How can I store an array of objects of type Goal which I have created in NSUserDefaults? (in swift)
Here is the code:
func saveGoalList ( newGoalList : [Goal] ){
let updatedGoalList = newGoalList;
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().setObject(updatedGoalList, forKey: "GoalList")
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().synchronize()
}
class GoalsViewController: MainPageContentViewController, UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource {
@IBOutlet var tableView: GoalsTableView!
var cell = GoalTableViewCell()
var goalsArray : Array<Goal> = [] //
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
self.tableView.delegate = self
self.tableView.dataSource = self
if var storedGoalList: [Goal] = NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().objectForKey("GoalList") as? [Goal]{
goalsArray = storedGoalList;
}
var goal = Goal(title: "Walk the Dog")
goalsArray.append(goal)
saveGoalList(goalsArray)
self.tableView?.reloadData()
tableView.estimatedRowHeight = 44.0
tableView.rowHeight = UITableViewAutomaticDimension
self.xpnotificationView.alpha = 0.0
}
override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
return goalsArray.count //to ensure there is always an extra cell to fill in.
}
func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell { //recreate the cell and try using it.
cell = tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("cell", forIndexPath: indexPath) as GoalTableViewCell
cell.goalTextField.text = goalsArray[indexPath.row].title as String!
cell.checkmarkImageView.visible = goalsArray[indexPath.row].checkmarked as Bool!
if (cell.checkmarkImageView.visible == true) {
cell.blackLineView.alpha = 1.0
} else {
cell.blackLineView.alpha = 0.0
}
return cell
}
}
I understand that there are only certain data types that work with NSUserDefaults. Could anyone help me understand how I could do that?
Edit: Right now Goal inherits from NSObject.
I am posting code from a learning project I did to store objects using NSCoding. Fully functional and ready to use. A math game that was storing game variables, etc.
//********This class creates the object and properties to store********
import Foundation
class ButtonStates: NSObject {
var sign: String = "+"
var level: Int = 1
var problems: Int = 10
var time: Int = 30
var skipWrongAnswers = true
func encodeWithCoder(aCoder: NSCoder!) {
aCoder.encodeObject(sign, forKey: "sign")
aCoder.encodeInteger(level, forKey: "level")
aCoder.encodeInteger(problems, forKey: "problems")
aCoder.encodeInteger(time, forKey: "time")
aCoder.encodeBool(skipWrongAnswers, forKey: "skipWrongAnswers")
}
init(coder aDecoder: NSCoder!) {
sign = aDecoder.decodeObjectForKey("sign") as String
level = aDecoder.decodeIntegerForKey("level")
problems = aDecoder.decodeIntegerForKey("problems")
time = aDecoder.decodeIntegerForKey("time")
skipWrongAnswers = aDecoder.decodeBoolForKey("skipWrongAnswers")
}
override init() {
}
}
//********Here is the data archiving and retrieving class********
class ArchiveButtonStates:NSObject {
var documentDirectories:NSArray = []
var documentDirectory:String = ""
var path:String = ""
func ArchiveButtons(#buttonStates: ButtonStates) {
documentDirectories = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)
documentDirectory = documentDirectories.objectAtIndex(0) as String
path = documentDirectory.stringByAppendingPathComponent("buttonStates.archive")
if NSKeyedArchiver.archiveRootObject(buttonStates, toFile: path) {
//println("Success writing to file!")
} else {
println("Unable to write to file!")
}
}
func RetrieveButtons() -> NSObject {
var dataToRetrieve = ButtonStates()
documentDirectories = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)
documentDirectory = documentDirectories.objectAtIndex(0) as String
path = documentDirectory.stringByAppendingPathComponent("buttonStates.archive")
if let dataToRetrieve2 = NSKeyedUnarchiver.unarchiveObjectWithFile(path) as? ButtonStates {
dataToRetrieve = dataToRetrieve2 as ButtonStates
}
return(dataToRetrieve)
}
}
the following is in my ViewController where the game is played. Only showing the relevant code for retrieving and storing objects
class mathGame: UIViewController {
var buttonStates = ButtonStates()
override func viewWillAppear(animated: Bool) {
super.viewWillAppear(animated)
//set inital view
//retrieving a stored object & placing property into local class variables
buttonStates = ArchiveButtonStates().RetrieveButtons() as ButtonStates
gameData.sign = buttonStates.sign
gameData.level = buttonStates.level
gameData.problems = buttonStates.problems
gameData.time = buttonStates.time
}
override func viewWillDisappear(animated: Bool) {
super.viewWillDisappear(animated)
//storing the object
ArchiveButtonStates().ArchiveButtons(buttonStates: buttonStates)
}
}
You need your class to adopt the NSCoding protocol and encode and decode itself, like this:
https://github.com/mattneub/Programming-iOS-Book-Examples/blob/master/bk2ch23p798basicFileOperations/ch36p1053basicFileOperations/Person.swift
Now you can transform an instance of your class into an NSData by calling NSKeyedArchiver.archivedDataWithRootObject:
- and an NSData can go into NSUserDefaults.
This also means that an NSArray of instances of your class can be transformed into an NSData by the same means.
For Swift 2.1, your Goal class should look like :
import Foundation
class Goal : NSObject, NSCoding {
var title: String
// designated initializer
init(title: String) {
self.title = title
super.init() // call NSObject's init method
}
// MARK: - comply wiht NSCoding protocol
func encodeWithCoder(aCoder: NSCoder) {
aCoder.encodeObject(title, forKey: "GoalTitle")
}
required convenience init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
// decoding could fail, for example when no Blog was saved before calling decode
guard let unarchivedGoalTitle = aDecoder.decodeObjectForKey("GoalTitle") as? String
else {
// option 1 : return an default Blog
self.init(title: "unknown")
return
// option 2 : return nil, and handle the error at higher level
}
// convenience init must call the designated init
self.init(title: unarchivedGoalTitle)
}
}
and you should use it in your view controller like I did in this test code :
// create an array with test data
let goal1 = Goal(title: "first goal")
let goal2 = Goal(title: "second goal")
let goalArray = [goal1, goal2]
// first convert the array of custom Goal objects to a NSData blob, as NSUserDefaults cannot handle arrays of custom objects directly
let dataBlob = NSKeyedArchiver.archivedDataWithRootObject(goalArray)
// this NSData object can now be stored in the user defaults
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().setObject(dataBlob, forKey: "myGoals")
// sync to make sure they are saved before we retreive anytying
NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().synchronize()
// now read back
if let decodedNSDataBlob = NSUserDefaults.standardUserDefaults().objectForKey("myGoals") as? NSData {
if let loadedGoalsArray = NSKeyedUnarchiver.unarchiveObjectWithData(decodedNSDataBlob) as? [Goal] {
for goal in loadedGoalsArray {
print("goal : \(goal.title)")
}
}
}
As a final remark : it would be easier to use NSKeyedArchiver instead of NSUserDefaults, and store your array of custom objects directly to a file. You can read more about the difference between both methods in another answer I posted here.