Global constants file in Swift

In my Objective-C projects I often use a global constants file to store things like notification names and keys for NSUserDefaults. It looks something like this:

@interface GlobalConstants : NSObject

extern NSString *someNotification;

@end

@implementation GlobalConstants

NSString *someNotification = @"aaaaNotification";

@end

How do I do exactly the same thing in Swift?

Solution 1:

Structs as namespace

IMO the best way to deal with that type of constants is to create a Struct.

struct Constants {
    static let someNotification = "TEST"
}

Then, for example, call it like this in your code:

print(Constants.someNotification)

Nesting

If you want a better organization I advise you to use segmented sub structs

struct K {
    struct NotificationKey {
        static let Welcome = "kWelcomeNotif"
    }

    struct Path {
        static let Documents = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as String
        static let Tmp = NSTemporaryDirectory()
    }
}

Then you can just use for instance K.Path.Tmp

Real world example

This is just a technical solution, the actual implementation in my code looks more like:

struct GraphicColors {

    static let grayDark = UIColor(0.2)
    static let grayUltraDark = UIColor(0.1)

    static let brown  = UIColor(rgb: 126, 99, 89)
    // etc.
}

and

enum Env: String {
    case debug
    case testFlight
    case appStore
}

struct App {
    struct Folders {
        static let documents: NSString = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0] as NSString
        static let temporary: NSString = NSTemporaryDirectory() as NSString
    }
    static let version: String = Bundle.main.object(forInfoDictionaryKey: "CFBundleShortVersionString") as! String
    static let build: String = Bundle.main.object(forInfoDictionaryKey: "CFBundleVersion") as! String

    // This is private because the use of 'appConfiguration' is preferred.
    private static let isTestFlight = Bundle.main.appStoreReceiptURL?.lastPathComponent == "sandboxReceipt"

    // This can be used to add debug statements.
    static var isDebug: Bool {
        #if DEBUG
        return true
        #else
        return false
        #endif
    }

    static var env: Env {
        if isDebug {
            return .debug
        } else if isTestFlight {
            return .testFlight
        } else {
            return .appStore
        }
    }
}

Solution 2:

I am abit late to the party.

No matter here's how i manage the constants file so that it makes more sense to developers while writing code in swift.

FOR URL:

//URLConstants.swift

  struct APPURL {

    private struct Domains {
        static let Dev = "http://test-dev.cloudapp.net"
        static let UAT = "http://test-UAT.com"
        static let Local = "192.145.1.1"
        static let QA = "testAddress.qa.com"
    }

    private  struct Routes {
        static let Api = "/api/mobile"
    }

    private  static let Domain = Domains.Dev
    private  static let Route = Routes.Api
    private  static let BaseURL = Domain + Route

    static var FacebookLogin: String {
        return BaseURL  + "/auth/facebook"
    }
}

For CUSTOMFONTS:

//FontsConstants.swift
struct FontNames {

    static let LatoName = "Lato"
    struct Lato {
        static let LatoBold = "Lato-Bold"
        static let LatoMedium = "Lato-Medium"
        static let LatoRegular = "Lato-Regular"
        static let LatoExtraBold = "Lato-ExtraBold"
    }
}

FOR ALL THE KEYS USED IN APP

//KeyConstants.swift
    struct Key {

        static let DeviceType = "iOS"
        struct Beacon{
            static let ONEXUUID = "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx"
        }

        struct UserDefaults {
            static let k_App_Running_FirstTime = "userRunningAppFirstTime"
        }

        struct Headers {
            static let Authorization = "Authorization"
            static let ContentType = "Content-Type"
        }
        struct Google{
            static let placesKey = "some key here"//for photos
            static let serverKey = "some key here"
        }

        struct ErrorMessage{
            static let listNotFound = "ERROR_LIST_NOT_FOUND"
            static let validationError = "ERROR_VALIDATION"
        }
    }

FOR COLOR CONSTANTS:

//ColorConstants.swift
struct AppColor {

    private struct Alphas {
        static let Opaque = CGFloat(1)
        static let SemiOpaque = CGFloat(0.8)
        static let SemiTransparent = CGFloat(0.5)
        static let Transparent = CGFloat(0.3)
    }

    static let appPrimaryColor =  UIColor.white.withAlphaComponent(Alphas.SemiOpaque)
    static let appSecondaryColor =  UIColor.blue.withAlphaComponent(Alphas.Opaque)

    struct TextColors {
        static let Error = AppColor.appSecondaryColor
        static let Success = UIColor(red: 0.1303, green: 0.9915, blue: 0.0233, alpha: Alphas.Opaque) 
    }

    struct TabBarColors{
        static let Selected = UIColor.white
        static let NotSelected = UIColor.black
    }

    struct OverlayColor {
        static let SemiTransparentBlack = UIColor.black.withAlphaComponent(Alphas.Transparent)
        static let SemiOpaque = UIColor.black.withAlphaComponent(Alphas.SemiOpaque)
        static let demoOverlay = UIColor.black.withAlphaComponent(0.6)
    }
}

You can wrap these all files in a common group named Constants in your Xcode Project.

And for more watch this video

Solution 3:

Although I prefer @Francescu's way (using a struct with static properties), you can also define global constants and variables:

let someNotification = "TEST"

Note however that differently from local variables/constants and class/struct properties, globals are implicitly lazy, which means they are initialized when they are accessed for the first time.

Suggested reading: Global and Local Variables, and also Global variables in Swift are not variables