12.
Methods
Written by Ben Morrow
Heads up... You're reading this book for free, with parts of this chapter shown beyond this point as text.
In the previous chapter, you learned about properties, which are constants and variables that are part of structures. Methods, as you’ve already seen, are merely functions that reside inside a structure.
In this chapter, you’ll take a closer look at methods and initializers. As with properties, you’ll begin to design more complex structures. The things you learn in this chapter will apply to methods across all named types, including classes and enumerations, which you’ll see in later chapters.
Method refresher
Remember Array.removeLast()? It pops the last item off an instance of an array:
var numbers = [1, 2, 3]
numbers.removeLast()
numbers // [1, 2]
Methods like removeLast() help you control the data in the structure.
Comparing methods to computed properties
With computed properties, you saw in the last chapter that you could run code from inside a structure. That sounds a lot like a method. What’s the difference? It really comes down to a matter of style, but there are a few helpful thoughts to help you decide. Properties hold values that you can get and set, while methods perform work. Sometimes this distinction gets fuzzy when a method’s sole purpose is to return a single value.
Turning a function into a method
To explore methods and initializers, you will create a simple model for dates called SimpleDate. Be aware that Apple’s Foundation library contains a robust, production-ready Date class that correctly handles all of the subtle intricacies of dealing with dates and times.
let months = ["January", "February", "March",
"April", "May", "June",
"July", "August", "September",
"October", "November", "December"]
struct SimpleDate {
var month: String
}
func monthsUntilWinterBreak(from date: SimpleDate) -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: date.month)!
}
struct SimpleDate {
var month: String
func monthsUntilWinterBreak(from date: SimpleDate) -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: date.month)!
}
}
let date = SimpleDate(month: "October")
date.monthsUntilWinterBreak(from: date) // 2
date.monthsUntilWinterBreak() // Error!
Introducing self
You already Self (spelled with an uppercase S) in the last chapter as a way to access static properties from inside a struct. Now we look at lowercase self. A structure definition is like a blueprint, whereas an instance is a real object. To access the value of an instance, you use the keyword self inside the structure. The Swift compiler passes it into your method as a secret parameter. The method definition transforms into this:
// 1
func monthsUntilWinterBreak() -> Int {
// 2
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: self.month)!
}
date.monthsUntilWinterBreak() // 2
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! - months.firstIndex(of: month)!
Mini-exercise
Since monthsUntilWinterBreak() returns a single value and there’s not much calculation involved, transform the method into a computed property with a getter component.
Introducing initializers
You learned about initializers in the previous chapters, but let’s look at them again with your newfound knowledge of methods.
let date = SimpleDate(month: "January")
let date = SimpleDate() // Error!
struct SimpleDate {
var month: String
init() {
month = "January"
}
func monthsUntilWinterBreak() -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: month)!
}
}
let date = SimpleDate()
date.month // January
date.monthsUntilWinterBreak() // 11
init() {
month = "March"
}
let date = SimpleDate()
date.month // March
date.monthsUntilWinterBreak() // 9
Initializers in structures
Initializers ensure all properties are set before the instance is ready to use:
struct SimpleDate {
var month: String
var day: Int
init() {
month = "January"
day = 1
}
func monthsUntilWinterBreak() -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: month)!
}
}
let valentinesDay = SimpleDate(month: "February",
day: 14) // Error!
init(month: String, day: Int) {
self.month = month
self.day = day
}
init() {
month = "January"
day = 1
}
let valentinesDay = SimpleDate(month: "February", day: 14)
valentinesDay.month // February
valentinesDay.day // 14
Default values and initializers
As you might expect, there is a more straightforward way to achieve a no-parameter initializer or empty initializer.
struct SimpleDate {
// 1
var month = "January"
var day = 1
//2
func monthsUntilWinterBreak() -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: month)!
}
}
let newYearsDay = SimpleDate()
newYearsDay.month // January
newYearsDay.day // 1
let valentinesDay = SimpleDate(month: "February", day: 14)
valentinesDay.month // February
valentinesDay.day // 14
let octoberFirst = SimpleDate(month: "October")
octoberFirst.month // October
octoberFirst.day // 1
let januaryTwentySecond = SimpleDate(day: 22)
januaryTwentySecond.month // January
januaryTwentySecond.day // 22
Introducing mutating methods
Methods in structures cannot change the values of the instance without being marked as mutating. You can imagine a method in the SimpleDate structure that advances to the next day:
mutating func advance() {
day += 1
}
Type methods
Like type properties, you can use type methods to access data across all instances. You call type methods on the type itself, instead of on an instance. To define a type method, you prefix it with the static modifier.
struct Math {
// 1
static func factorial(of number: Int) -> Int {
// 2
(1...number).reduce(1, *)
}
}
// 3
Math.factorial(of: 6) // 720
Mini-exercise
Add a type method to the Math structure that calculates the n-th triangle number. It will be very similar to the factorial formula, except instead of multiplying the numbers, you add them.
Adding to an existing structure with extensions
Sometimes you want to add functionality to a structure but don’t want to muddy up the original definition. And sometimes you can’t add the functionality because you don’t have access to the source code. It is possible to open an existing structure (even one you do not have the source code for) and add methods, initializers and computed properties to it. This can be useful for code organization and is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 18, “Access Control and Code Organization”. Doing so is as easy as using the keyword, extension.
extension Math {
static func primeFactors(of value: Int) -> [Int] {
// 1
var remainingValue = value
// 2
var testFactor = 2
var primes: [Int] = []
// 3
while testFactor * testFactor <= remainingValue {
if remainingValue % testFactor == 0 {
primes.append(testFactor)
remainingValue /= testFactor
}
else {
testFactor += 1
}
}
if remainingValue > 1 {
primes.append(remainingValue)
}
return primes
}
}
Math.primeFactors(of: 81) // [3, 3, 3, 3]
Keeping the compiler-generated initializer using extensions
With the SimpleDate structure, you saw that once you added your own init(), the compiler-generated memberwise initializer disappeared. It turns out that you can keep both if you add your init() to an extension to SimpleDate:
struct SimpleDate {
var month = "January"
var day = 1
func monthsUntilWinterBreak() -> Int {
months.firstIndex(of: "December")! -
months.firstIndex(of: month)!
}
mutating func advance() {
day += 1
}
}
extension SimpleDate {
init(month: Int, day: Int) {
self.month = months[month-1]
self.day = day
}
}
Challenges
Before moving on, here are some challenges to test your knowledge of methods. It is best if you try to solve them yourself, but solutions are available if you get stuck. These came with the download or are available at the printed book’s source code link listed in the introduction.
Challenge 1: Grow a Circle
Given the Circle structure below:
struct Circle {
var radius = 0.0
var area: Double {
.pi * radius * radius
}
init(radius: Double) {
self.radius = radius
}
}
Challenge 2: A more advanced advance()
Here is a naïve way of writing advance() for the SimpleDate structure you saw earlier in the chapter:
let months = ["January", "February", "March",
"April", "May", "June",
"July", "August", "September",
"October", "November", "December"]
struct SimpleDate {
var month: String
var day: Int
mutating func advance() {
day += 1
}
}
var date = SimpleDate(month: "December", day: 31)
date.advance()
date.month // December; should be January!
date.day // 32; should be 1!
Challenge 3: Odd and Even Math
Add type methods named isEven and isOdd to your Math namespace that return true if a number is even or odd respectively.
Challenge 4: Odd and Even Int
It turns out that Int is simply a struct. Add the computed properties isEven and isOdd to Int using an extension.
Challenge 5: Prime Factors
Add the method primeFactors() to Int. Since this is an expensive operation, this is best left as an actual method.
Key points
- Methods are functions associated with a type.
- Methods are the behaviors that define the functionality of a type.
- A method can access the data of an instance by using the keyword
self. -
Initializers create new instances of a type. They look a lot like methods that are called
initwith no return value. - A type method adds behavior to a type instead of the instances of that type. To define a type method, you prefix it with the
staticmodifier. - You can open an existing structure and add methods, initializers and computed properties to it by using an
extension. - By adding your own initializers in extensions, you can keep the compiler’s member-wise initializer for a structure.
- Methods can exist in all the named types — structures, classes and enumerations.