When displaying an alert in SwiftUI, if the value used to calculate whether the alert is presented is both Optional
and does not conform to Identifiable
1 it is often recommended to use a separate flag, similar to:
struct ContentView: View { @State private var alertText: String? @State private var isPresentingAlert = false var body: some View { Button("Show Alert") { self.alertText = "Alert Text" self.isPresentingAlert = true } .alert(isPresented: $isPresentingAlert) { Alert(title: Text(alertText!)) } } }
There are 2 main downsides to this:
alertText
is not set back tonil
, which may cause bugs and will increase memory usage (even if only a little in this case)- The
isPresentingAlert
flag needs to be managed
To work around these issues I create a small extension to Binding
the allows this same code to be updated to:
struct ContentView: View { @State private var alertText: String? var body: some View { Button("Show Alert") { self.alertText = "Alert Text" } .alert(isPresented: $alertText.mappedToBool()) { Alert(title: Text(alertText!)) } } }
The extension is fairly small and simple:
import os.log import SwiftUI extension Binding where Value == Bool { /// Creates a binding by mapping an optional value to a `Bool` that is /// `true` when the value is non-`nil` and `false` when the value is `nil`. /// /// When the value of the produced binding is set to `false` the value /// of `bindingToOptional`'s `wrappedValue` is set to `nil`. /// /// Setting the value of the produce binding to `true` does nothing and /// will log an error. /// /// - parameter bindingToOptional: A `Binding` to an optional value, used to calculate the `wrappedValue`. public init<Wrapped>(mappedTo bindingToOptional: Binding<Wrapped?>) { self.init( get: { bindingToOptional.wrappedValue != nil }, set: { newValue in if !newValue { bindingToOptional.wrappedValue = nil } else { os_log( .error, "Optional binding mapped to optional has been set to `true`, which will have no effect. Current value: %@", String(describing: bindingToOptional.wrappedValue) ) } } ) } } extension Binding { /// Returns a binding by mapping this binding's value to a `Bool` that is /// `true` when the value is non-`nil` and `false` when the value is `nil`. /// /// When the value of the produced binding is set to `false` this binding's value /// is set to `nil`. public func mappedToBool<Wrapped>() -> Binding<Bool> where Value == Wrapped? { return Binding<Bool>(mappedTo: self) } }
The extension isn't tied directly to showing an alert or a sheet and can be used in any context, but this is one of the better examples of its usage.
This extension is available on GitHub under the MIT license.
1 If it does conform to Identifiable
use alert(item:content:)