explain mvvm with combine in swift

MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) is a design pattern that separates the responsibilities among three types of objects:

  1. Model: represents data and the business logic
  2. View: displays the data to the user and informs the ViewModel about user interactions
  3. ViewModel: mediates between the View and the Model, updates the Model, and exposes properties to be observed by the View

Combine is a framework that provides a declarative way of working with asynchronous events using streams of values (Publishers) and operators to transform them (Operators).

The ViewModel in the MVVM pattern can take advantage of Combine and expose its output as a Publisher to be subscribed to by the View. The View can also send user actions to the ViewModel as a Publisher. This allows for a more reactive and descriptive way of coding user interfaces.

Here's an example of an MVVM architecture with Combine in Swift:

main.swift
import Combine

// Model
struct Todo {
    var title: String
    var isCompleted: Bool
}

// ViewModel
class TodosViewModel {
    // Input
    let addTodoSubject = PassthroughSubject<Todo, Never>()
    let toggleTodoSubject = PassthroughSubject<Int, Never>()
    let fetchTodosSubject = PassthroughSubject<Void, Never>()

    // Output
    @Published var todos: [Todo] = []

    private var cancellables = Set<AnyCancellable>()

    init() {
        let todos = [
            Todo(title: "Buy Milk", isCompleted: false),
            Todo(title: "Clean Room", isCompleted: true),
            Todo(title: "Walk Dog", isCompleted: false)
        ]

        // Fetch initial list of todos
        fetchTodosSubject
            .map { todos }
            .assign(to: \.todos, on: self)
            .store(in: &cancellables)

        // Add a new todo
        addTodoSubject
            .map { [unowned self] in
                var tempTodos = self.todos
                tempTodos.append($0)
                return tempTodos
            }
            .assign(to: \.todos, on: self)
            .store(in: &cancellables)

        // Toggle a todo
        toggleTodoSubject
            .map { [unowned self] index in
                var tempTodos = self.todos
                tempTodos[index].isCompleted.toggle()
                return tempTodos
            }
            .assign(to: \.todos, on: self)
            .store(in: &cancellables)
    }
}

// View
class TodosView: UIView {
    private let viewModel = TodosViewModel()
    private let tableView = UITableView()

    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)

        // Subscribe to updates to the todos list
        viewModel.$todos
            .sink { [unowned self] _ in
                self.tableView.reloadData()
            }
            .store(in: &viewModel.cancellables)

        // Create UI
        addSubview(tableView)
    }

    required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }
}

2020 chars
80 lines

In summary, MVVM is a design pattern that divides responsibility among three objects, and Combine is a framework that allows for reactive programming through streams of values. Combining these two approaches allow developers to build reactive and maintainable code for user interfaces.

related categories

gistlibby LogSnag