What is the correct way of use strongSelf in swift?

Question

In Objective-C in non-trivial blocks I noticed usage of weakSelf/strongSelf.

What is the correct way of usage strongSelf in Swift? Something like:

if let strongSelf = self {
  strongSelf.doSomething()
}

So for each line containing self in closure I should add strongSelf check?

if let strongSelf = self {
  strongSelf.doSomething1()
}

if let strongSelf = self {
  strongSelf.doSomething2()
}

Is there any way to make aforesaid more elegant?

Answer 1

Using strongSelf is a way to check that self is not equal to nil. When you have a closure that may be called at some point in the future, it is important to pass a weak instance of self so that you do not create a retain cycle by holding references to objects that have been deinitialized.

{[weak self] () -> void in 
      if let strongSelf = self {
         strongSelf.doSomething1()
      }
}

Essentially you are saying if self no longer exists do not hold a reference to it and do not execute the action on it.

Answer 2

Swift 4.2 🔸

guard let self = self else { return }

Ref: https://benscheirman.com/2018/09/capturing-self-with-swift-4-2/
Ref2: https://www.raywenderlich.com/5370-grand-central-dispatch-tutorial-for-swift-4-part-1-2

Answer 3

Your use of strongSelf appears to be directed at only calling the doSomethingN() method if self is not nil. Instead, use optional method invocation as the preferred approach:

self?.doSomethingN()

Answer 4

another way to use weak selfwithout using strongSelf

{[weak self] () -> void in 
      guard let `self` = self else { return }
      self.doSomething()
}