0 != nil }
            .assign(to: .userIsLoggedIn, on: self)
            .store(in: &subscribers)
    }

    // ...
}

However, these workarounds are not as elegant as computed properties. They duplicate state and they do not update both properties simultaneously.

What would be a proper equivalent to adding a Publisher to a computed property in Combine?

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58203531/an-equivalent-to-computed-properties-using-published-in-swift-combine

Answer 1

You don't need to do anything for computed properties that are based on @Published properties. You can just use it like this:

class UserManager: ObservableObject {
  @Published
  var currentUser: User?

  var userIsLoggedIn: Bool {
    currentUser != nil
  }
}

What happens in the @Published property wrapper of currentUser is that it will call objectWillChange.send() of the ObservedObject on changes. SwiftUI views don't care about which properties of @ObservedObjects have changed, it will just recalculate the view and redraw if necessary.

Working example:

class UserManager: ObservableObject {
  @Published
  var currentUser: String?

  var userIsLoggedIn: Bool {
    currentUser != nil
  }

  func logOut() {
    currentUser = nil
  }

  func logIn() {
    currentUser = "Demo"
  }
}

And a SwiftUI demo view:

struct ContentView: View {

  @ObservedObject
  var userManager = UserManager()

  var body: some View {
    VStack( spacing: 50) {
      if userManager.userIsLoggedIn {
        Text( "Logged in")
        Button(action: userManager.logOut) {
          Text("Log out")
        }
      } else {
        Text( "Logged out")
        Button(action: userManager.logIn) {
          Text("Log in")
        }
      }
    }
  }
}