A property wrapper adds a layer of separation between code that manages how a property is stored and the code that defines a property. For example, if you have properties that provide thread-safety checks or store their underlying data in a database, you have to write that code on every property. When you use a property wrapper, you write the management code once when you define the wrapper, and then reuse that management code by applying it to multiple properties.
When you include property wrapper arguments, you can also specify an initial value using assignment. Swift treats the assignment like a wrappedValue argument and uses the initializer that accepts the arguments you include.
@propertyWrapper
struct TwelveOrLess {
private var number = 0
var wrappedValue: Int {
get { return number }
set { number = min(newValue, 12) }
}
}
struct SmallRectangle {
@TwelveOrLess var height: Int
@TwelveOrLess var width: Int
}
@propertyWrapper
struct SmallNumber {
private var maximum: Int
private var number: Int
var wrappedValue: Int {
get { return number }
set { number = min(newValue, maximum) }
}
init() {
maximum = 12
number = 0
}
init(wrappedValue: Int) {
maximum = 12
number = min(wrappedValue, maximum)
}
init(wrappedValue: Int, maximum: Int) {
self.maximum = maximum
number = min(wrappedValue, maximum)
}
}
struct NarrowRectangle {
@SmallNumber(wrappedValue: 2, maximum: 5) var height: Int
@SmallNumber(wrappedValue: 3, maximum: 4) var width: Int
}
struct MixedRectangle {
@SmallNumber var height: Int = 1
@SmallNumber(maximum: 9) var width: Int = 2
}You could write code that uses the behavior of a property wrapper, without taking advantage of the special attribute syntax.
struct SmallRectangle {
private var _height = TwelveOrLess()
private var _width = TwelveOrLess()
var height: Int {
get { return _height.wrappedValue }
set { _height.wrappedValue = newValue }
}
var width: Int {
get { return _width.wrappedValue }
set { _width.wrappedValue = newValue }
}
}In addition to the wrapped value, a property wrapper can expose additional functionality by defining a projected value — for example, a property wrapper that manages access to a database can expose a flushDatabaseConnection() method on its projected value.
The name of the projected value is the same as the wrapped value, except it begins with a dollar sign ($)
@propertyWrapper
struct SmallNumber {
private var number: Int
private(set) var projectedValue: Bool
var wrappedValue: Int {
get { return number }
set {
if newValue > 12 {
number = 12
projectedValue = true
} else {
number = newValue
projectedValue = false
}
}
}
init() {
self.number = 0
self.projectedValue = false
}
}
struct SomeStructure {
@SmallNumber var someNumber: Int
}
var someStructure = SomeStructure()
someStructure.someNumber = 4
print(someStructure.$someNumber)
// Prints "false"