ios - Array extension to remove object by value

Question

extension Array {
    func removeObject<T where T : Equatable>(object: T) {
        var index = find(self, object)
        self.removeAtIndex(index)
    }
}

However, I get an error on var index = find(self, object)

'T' is not convertible to 'T'

I also tried with this method signature: func removeObject(object: AnyObject), however, I get the same error:

'AnyObject' is not convertible to 'T'

What is the proper way to do this?

Answer 1

As of Swift 2, this can be achieved with a protocol extension method. removeObject() is defined as a method on all types conforming to RangeReplaceableCollectionType (in particular on Array) if the elements of the collection are Equatable:

extension RangeReplaceableCollectionType where Generator.Element : Equatable {

    // Remove first collection element that is equal to the given `object`:
    mutating func removeObject(object : Generator.Element) {
        if let index = self.indexOf(object) {
            self.removeAtIndex(index)
        }
    }
}

Example:

var ar = [1, 2, 3, 2]
ar.removeObject(2)
print(ar) // [1, 3, 2]

Update for Swift 2 / Xcode 7 beta 2: As Airspeed Velocity noticed in the comments, it is now actually possible to write a method on a generic type that is more restrictive on the template, so the method could now actually be defined as an extension of Array:

extension Array where Element : Equatable {

    // ... same method as above ...
}

The protocol extension still has the advantage of being applicable to a larger set of types.

Update for Swift 3:

extension Array where Element: Equatable {

    // Remove first collection element that is equal to the given `object`:
    mutating func remove(object: Element) {
        if let index = index(of: object) {
            remove(at: index)
        }
    }
}