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SwiftUI Apprentice

Third Edition · iOS 18 · Swift 5.9 · Xcode 16.2

Before You Begin

Section 0: 5 chapters
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Section I: Your First App: HIITFit

Section 1: 12 chapters
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Section II: Your Second App: Cards

Section 2: 9 chapters
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Section III: Your Third App: TheMet

Section 3: 5 chapters
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6. Observing Objects
Written by Audrey Tam

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In the previous chapter, you managed the flow of values to implement most of the functionality your users expect when navigating and using your app. In this chapter, you’ll manage some of your app’s data objects. You’ll use a TimeLineView and give some views access to HistoryStore as an EnvironmentObject.

Showing/Hiding the Timer

Skills you’ll learn in this section: using a TimeLineView; showing and hiding a subview

Here’s your next feature: In ExerciseView, tapping Start Exercise shows a countdown timer; the Done button is disabled until the timer reaches 0. Tapping Done hides the timer. In this section, you’ll create a TimerView, then use a Boolean flag to show or hide it in ExerciseView.

Using TimelineView

Your app currently uses a Text view with style: .timer. This counts down just fine, but then it counts up and keeps going. You don’t have any control over it. You can’t stop it. You can’t even check when it reaches zero.

Showing the Timer

➤ In ExerciseView.swift, replace let interval: TimeInterval = 30 with the following code:

Enabling the Done Button & Hiding the Timer

➤ Now, in doneButton, add these two lines to the Done button action, above the if-else:

Testing the Timer & Done Button

➤ Now check that #Preview still shows the last exercise:

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Tweaking the UI

Tapping Start Exercise shows the timer and pushes the buttons and rating symbols down the screen. Tapping Done moves them up again. So much movement is probably not desirable, unless you believe it’s a suitable “feature” for an exercise app.

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Using an EnvironmentObject

Skills you’ll learn in this section: using @ObservableObject and @EnvironmentObject to let subviews access data; class vs structure

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Creating an ObservableObject

To dismiss SuccessView, you used its dismiss environment property. This is one of the system’s predefined environment properties. You can define your own environment object on a view, and it can be accessed by any subview of that view. You don’t need to pass it as a parameter. Any subview that needs it simply declares it as a property.

Using Your @EnvironmentObject

Now, you need to set up HistoryStore as an @EnvironmentObject in the parent view of ExerciseView. ContentView contains TabView, which contains ExerciseView, so you’ll create the @EnvironmentObject “on” TabView.

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Challenge

To appreciate how well @EnvironmentObject works for this feature, implement it using State and Binding.

Challenge: Use @State & @Binding to Add Exercise to HistoryStore

  • Start from the project copy you made just before you changed HistoryStore to an ObservableObject. Or open the starter project in the challenge folder.
  • Save time and effort by commenting out #Preview in WelcomeView, ExerciseView and HistoryView. Just pin the preview of ContentView so you can inspect your work while editing any view file.
  • Initialize history in ContentView and pass it to WelcomeView and ExerciseView. Use State and bindings where you need to.
  • Pass history to HistoryView from WelcomeView and ExerciseView. In HistoryView, change let history = HistoryStore() to let history: HistoryStore.
  • Add addDoneExercise(_ exerciseName:) to HistoryStore as a mutating method and call it in the action of the Done button in ExerciseView.

Key Points

5. Moving Data Between Views
7. Saving Settings
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