A weak reference allows the possibility of it to become nil (this happens automatically when the referenced object is deallocated), therefore the type of your property must be optional - so you, as a programmer, are obligated to check it before you use it (basically the compiler forces you, as much as it can, to write safe code).
An unowned reference presumes that it will never become nil during it's lifetime. A unowned reference must be set during initialization - this means that the reference will be defined as a non-optional type that can be used safely without checks. If somehow the object being referred is deallocated, then the app will crash when the unowned reference will be used.
- weak_unowned_ref.swift Select all
// Optional Binding & chained
class Person {
var residence: Residence?
init(residence:Residence?) {
self.residence = residence
}
}
class Residence {
var address: Address?
init(address:Address?) {
self.address = address
}
}
class Address {
var buildingNumber: String?
var streetName: String?
var apartmentNumber: String?
init(buildingNumber:String?, streetName: String?, apartmentNumber: String?) {
self.buildingNumber = buildingNumber
self.streetName = streetName
self.apartmentNumber = apartmentNumber
}
convenience init() {
self.init(buildingNumber:"", streetName:"", apartmentNumber:"")
}
}
// Weak Reference with among objects independent lifetime
class CreditCard {
weak var holder: Person?
}
// Unowned references from owned objects with same lifetime
class DebitCard {
unowned let holder: Person
init(holder: Person) {
self.holder = holder
}
}
let paul = Person(residence: Residence(address: Address(buildingNumber: "234", streetName: "Brooke Street", apartmentNumber: "9")))
//let paul = Person(residence: Residence(address: Address()))
if let buildNumber = paul.residence?.address?.buildingNumber?.toInt() {
println("paul's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
if let buildNumber = DebitCard(holder: paul).holder.residence?.address?.buildingNumber?.toInt() {
println("debitcard holder's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
if let buildNumber = CreditCard().holder?.residence?.address?.buildingNumber?.toInt() {
println("creditcard holder's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
// Swift 3 syntax as below
let paul = Person(residence: Residence(address: Address(buildingNumber: "234", streetName: "Brooke Street", apartmentNumber: "9")))
if let buildNumber = paul.residence?.address?.buildingNumber! {
print("paul's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
if let buildNumber = DebitCard(holder: paul).holder.residence?.address?.buildingNumber! {
print("debitcard holder's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
if let buildNumber = CreditCard().holder?.residence?.address?.buildingNumber! {
print("creditcard holder's building number is \(buildNumber)")
}
