Difference between computed property and property

Question

I'm new to Swift. What is the difference between a computed property and a property set to a closure? I know a computed property gets recalculated each time. Is it different for the closure? i.e.

Closure:

var pushBehavior: UIPushBehavior = {
    let lazilyCreatedPush = UIPushBehavior()
    lazilyCreatedPush.setAngle(50, magnitude: 50)
    return lazilyCreatedPush
}()

Computed:

var pushBehavior: UIPushBehavior {
    get{
        let lazilyCreatedPush = UIPushBehavior()
        lazilyCreatedPush.setAngle(50, magnitude: 50)
        return lazilyCreatedPush
    }
}

Answer 1

The main difference is that you cannot assign something to the computed property since it has no setter. In this case the closure only gets called once and the return value gets stored in the variable so if the outcome doesn't change over time it is more efficient to use the stored variable rather than the computed one.

In general: computed properties should only be used if the value can be retrieved quickly.

Sidenote: If you don't change/reassign the stored variable you should consider making it a constant (let)

Answer 2

The first is a stored property that is initialized via a closure. The second is a computed property.

The stored property's initialization closure is called once and only once, but you can later change the value of the stored property (unless you replace var with let). This is useful when you want to encapsulate the code to initialize a stored property in a single, concise block of code.

The computed property's block, however, is called each time you reference the variable. It’s useful when you want the code to be called every time you reference the computed property. Generally you do this when the computed property needs to be recalculated every time you reference the stored property (e.g. recalculated from other, possibly private, stored properties).

In this case, you undoubtedly want the stored property (the first example), not the computed property (the second example). You presumably don't want a new push behavior object each time you reference the variable.

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By the way, in your first example, you internally reference to it being instantiated lazily. If you want that behavior, you must use the lazy keyword:

lazy var pushBehavior: UIPushBehavior = {
    let lazilyCreatedPush = UIPushBehavior()
    lazilyCreatedPush.setAngle(50, magnitude: 50)
    return lazilyCreatedPush
}()

If, however, the property is static, it is automatically instantiated lazily.

Answer 3

Closure :

  //closure
    var pushBehavior: UIPushBehavior = {
        let lazilyCreatedPush = UIPushBehavior()
        lazilyCreatedPush.setAngle(50, magnitude: 50)
        return lazilyCreatedPush
    }()

At first time when pushBehavior variable called then block execute and value is saved in pushBehavior variable. after that whenever you call pushBehavior then those value are returned.

means only first-time block code executed and saved in this variable. Also, you can store variable value whenever you want but after that, those value returned but if you declare as "let" then you can't change this value.

Computed property :

var pushBehavior: UIPushBehavior {
    get{
        let lazilyCreatedPush = UIPushBehavior()
        lazilyCreatedPush.setAngle(50, magnitude: 50)
        return lazilyCreatedPush
    }
}

In computed property whenever you called pushBehavior variable then this block execute and value return. so every time block is executed. and you can not declare variable as "let" keyword for pushBehavior variable.

So you can use this code as per your requirement.

Answer 4

This isn't an answer, but it's just worth mentioning that for:

• A stored properties the value must be known after initialization. That happens either by defaulting or through initialization.
• A computed property's value isn't computed until it's accessed
• A lazy loaded property's value isn't defined until it's accessed

hence for both computed and lazy variables you can access self or stored properties with no worries.