CODEWITHSUNDEEP
swiftmultidimensional-arrayplist
Andy
Andy

Reputation: 23

How to save data to multidimensional array in plist file

I would like to save some configuration data to my plist file which contains arrays and regular variable types. It looks like this:

(http://s10.postimg.org/f2xpgur1l/plist.png) (sorry I can not attach any image)

My function which do this looks like so:

// Saves the data into a plist file
func saveObject(i_fileName: String, i_keyForValueToSave: String, i_valueToSave: String, i_keyForXInitializer:String, i_valueXInitializer: String) {

    var fileName: String = i_fileName

    var keyForValueToSave: String = i_keyForValueToSave
    var valueToSave: AnyObject = i_valueToSave

    var keyForXInitializer: String = i_keyForXInitializer
    var valueXInitializer: String = i_valueXInitializer

    let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true) as NSArray
    let documentsDirectory = paths.objectAtIndex(0) as! NSString
    let path = documentsDirectory.stringByAppendingPathComponent(fileName)

    var dict: NSMutableDictionary = [keyForXInitializer: valueXInitializer]

    //saving values
    dict.setObject(valueToSave, forKey: keyForValueToSave)

    //writing to plist
    dict.writeToFile(path, atomically: false)

    let resultDictionary = NSMutableDictionary(contentsOfFile: path)
    println("Saved Data.plist file is --> \(resultDictionary?.description)")
}

And I call it like so:

saveObject("Selection.plist", "Item 0", "testConfig, "Item 3", "XInitializerItem_01")

The result looks then like so:

(http://s13.postimg.org/kbq103707/result.png) (sorry I can not attach any image)

As you can see, the "testConfig" which should be saved into an array will be saved as a normal string in the pilst file. Which is not the goal for me. Every item I would like to add to this array. Im really new in SWIFT and Im a but stuck in space. Any help would be great! thank you!

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1243

Answers (2)

Icaro
Icaro

Reputation: 14845

The code below creates the plist you need, you just need to populate the values correctly to match your needs

func saveObject(i_fileName: String, i_keyForValueToSave: String, i_valueToSave: String, i_keyForXInitializer:String, i_valueXInitializer: String) {

    var fileName: String = i_fileName
    let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true) as NSArray
    let documentsDirectory = paths.objectAtIndex(0) as! NSString
    let path = documentsDirectory.stringByAppendingPathComponent(fileName)

    var dict = NSMutableDictionary()
    var item0 = [1,2,3]
    var item1 = [1,2,3,4]
    var item2 = false
    var item3 = "xInitializerItem_01"
    dict.setObject([item0, item1, item2, item3], forKey: "selection_01")
    item0 = [4,5,6]
    item1 = [5,6,7,8]
    item2 = true
    item3 = "xInitializerItem_02"
    dict.setObject([item0, item1, item2, item3], forKey: "selection_02")
    dict.writeToFile(path, atomically: true)

    let resultDictionary = NSMutableDictionary(contentsOfFile: path)
    println("Saved Data.plist file is --> \(resultDictionary?.description)")
}

That is may result from the code above:

enter image description here

You cannot append values to the plist, so everytime you save it you need to save all values again

Upvotes: 1

Eric Aya
Eric Aya

Reputation: 70098

You declare valueToSave as an AnyObject but it holds i_valueToSave which is declared as a String in your function parameter.

So when you do dict.setObject(valueToSave, forKey: keyForValueToSave) it saves a String.

You should declare the type of your i_valueToSave function parameter as AnyObject instead of String, then inside the function you will be able to cast i_valueToSave to the desired type before saving it.

Let's say i_valueToSave is an array of strings, then:

if let valueToSave = i_valueToSave as? [String] {
    dict.setObject(valueToSave, forKey: keyForValueToSave)
}

If it's an NSArray:

if let valueToSave = i_valueToSave as? NSArray {
    dict.setObject(valueToSave, forKey: keyForValueToSave)
}

Etc.

Upvotes: 0

Related Questions