When creating an instance of an object, I'm having trouble setting its properties if I assign the property to another variable.
Eg. For an object containing nested objects, I want to assign one of the children to a temporary var to make it easier to work with.
Instead of doing this (which works):
myObj.myChildObject[0].someOtherChild[0].property = "something"
I'm trying to do:
var t = myObj.myChildObject[0].someOtherChild[0]
t.property = "something"
// this doesn't throw an error but doesn't change the value of myObj
What gives?
Edit>
Here's a contrived example to illustrate:
class Car { var name: String = "" }
var merc = Car()
var obj = merc.name
merc.name = "C63 AMG"
obj = "E300"
print("merc.name: \(merc.name)") // prints merc.name: C63 AMG
print("obj.name: \(obj)") // prints obj.name: E300
var ob2 = merc
ob2.name = "Toyota"
print("ob2.name: \(ob2.name)") // prints ob2.name: Toyota
print("merc.name: \(merc.name)") // prints merc.name: Toyota
So assigning the class instance to a var creates a reference. But assigning a property of that object to another var creates a copy?
I read through https://developer.apple.com/swift/blog/?id=10 and still don't get it :(
In the above, 'obj' is not a struct, enum or tuple, so shouldn't it be a reference type?
If myObj.myChildObject[0].someOtherChild[0] is a value type (I.e. a strict, direct enum or tuple), it's being copied upon assignment to t. Subsequent mutations on t only mutate that copy, and the original instance are unchanged.
You would have to reassign t back in:
var t = myObj.myChildObject[0].someOtherChild[0]
t.property = "something"
myObj.myChildObject[0].someOtherChild[0] = t
This is discussed in the Swift language guide.
I have a string here, which I am trying to substring.
let desc = "Hello world. Hello World."
var stringRange = 1..<5
desc.substringWithRange(stringRange)
However Swift gives me an error with this. What have I done wrong? I am using the new notation of the stringRange because it doesn't let me use the old one.
The Range you have created does not have the correct type, it is inferred to be an Int. You need to create the range from the string itself:
let desc = "Hello world. Hello World."
let stringRange = desc.startIndex..<desc.startIndex.advancedBy(5)
let sub = desc[stringRange]
It's slightly more complex with String. Alternatively, go back to NSString and NSRange:
let range = NSMakeRange(0, 5)
let sub2 = (desc as NSString).substringWithRange(range)
Your 1..<5 is from type Range<Int>, while the method substringWithRange expects a value from type Range<Index>
let desc = "Hello world. Hello World."
var dd = desc.substringWithRange(desc.startIndex..<desc.startIndex.advancedBy(5))
You may apply advanceBy to the desc.startIndex as well
I don't understand what to do with the issue reported by the compiler. I tried to create a Range, but it says Index is not known:
//let range = matches.first!.range.location
let range = Range(
start:matches.first!.range.location,
end: matches.first!.range.location+matches.first!.range.length
)
id = text[range]
var t = text
t.removeRange(range)
return t
Compiler says: Cannot invoke 'removeRange' with an argument list of type '(Range)' on t.removeRange(range).
I'm pretty sure it's evident, but I lost a great deal of time on such a small issue… any help highly appreciated!
As your error says that:
Cannot invoke 'removeRange' with an argument list of type '(Range)'
Means there is a problem with your range instance type and removeRange function will only accept an argument with type Range<String.Index> and its syntax is :
/// Remove the indicated `subRange` of characters
///
/// Invalidates all indices with respect to `self`.
///
/// Complexity: O(\ `count(self)`\ ).
mutating func removeRange(subRange: Range<String.Index>)
And here is working example with removeRange:
var welcome = "hello there"
let range = advance(welcome.endIndex, -6)..<welcome.endIndex
welcome.removeRange(range)
println(welcome) //hello
Hope this will help.
Swift 2.2 example of removing first 4 characters:
let range = text.startIndex..<text.startIndex.advancedBy(4)
text.removeRange(range)
That first line feels verbose. I hope newer Swift versions improve upon it.
Here is the working equivalent snippet:
static func unitTest() {
let text = "a👿bbbbb🇩🇪c"
let tag = Tag(id: "🇩🇪")
tag.regex = "👿b+"
print ("Unit test tag.foundIn(\(text)) ? = \(tag.foundIn(text))")
}
func foundIn(text: String) -> (id:String, remainingText:String)? {
// if a regex is provided, use it to capture, and keep the capture as a tag ID
if let regex = regex {
let r = Regex(regex) // text =~ regex
let matches = r.matches(text)
if matches.count >= 1 {
let first = matches.first!.range
let start = advance(text.startIndex, first.location)
let end = advance(start, first.length-1)
let range = Range(start: start, end: end)
id = text[range]
var t = text
t.removeRange(range)
return (id, t)
}
return nil
}
else if let range = text.rangeOfString(id) {
var t = text
t.removeRange(range)
return (id, t)
}
else {
return nil
}
}
The unit test returns :
Unit test tag.foundIn(a👿bbbbb🇩🇪c) ? = Optional(("👿bbbbb", "a🇩🇪c"))
How can I remove last character from String variable using Swift? Can't find it in documentation.
Here is full example:
var expression = "45+22"
expression = expression.substringToIndex(countElements(expression) - 1)
Swift 4.0 (also Swift 5.0)
var str = "Hello, World" // "Hello, World"
str.dropLast() // "Hello, Worl" (non-modifying)
str // "Hello, World"
String(str.dropLast()) // "Hello, Worl"
str.remove(at: str.index(before: str.endIndex)) // "d"
str // "Hello, Worl" (modifying)
Swift 3.0
The APIs have gotten a bit more swifty, and as a result the Foundation extension has changed a bit:
var name: String = "Dolphin"
var truncated = name.substring(to: name.index(before: name.endIndex))
print(name) // "Dolphin"
print(truncated) // "Dolphi"
Or the in-place version:
var name: String = "Dolphin"
name.remove(at: name.index(before: name.endIndex))
print(name) // "Dolphi"
Thanks Zmey, Rob Allen!
Swift 2.0+ Way
There are a few ways to accomplish this:
Via the Foundation extension, despite not being part of the Swift library:
var name: String = "Dolphin"
var truncated = name.substringToIndex(name.endIndex.predecessor())
print(name) // "Dolphin"
print(truncated) // "Dolphi"
Using the removeRange() method (which alters the name):
var name: String = "Dolphin"
name.removeAtIndex(name.endIndex.predecessor())
print(name) // "Dolphi"
Using the dropLast() function:
var name: String = "Dolphin"
var truncated = String(name.characters.dropLast())
print(name) // "Dolphin"
print(truncated) // "Dolphi"
Old String.Index (Xcode 6 Beta 4 +) Way
Since String types in Swift aim to provide excellent UTF-8 support, you can no longer access character indexes/ranges/substrings using Int types. Instead, you use String.Index:
let name: String = "Dolphin"
let stringLength = count(name) // Since swift1.2 `countElements` became `count`
let substringIndex = stringLength - 1
name.substringToIndex(advance(name.startIndex, substringIndex)) // "Dolphi"
Alternatively (for a more practical, but less educational example) you can use endIndex:
let name: String = "Dolphin"
name.substringToIndex(name.endIndex.predecessor()) // "Dolphi"
Note: I found this to be a great starting point for understanding String.Index
Old (pre-Beta 4) Way
You can simply use the substringToIndex() function, providing it one less than the length of the String:
let name: String = "Dolphin"
name.substringToIndex(countElements(name) - 1) // "Dolphi"
The global dropLast() function works on sequences and therefore on Strings:
var expression = "45+22"
expression = dropLast(expression) // "45+2"
// in Swift 2.0 (according to cromanelli's comment below)
expression = String(expression.characters.dropLast())
Swift 4:
let choppedString = String(theString.dropLast())
In Swift 2, do this:
let choppedString = String(theString.characters.dropLast())
I recommend this link to get an understanding of Swift strings.
Swift 4/5
var str = "bla"
str.removeLast() // returns "a"; str is now "bl"
This is a String Extension Form:
extension String {
func removeCharsFromEnd(count_:Int) -> String {
let stringLength = count(self)
let substringIndex = (stringLength < count_) ? 0 : stringLength - count_
return self.substringToIndex(advance(self.startIndex, substringIndex))
}
}
for versions of Swift earlier than 1.2:
...
let stringLength = countElements(self)
...
Usage:
var str_1 = "Maxim"
println("output: \(str_1.removeCharsFromEnd(1))") // "Maxi"
println("output: \(str_1.removeCharsFromEnd(3))") // "Ma"
println("output: \(str_1.removeCharsFromEnd(8))") // ""
Reference:
Extensions add new functionality to an existing class, structure, or enumeration type. This includes the ability to extend types for which you do not have access to the original source code (known as retroactive modeling). Extensions are similar to categories in Objective-C. (Unlike Objective-C categories, Swift extensions do not have names.)
See DOCS
Use the function removeAtIndex(i: String.Index) -> Character:
var s = "abc"
s.removeAtIndex(s.endIndex.predecessor()) // "ab"
Swift 4
var welcome = "Hello World!"
welcome = String(welcome[..<welcome.index(before:welcome.endIndex)])
or
welcome.remove(at: welcome.index(before: welcome.endIndex))
or
welcome = String(welcome.dropLast())
The easiest way to trim the last character of the string is:
title = title[title.startIndex ..< title.endIndex.advancedBy(-1)]
import UIKit
var str1 = "Hello, playground"
str1.removeLast()
print(str1)
var str2 = "Hello, playground"
str2.removeLast(3)
print(str2)
var str3 = "Hello, playground"
str3.removeFirst(2)
print(str3)
Output:-
Hello, playgroun
Hello, playgro
llo, playground
let str = "abc"
let substr = str.substringToIndex(str.endIndex.predecessor()) // "ab"
var str = "Hello, playground"
extension String {
var stringByDeletingLastCharacter: String {
return dropLast(self)
}
}
println(str.stringByDeletingLastCharacter) // "Hello, playgroun"
Short answer (valid as of 2015-04-16): removeAtIndex(myString.endIndex.predecessor())
Example:
var howToBeHappy = "Practice compassion, attention and gratitude. And smile!!"
howToBeHappy.removeAtIndex(howToBeHappy.endIndex.predecessor())
println(howToBeHappy)
// "Practice compassion, attention and gratitude. And smile!"
Meta:
The language continues its rapid evolution, making the half-life for many formerly-good S.O. answers dangerously brief. It's always best to learn the language and refer to real documentation.
With the new Substring type usage:
Swift 4:
var before: String = "Hello world!"
var lastCharIndex: Int = before.endIndex
var after:String = String(before[..<lastCharIndex])
print(after) // Hello world
Shorter way:
var before: String = "Hello world!"
after = String(before[..<before.endIndex])
print(after) // Hello world
Use the function advance(startIndex, endIndex):
var str = "45+22"
str = str.substringToIndex(advance(str.startIndex, countElements(str) - 1))
A swift category that's mutating:
extension String {
mutating func removeCharsFromEnd(removeCount:Int)
{
let stringLength = count(self)
let substringIndex = max(0, stringLength - removeCount)
self = self.substringToIndex(advance(self.startIndex, substringIndex))
}
}
Use:
var myString = "abcd"
myString.removeCharsFromEnd(2)
println(myString) // "ab"
Another way If you want to remove one or more than one character from the end.
var myStr = "Hello World!"
myStr = (myStr as NSString).substringToIndex((myStr as NSString).length-XX)
Where XX is the number of characters you want to remove.
Swift 3 (according to the docs) 20th Nov 2016
let range = expression.index(expression.endIndex, offsetBy: -numberOfCharactersToRemove)..<expression.endIndex
expression.removeSubrange(range)
The dropLast() function removes the last element of the string.
var expression = "45+22"
expression = expression.dropLast()
Swift 4.2
I also delete my last character from String (i.e. UILabel text) in IOS app
#IBOutlet weak var labelText: UILabel! // Do Connection with UILabel
#IBAction func whenXButtonPress(_ sender: UIButton) { // Do Connection With X Button
labelText.text = String((labelText.text?.dropLast())!) // Delete the last caracter and assign it
}
I'd recommend using NSString for strings that you want to manipulate. Actually come to think of it as a developer I've never run into a problem with NSString that Swift String would solve... I understand the subtleties. But I've yet to have an actual need for them.
var foo = someSwiftString as NSString
or
var foo = "Foo" as NSString
or
var foo: NSString = "blah"
And then the whole world of simple NSString string operations is open to you.
As answer to the question
// check bounds before you do this, e.g. foo.length > 0
// Note shortFoo is of type NSString
var shortFoo = foo.substringToIndex(foo.length-1)
Swift 3: When you want to remove trailing string:
func replaceSuffix(_ suffix: String, replacement: String) -> String {
if hasSuffix(suffix) {
let sufsize = suffix.count < count ? -suffix.count : 0
let toIndex = index(endIndex, offsetBy: sufsize)
return substring(to: toIndex) + replacement
}
else
{
return self
}
}
complimentary to the above code I wanted to remove the beginning of the string and could not find a reference anywhere. Here is how I did it:
var mac = peripheral.identifier.description
let range = mac.startIndex..<mac.endIndex.advancedBy(-50)
mac.removeRange(range) // trim 17 characters from the beginning
let txPower = peripheral.advertisements.txPower?.description
This trims 17 characters from the beginning of the string (he total string length is 67 we advance -50 from the end and there you have it.
I prefer the below implementation because I don't have to worry even if the string is empty
let str = "abc"
str.popLast()
// Prints ab
str = ""
str.popLast() // It returns the Character? which is an optional
// Print <emptystring>
How can I define a Dictionary with string key in AS3? and how to do read operation?
for example:
var Dic:Dictionary = new Dictionary();
Dic["Exhausted"] = "He who talks more is sooner exhausted, please keep smiling :)";
String str = str.substring(8,str.length-1); // == str = "Exhausted";
trace('Dic[' + str + '] = ' + Dic[str]);
the output is Dic[Exhausted] = undefined???!!
why?
I think you have a syntax error on this line:
String str = str.substring(8,str.length-1);
If you just use this :
var d:Dictionary = new Dictionary();
d["Exhausted"] = "He who talks more is sooner exhausted, please keep smiling :)";
trace(d["Exhausted"]);
You can see it's all fine.
The problem with var str:String = str.substring(8,str.length-1); is that you define a String named "str": var str:String, but you assign a value which is the result of the substring() method called on str and of cours str does not exist yet when you call substring on it.
Not sure if this makes sense: you define str as the result of applying substring on str.
The actionscript compiler should've complained btw:
expected a definition keyword (such as function) after attribute String, not str.
Just a wild guess, but would you happen to have str defined somewhere else in your code and you just update str again using str before using it ? In which case, you shouldn't redefine, str, you should simply assign a new value.
e.g.
//somewhere else
var str:String = "12345678Exhausted";
//further down
var Dic:Dictionary = new Dictionary();
Dic["Exhausted"] = "He who talks more is sooner exhausted, please keep smiling :)";
str = str.substring(8,str.length); // == str = "Exhausted";
trace('Dic[' + str + '] = ' + Dic[str]);
Also, another syntax error is how you define str:
should be var str:String (as2/as3 syntax), not String str(java/c++/etc. style)