Swift extension example

Question

I was originally wanting to know how to make something like this

UIColor.myCustomGreen

so that I could define my own colors and use them throughout my app.

I had studied extensions before and I thought that I could probably use them to solve my problem, but I couldn't remember exactly how to set extensions up. Searching on Google at the time of this writing for "Swift extension" resulted in the documentation, several long tutorials, and a rather unhelpful Stack Overflow question.

So the answers are out there, but it takes some digging through the docs and tutorials. I decided to write this question and the following answer to add some better search keywords to Stack Overflow and to provide a quick refresher on how extensions are set up.

Specifically I wanted to know:

• Where do the extensions reside (file and naming convention)?
• What is the extension syntax?
• What are a few simple common use examples?

Answer 1

Creating an extension

Add a new swift file with File > New > File... > iOS > Source > Swift File. You can call it what you want.

The general naming convention is to call it TypeName+NewFunctionality.swift.

Example 1 - Double

Double+Conversions.swift

import Swift // or Foundation

extension Double {

    func celsiusToFahrenheit() -> Double {
        return self * 9 / 5 + 32
    }

    func fahrenheitToCelsius() -> Double {
        return (self - 32) * 5 / 9
    }
}

Usage:

let boilingPointCelsius = 100.0
let boilingPointFarenheit = boilingPointCelsius.celsiusToFahrenheit()
print(boilingPointFarenheit) // 212.0

Example 2 - String

String+Shortcuts.swift

import Swift // or Foundation

extension String {

    func replace(target: String, withString: String) -> String {
        return self.replacingOccurrences(of: target, with: withString)
    }
}

Usage:

let newString = "the old bike".replace(target: "old", withString: "new")
print(newString) // "the new bike"

Here are some more common String extensions.

Example 3 - UIColor

UIColor+CustomColor.swift

import UIKit

extension UIColor {

    class var customGreen: UIColor {
        let darkGreen = 0x008110
        return UIColor.rgb(fromHex: darkGreen)
    }

    class func rgb(fromHex: Int) -> UIColor {

        let red =   CGFloat((fromHex & 0xFF0000) >> 16) / 0xFF
        let green = CGFloat((fromHex & 0x00FF00) >> 8) / 0xFF
        let blue =  CGFloat(fromHex & 0x0000FF) / 0xFF
        let alpha = CGFloat(1.0)

        return UIColor(red: red, green: green, blue: blue, alpha: alpha)
    }
}

See here also.

Usage:

view.backgroundColor = UIColor.customGreen

Notes

• Once you define an extension it can be used anywhere in your app just like the built in class functions.
• If you are not sure of exactly what the function or property syntax should look like, you can Option+click a similar built in method. For example, when I Option+clicked UIColor.greenColor I see the declaration is class func greenColor() -> UIColor. That gives me a good clue for how to set up my custom method.
• Apple Documentation for Extensions
• In Objective-C extensions are known as categories.

Answer 2

Try this some new extension methods:

UIColor

extension UIColor{
 //get new color from rgb value
  class func RGB(_ red:CGFloat , andGreenColor green:CGFloat, andBlueColor blue:CGFloat, withAlpha alpha:CGFloat) -> UIColor
  {
    let color = UIColor(red: red/255.0, green: green/255.0, blue: blue/255.0, alpha: alpha)
    return color
  }
}

 //return color from comma separated string of RGB paramater
  convenience init(rgbString :String, alpha:CGFloat = 1.0){
    let arrColor = rgbString.components(separatedBy: ",")
    let red:CGFloat = CGFloat(NumberFormatter().number(from: arrColor[0])!)
    let green:CGFloat = CGFloat(NumberFormatter().number(from: arrColor[1])!)
    let blue:CGFloat = CGFloat(NumberFormatter().number(from: arrColor[2])!)
    self.init(red: red/255.0, green: green/255.0, blue: blue/255.0, alpha: alpha)
  }

  //return color from hexadecimal value
  //let color2 = UIColor(rgbHexaValue: 0xFFFFFFFF)
  convenience init(rgbHexaValue: Int, alpha: CGFloat = 1.0) {
    self.init(red:  CGFloat((rgbHexaValue >> 16) & 0xFF), green: CGFloat((rgbHexaValue >> 8) & 0xFF), blue: CGFloat(rgbHexaValue & 0xFF), alpha: alpha)
  }
}

UITextField

extension UITextField{

//set cornerRadius
  func cornerRadius(){
    self.layoutIfNeeded()
    self.layer.cornerRadius = self.frame.height / 2
    self.clipsToBounds = true
  }

  //set bordercolor
  func borderColor(){
      self.layer.borderColor = TEXTFIELD_BORDER_COLOR.cgColor
      self.layer.borderWidth = 1.0
  }

  //set borderWidth
  func borderWidth(size:CGFloat){
    self.layer.borderWidth = size
  }

  //check textfield is blank
  func blank() -> Bool{
    let strTrimmed = self.text!.trim()//get trimmed string
    if(strTrimmed.characters.count == 0)//check textfield is nil or not ,if nil then return false
    {
      return true
    }
    return false
  }

  //set begginning space - left space
  func setLeftPadding(paddingValue:CGFloat) {
    let paddingView = UIView(frame: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: paddingValue, height: self.frame.size.height))
    self.leftViewMode = .always
    self.leftView = paddingView
  }

  //set end of space
  func setRightPadding(paddingValue:CGFloat){
    let paddingView = UIView(frame: CGRect(x: (self.frame.size.width - paddingValue), y: 0, width: paddingValue, height: self.frame.size.height))
    self.rightViewMode = .always
    self.rightView = paddingView
  }
}

UIFont

extension UIFont{
 // Returns a scaled version of UIFont
  func scaled(scaleFactor: CGFloat) -> UIFont {
    let newDescriptor = fontDescriptor.withSize(fontDescriptor.pointSize * scaleFactor)
    return UIFont(descriptor: newDescriptor, size: 0)
  }
}

UIImage

public enum ImageFormat {
  case PNG
  case JPEG(CGFloat)
}


extension UIImage {
  //convert image to base64 string
  func toBase64() -> String {
    var imageData: NSData
    switch format {
    case .PNG: imageData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(self)! as NSData
    case .JPEG(let compression): imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(self, compression)! as NSData
    }
    return imageData.base64EncodedString(options: .lineLength64Characters)
  }

  //convert string to image
  class func base64ToImage(toImage strEncodeData: String) -> UIImage {
    let dataDecoded  = NSData(base64Encoded: strEncodeData, options: NSData.Base64DecodingOptions.ignoreUnknownCharacters)!
    let image = UIImage(data: dataDecoded as Data)
    return image!
  }

  //Function for store file/Image into local directory. If image is already on the directory then first remove it and replace new image/File on that location
  func storedFileIntoLocal(strImageName:String) -> String{
    var strPath = ""
    let documentDirectory1 = NSString.init(string: String.documentDirectory())
    let imageName:String = strImageName + ".png"
    let imagePath = documentDirectory1.appendingPathComponent(imageName)
    strPath = imagePath
    let fileManager = FileManager.default
    let isExist = fileManager.fileExists(atPath: String.init(imagePath))
    if(isExist == true)
    {
      do {
        try fileManager.removeItem(atPath: imagePath as String)//removing file if exist
        // print("Remove success")
      } catch {
        print(error)
      }
    }
    let imageData:Data = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(self, 0.5)!
    do {
      try imageData.write(to: URL(fileURLWithPath: imagePath as String), options: .atomic)
    } catch {
      print(error)
      strPath = "Failed to cache image data to disk"
      return strPath
    }

    return strPath
  }


  //function for resize image
  func resizeImage(targetSize: CGSize) -> UIImage {
    let size = self.size

    let widthRatio  = targetSize.width  / self.size.width
    let heightRatio = targetSize.height / self.size.height

    // Figure out what our orientation is, and use that to form the rectangle
    var newSize: CGSize
    if(widthRatio > heightRatio) {
      newSize = CGSize(width: size.width * heightRatio, height: size.height * heightRatio)
    } else {
      //                        newSize = size
      newSize = CGSize(width: size.width * widthRatio,  height: size.height * widthRatio)
    }

    // This is the rect that we've calculated out and this is what is actually used below
    let rect = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: newSize.width, height: newSize.height)

    // Actually do the resizing to the rect using the ImageContext stuff
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(newSize, false, 1.0)
    self.draw(in: rect)
    let newImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
    UIGraphicsEndImageContext()

    return newImage!
  }
}

Date

let YYYY_MM_DD_HH_MM_SS_zzzz = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss +zzzz"
let YYYY_MM_DD_HH_MM_SS = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"
let DD_MM_YYYY = "dd-MM-yyyy"
let MM_DD_YYYY = "MM-dd-yyyy"
let YYYY_DD_MM = "yyyy-dd-MM"
let YYYY_MM_DD_T_HH_MM_SS = "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss"

extension Date{

  //convert string to date
  static func convertStringToDate(strDate:String, dateFormate strFormate:String) -> Date{
    let dateFormate = DateFormatter()
    dateFormate.dateFormat = strFormate
    dateFormate.timeZone = TimeZone.init(abbreviation: "UTC")
    let dateResult:Date = dateFormate.date(from: strDate)!

    return dateResult
  }

  //Function for old date format to new format from UTC to local
  static func convertDateUTCToLocal(strDate:String, oldFormate strOldFormate:String, newFormate strNewFormate:String) -> String{
    let dateFormatterUTC:DateFormatter = DateFormatter()
    dateFormatterUTC.timeZone = NSTimeZone(abbreviation: "UTC") as TimeZone!//set UTC timeZone
    dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strOldFormate //set old Format
    if let oldDate:Date = dateFormatterUTC.date(from: strDate)  as Date?//convert date from input string
    {
      dateFormatterUTC.timeZone = NSTimeZone.local//set localtimeZone
      dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strNewFormate //make new dateformatter for output format
      if let strNewDate:String = dateFormatterUTC.string(from: oldDate as Date) as String?//convert dateInUTC into string and set into output
      {
        return strNewDate
      }
      return strDate
    }
    return strDate
  }

  //Convert without UTC to local
  static func convertDateToLocal(strDate:String, oldFormate strOldFormate:String, newFormate strNewFormate:String) -> String{
    let dateFormatterUTC:DateFormatter = DateFormatter()
    //set local timeZone
    dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strOldFormate //set old Format
    if let oldDate:Date = dateFormatterUTC.date(from: strDate) as Date?//convert date from input string
    {
      dateFormatterUTC.timeZone = NSTimeZone.local
      dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strNewFormate //make new dateformatter for output format
      if let strNewDate = dateFormatterUTC.string(from: oldDate as Date) as String?//convert dateInUTC into string and set into output
      {
        return strNewDate
      }
      return strDate
    }
    return strDate
  }

  //Convert Date to String
  func convertDateToString(strDateFormate:String) -> String{
      let dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
      dateFormatter.dateFormat = strDateFormate
      let strDate = dateFormatter.string(from: self)
//      dateFormatter = nil
      return strDate
  }


  //Convert local to utc
  static func convertLocalToUTC(strDate:String, oldFormate strOldFormate:String, newFormate strNewFormate:String) -> String{
    let dateFormatterUTC:DateFormatter = DateFormatter()
    dateFormatterUTC.timeZone = NSTimeZone.local as TimeZone!//set UTC timeZone
    dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strOldFormate //set old Format
    if let oldDate:Date = dateFormatterUTC.date(from: strDate)  as Date?//convert date from input string
    {
      dateFormatterUTC.timeZone = NSTimeZone.init(abbreviation: "UTC")! as TimeZone//set localtimeZone
      dateFormatterUTC.dateFormat = strNewFormate //make new dateformatter for output format
      if let strNewDate:String = dateFormatterUTC.string(from: oldDate as Date) as String?//convert dateInUTC into string and set into output
      {
        return strNewDate
      }
      return strDate
    }
    return strDate
  }

  //Comparison two date
  static func compare(date:Date, compareDate:Date) -> String{
    var strDateMessage:String = ""
    let result:ComparisonResult = date.compare(compareDate)
    switch result {
    case .orderedAscending:
      strDateMessage = "Future Date"
      break
    case .orderedDescending:
      strDateMessage = "Past Date"
      break
    case .orderedSame:
      strDateMessage = "Same Date"
      break
    default:
      strDateMessage = "Error Date"
      break
    }
    return strDateMessage
  }
}

Calling this functions:

let color1 = UIColor.RGB(100.0, andGreenColor: 200.0, andBlueColor: 300.0, withAlpha: 1.0)
let color2 = UIColor.init(rgbHexaValue: 800000, alpha: 1.0)
let color3 = UIColor.init(rgbString: ("100.0,200.0,300.0", alpha: 1.0)

self.txtOutlet.cornerRadius()
self.txtOutlet.borderColor()
self.txtOutlet.setLeftPadding(paddingValue: 20.0)
self.txtOutlet.setRightPadding(paddingValue: 20.0)

let yourScaledFont = self.dependentView.font.scaled(scaleFactor: n as! CGFloat)
let base64String = (image?.toBase64(format: ImageFormat.PNG))!
let resultImage = UIImage.base64ToImage(toImage: base64String)
let path = yourImage.storedFileIntoLocal(strImageName: "imagename")

Answer 3

Swift 3.0 example:

extension UITextField 
{    

    func useUnderline() {
        let border = CALayer()
        let borderWidth = CGFloat(1.0)
        border.borderColor = UIColor.lightGray.cgColor
        border.frame = CGRect(origin: CGPoint(x: 0,y :self.frame.size.height - borderWidth), size: CGSize(width: self.frame.size.width, height: self.frame.size.height))
        border.borderWidth = borderWidth
        self.layer.addSublayer(border)
        self.layer.masksToBounds = true
    }
}

Answer 4

Underline text in UITextField

Used in function ViewDidLoad()

firstNametext.underlined(0.5)

Extension

extension UITextField {

    func underlined(_ size:Double){
        let border = CALayer()
        let width = CGFloat(size)
        border.borderColor = UIColor.red.cgColor
        border.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: self.frame.size.height - width, 
        width:  self.frame.size.width, height: self.frame.size.height)
        border.borderWidth = width
        self.layer.addSublayer(border)
        self.layer.masksToBounds = true }
    }
}

Answer 5

UIColor+util.swift

import UIKit


extension UIColor{


    class func getCustomBlueColor() -> UIColor
    {
        return UIColor(red:0.043, green:0.576 ,blue:0.588 , alpha:1.00)
    }

    func getNameofColour() ->String
    {
        return "myOrange"
    }

}

Usage :

NSLog("\(UIColor.getCustomBlueColor())")
let color=UIColor(red:0.043, green:0.576 ,blue:0.588 , alpha:1.00);
NSLog(color.getNameofColour())

I hope you see that what is difference . One of Function starting with class func another one starting only func . you can use which you like.