Swift Quickstart

In this Quickstart, you'll learn how to build your first Swift app that sends and receives messages, and learn how to use status and presence events to enhance your realtime application.

Sample app Quickstart	SDK Getting Started
PubNub Account Setup Download Sample App Project Setup Update project files Run the app Walk through the code	Get Started with Swift SDK

PubNub Account

Download Sample App

You can clone the repository that contains the files we will use in this Quickstart. Remember to replace the publish and subscribe key placeholders with your own keys.

Go to GitHub

https://github.com/pubnub/swift-quickstart-platform

Project Setup

To build a Swift project manually:

Open Xcode and create a new Single View App
Give it a Product Name, pnquickstart
Set the Language to Swift
Set User Interface to SwiftUI
Save the project to your file system
Navigate to File > Swift Packages > Add Package Dependency, then:
- Enter the package repository URL: https://github.com/pubnub/swift.git
- Click the dialog's Next and Finish buttons, keeping all default options.

Update Project Files

SwiftUI allows you to combine the UI and the app logic in one file while still providing a separation of concerns (SoC) using Stores and Models. You'll have to make a single line of code change to one file and a complete replacement of all the code in another file.

Open the SceneDelegate.swift file and replace:
```
let contentView = ContentView()
```
with
```
  let contentView = ContentView(pubnubStore: PubNubStore())
```
This code opens the desired view, ContentView, which contains the UI code, and initializes the PubNubStore, an ObservableObject, that contains all the app logic that binds the UI with the data.

Open the ContentView.swift file. Overwrite all existing code with the following code and save your changes, to create the simple UI for the app.

The objective here is to keep things as simple as possible so that the UI code doesn't hinder the process of learning how to use PubNub, while also following the best practices of the Swift language as much as possible.

Go to SDK

import SwiftUI
import PubNub

struct ContentView: View {

  @ObservedObject var pubnubStore: PubNubStore
  @State var entry = "Mostly Harmless."

  var body: some View {
    VStack {
      Spacer()

      TextField("", text: $entry, onCommit: submitUpdate)
        .textFieldStyle(RoundedBorderTextFieldStyle())
        .frame(width: 300.0, height: 40)

      Spacer()

      Button(action: submitUpdate) {
        Text("SUBMIT UPDATE TO THE GUIDE")
          .padding()
          .foregroundColor(Color.white)
          .background(entry.isEmpty ? Color.secondary : Color.red)
          .cornerRadius(40)
      }
      .disabled(entry.isEmpty)
      .frame(width: 300.0)

      Spacer()

      List {
        ForEach(pubnubStore.messages.reversed()) { message in
          VStack(alignment: .leading) {
            Text(message.messageType)
            Text(message.messageText)
          }
        }
      }

      Spacer()
    }
  }

  func submitUpdate() {
    if !self.entry.isEmpty {
      pubnubStore.publish(update: EntryUpdate(update: self.entry))
      self.entry = ""
    }

    // Hides keyboard
    UIApplication.shared.sendAction(#selector(UIResponder.resignFirstResponder), to: nil, from: nil, for: nil)
  }
}

// MARK:- View Stores
class PubNubStore: ObservableObject {
  @Published var messages: [Message] = []

  var pubnub: PubNub
  let channel: String = "the_guide"
  let clientUUID: String = UUID().uuidString

  init() {
    var pnconfig = PubNubConfiguration(publishKey: "myPublishKey", subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey")
    pnconfig.uuid = clientUUID

    self.pubnub = PubNub(configuration: pnconfig)

    startListening()
    subscribe(to: self.channel)
  }

  lazy var listener: SubscriptionListener? = {
    let listener = SubscriptionListener()

    listener.didReceiveMessage = { [weak self] event in
      if let entry = try? event.payload.codableValue.decode(EntryUpdate.self) {

        self?.display(
          Message(messageType: "[MESSAGE: received]", messageText: "entry: \(entry.entry), update: \(entry.update)")
        )
      }
    }

    listener.didReceivePresence = { [weak self] event in
      let userChannelDescription = "event uuid: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_uuid"] ?? "null"), channel: \(event.channel)"

      self?.display(
        Message(messageType: "[PRESENCE: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_action"] ?? "null")]", messageText: userChannelDescription)
      )
    }

    listener.didReceiveSubscriptionChange = { [weak self] event in
      switch event {
      case .subscribed(let channels, _):
        self?.display(Message(messageType: "[SUBSCRIPTION CHANGED: new channels]", messageText: "channels added: \(channels[0].id)"))
        self?.publish(update: EntryUpdate(update: "Harmless."))
      default: break
      }
    }

    listener.didReceiveStatus = { [weak self] event in
      switch event {
      case .success(let connection):
        self?.display(Message(messageType: "[STATUS: connection]", messageText: "state: \(connection)"))
      case .failure(let error):
        print("Status Error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
      }
    }

    return listener
  }()

  func startListening() {
    if let listener = listener {
      pubnub.add(listener)
    }
  }

  func subscribe(to channel: String) {
    pubnub.subscribe(to: [channel], withPresence: true)
  }

  func display(_ message: Message) {
    self.messages.append(message)
  }

  func publish(update entryUpdate: EntryUpdate) {
    pubnub.publish(channel: self.channel, message: entryUpdate) { [weak self] result in
      switch result {
      case let .success(timetoken):
        self?.display(
          Message(messageType: "[PUBLISH: sent]", messageText: "timetoken: \(timetoken.formattedDescription) (\(timetoken.description))")
        )

      case let .failure(error):
        print("failed: \(error.localizedDescription)")
      }
    }
  }
}

// MARK:- Models

struct EntryUpdate: JSONCodable {
  var update: String
  var entry: String

  init(update: String, entry: String = "Earth") {
    self.update = update
    self.entry = entry
  }
}

struct Message: Identifiable {
  var id = UUID()
  var messageType: String
  var messageText: String
}

// MARK:- Extension Helpers
extension DateFormatter {
  static let defaultTimetoken: DateFormatter = {
    var formatter = DateFormatter()
    formatter.timeStyle = .medium
    formatter.dateStyle = .short
    formatter.locale = Locale(identifier: "en_US_POSIX")
    return formatter
  }()
}

extension Timetoken {
  var formattedDescription: String {
    return DateFormatter.defaultTimetoken.string(from: timetokenDate)
  }
}

// MARK:- View Preview
struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
  static let store = PubNubStore()

  static var previews: some View {
    ContentView(pubnubStore: store)
  }
}

Replace Pub/Sub Key Placeholders

Remember to replace the myPublishKey and mySubscribeKey placeholders with your own PubNub publish and subscribe keys.

Run the App

If this is your first Swift project, it will take a bit longer to start the simulator. Subsequent runs will load almost immediately.


1. Click the Run button. You'll see the iPhone simulator that displays a screen similar to this: The UI is rather simple but uses a list view that cleanly displays each event. A message was published on app start up and some other events were displayed. 2. Submit a new entry A new entry update has been auto populated for you: "Mostly Harmless.". You can change the text or just hit the SUBMIT UPDATE TO THE GUIDE button to publish this new update. You'll see the new update inserted at the top of the current messages while the older messages scroll down. You'll also see that now the entry update field is cleared for you to enter something new.

1. Click the Run button.
You'll see the iPhone simulator that displays a screen similar to this:

The UI is rather simple but uses a list view that cleanly displays each event.

A message was published on app start up and some other events were displayed.

2. Submit a new entry
A new entry update has been auto populated for you: "Mostly Harmless.". You can change the text or just hit the SUBMIT UPDATE TO THE GUIDE button to publish this new update.

You'll see the new update inserted at the top of the current messages while the older messages scroll down. You'll also see that now the entry update field is cleared for you to enter something new.

Message Display Order

You may see the [MESSAGE: received] appear before the [PUBLISH: sent] message or possibly after, since all this code is executed asynchronously.

Walkthrough

Let's review exactly what's happening for all this to work properly.

Include PubNub SDK

You included the PubNub Swift SDK using the Swift Package Manager. You could also use Cocoapods, Carthage or other options which are all documented on the Swift SDK docs page.

Create the UI

The UI code is mixed with the app logic code. The var body: portion of the ContentView code is the UI configuration code with precise data binding integration.

Code Overview

Here's an overview of what's happening in the ContentView.swift file:

SceneDelegate is called by default by the app. This initializes the ContentView and the PubNubStore (ObservableObject).
The ContentView contains a body (var body: some View { // lots of UI components here }) that contains the UI elements. This is loaded and displayed.
PubNubStore.init - The SceneDelegate also initializes the PubNubStore which contains the following logic:
- init the PubNub object
- add the listener for the message and event handlers
- subscribe to a channel
displayMessages - this is where you update the messages UI when new messages or events are received.
submitUpdate - this is a SwiftUI Button action (button click) handler to which you add code to submit new entry updates. The confusing part here is that pubnubStore.publish isn't a PubNub publish; it's the publish function for PubNubStore ObservableObject, and you're calling the PubNub publish function from the ObservableObject's publish function.

Initialize the PubNub Object

The PubNub object allows you to make PubNub API calls, like publish and subscribe, among others. There are more configuration properties than what you see here, but this is all you need for this Quickstart. Of course, you would use your own pub/sub keys below. It's also important to set the uuid for the client. This is typically received from your server after the client logs in successfully.

Successive App Run Behavior

If you test run the app multiple times within a few minutes, you may not see the presence join event appear because the client's UUID is the same as the previous run and is still considered active from the previous run.

Go to SDK

var pnconfig = PubNubConfiguration(publishKey: "myPublishKey", subscribeKey: "mySubscribeKey")
pnconfig.uuid = clientUUID

Proper PubNub Initialization

If your app has several views that require the PubNub object, then it can be initialized in the AppDelegate and passed from one view to another using segues. However, if PubNub is only required in seldom used sections of your app, you might just initialize it on demand in that view. You may also implement other common strategies for building your UIs and passing data.

Listen for messages & events

The listener object is declared as a data member of the ContentView struct.

Go to SDK

// Create a new listener instance
let listener = SubscriptionListener()

Next, we add the event callbacks, and add the listener.

Go to SDK

// Add listener event callbacks
listener.didReceiveMessage = { [weak self] event in
  if let entry = try? event.payload.codableValue.decode(EntryUpdate.self) {

    self?.display(
      Message(messageType: "[MESSAGE: received]", messageText: "entry: \(entry.entry), update: \(entry.update)")
    )
  }
}

listener.didReceivePresence = { [weak self] event in
  let userChannelDescription = "event uuid: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_uuid"] ?? "null"), channel: \(event.channel)"

  self?.display(
    Message(messageType: "[PRESENCE: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_action"] ?? "null")]", messageText: userChannelDescription)
  )
}

listener.didReceiveSubscriptionChange = { [weak self] event in
  switch event {
  case .subscribed(let channels, _):
    self?.display(Message(messageType: "[SUBSCRIPTION CHANGED: new channels]", messageText: "channels added: \(channels[0].id)"))
    self?.publish(update: EntryUpdate(update: "Harmless."))
  default: break
  }
}

listener.didReceiveStatus = { [weak self] event in
  switch event {
  case .success(let connection):
    self?.display(Message(messageType: "[STATUS: connection]", messageText: "state: \(connection)"))
  case .failure(let error):
    print("Status Error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
  }
}

return listener
}()

// Start receiving subscription events
func startListening() {
  if let listener = listener {
    pubnub.add(listener)
  }
}

In this app, you only need didReceiveMessage, didReceivePresence, didReceiveSubscriptionChange, and didReceiveStatus handlers. There are several other handlers that aren't included in this Quickstart; you'll use these for other features of PubNub.

Receiving Messages

The didReceiveMessage handler receives all messages published to all channels subscribed by this client. When a message is received, you call the displayMessage function, which renders it in the UI.

didReceiveMessage handler

Go to SDK

listener.didReceiveMessage = { [weak self] event in
  if let entry = try? event.payload.codableValue.decode(EntryUpdate.self) {

    self?.display(
      Message(messageType: "[MESSAGE: received]", messageText: "entry: \(entry.entry), update: \(entry.update)")
    )
  }
}

Receiving Status Events

The didReceiveStatus handler allows you to monitor and manage the connection to the PubNub Platform. When the client subscribes to a channel, a connecting status event will be received. When the connection is successful, a connected status event is received to confirm. You're using these events to monitor and log the occurrence of these events only.

Go to SDK

listener.didReceiveStatus = { [weak self] event in
  switch event {
  case .success(let connection):
    self?.display(Message(messageType: "[STATUS: connection]", messageText: "state: \(connection)"))
  case .failure(let error):
    print("Status Error: \(error.localizedDescription)")
  }
}

Receiving Subscription Events

The didReceiveSubscriptionChange handler receives events when channels are added to (subscribed) or removed from (unsubscribed) the current list of channels. When the client subscribes to a channel, a subscribed event is received to indicate a successful channel subscription. You're using this event to submit an initial entry update (publishing a message to a channel).

Go to SDK

listener.didReceiveSubscriptionChange = { [weak self] event in
  switch event {
  case .subscribed(let channels, _):
    self?.display(Message(messageType: "[SUBSCRIPTION CHANGED: new channels]", messageText: "channels added: \(channels[0].id)"))
    self?.publish(update: EntryUpdate(update: "Harmless."))
  default: break
  }
}

Receiving Presence Events

The didReceivePresence handler allows you to monitor when this and other clients join and leave channels. The subscribe call includes a withPresence parameter that indicates that the client wishes to receive presence events on the subscribed channels. In this app, you'll only receive a join event. If you were to execute the app using another client (like the PubNub Dev Console), you would see a join event for that client, too. And you would see leave events when the other clients unsubscribe from a channel or a timeout event if they go offline without first unsubscribing.

Go to SDK

listener.didReceivePresence = { [weak self] event in
  let userChannelDescription = "event uuid: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_uuid"] ?? "null"), channel: \(event.channel)"

  self?.display(
    Message(messageType: "[PRESENCE: \(event.metadata?.codableValue["pn_action"] ?? "null")]", messageText: userChannelDescription)
  )
}

Subscribe to a Channel

This subscribe opens a connection to PubNub and waits for messages to be publish-ed to this channel. You can subscribe to more than one channel at a time but you only need the one for this Quickstart. The withPresence:true parameter enables presence events to be sent for the channel being subscribed to in this call. The PubNub subscribe is encapsulated in a custom subscribe function that can be called from anywhere by passing in a channel name to subscribe to.

Go to SDK

func subscribe(to channel: String) {
  pubnub.subscribe(to: [channel], withPresence: true)
}

Publishing Messages

The submitUpdate function is invoked when the SUBMIT UPDATE TO THE GUIDE button is clicked. This is a SwiftUI Button action (button click) handler to which you add code to submit new entry updates.

Go to SDK

Button(action: submitUpdate) {
  Text("SUBMIT UPDATE TO THE GUIDE")
  .padding()
  .foregroundColor(Color.white)
  .background(entry.isEmpty ? Color.secondary : Color.red)
  .cornerRadius(40)
}

func submitUpdate() {
  if !self.entry.isEmpty {
    pubnubStore.publish(update: EntryUpdate(update: self.entry))
    self.entry = ""
  }

  // Hides keyboard
  UIApplication.shared.sendAction(#selector(UIResponder.resignFirstResponder), to: nil, from: nil, for: nil)
}

It's also worth pointing out that submitUpdate is part of the ContentView struct. This function wraps a publish call to the PubNubStore class (pubnubStore.publish) and not PubNub's publish API. It's in the PubNubStore's publish function that you're calling the PubNub publish API.

The messages that this client publishes to the channel will be received by this and other clients subscribed to that channel, in the didReceiveMessage handler. The success of a publish is updated in the messages list element with the publish timetoken value and a formatted datetime value.

Displaying Messages

The displayMessage function is a single place where all updates to the messages UI component are handled in a standard way. Anytime a new message or event needs to be displayed, a Message struct item is added to the pubnubStore.messages array which is bound to the List element automating the update of the UI. The list element iterates over the messages array in reverse order. This results in the latest item always appearing at the top of the list.

func display(_ message: Message) {
    self.messages.append(message)
  }

Message struct (Model) bound to the List element in the UI

struct Message: Identifiable {
  var id = UUID()
  var messageType: String
  var messageText: String
}

List UI binding to the messages @State var (an array of Message struct)

List {
  ForEach(pubnubStore.messages.reversed()) { message in
    VStack(alignment: .leading) {
      Text(message.messageType)
      Text(message.messageText)
    }
  }
}

Note for Advanced Users

This Quickstart app was created in a manner that avoids as much complexity as possible while still guiding you in the direction of best practices of using PubNub.

Memory Management

Swift provides the ability to more precisely inform the garbage collection process how to manage the objects that you create. The use of weak self in the Quickstart's event handler code may cause some developers to wonder why this is necessary and how one would know to do that instead of some other declaration or even none. This comes with further study and experience using the Swift language. Refer to Apple's Language Guide on ARC (Automatic Reference Counting).

Use `weak` reference

As quoted from Apple docs, use a weak self reference whenever it's valid for that reference to become nil at some point during its lifetime. Search weak self to learn more.

Struct Models

A struct model (struct Message: Identifiable) is used to define the messages that are listed in the list view. A list view requires that the struct model conform to the Identifiable protocol. This protocol requires that you have one property of the struct named id. In this Quickstart app, UUID() is used as that id. You can use anything that will uniquely identify the item in the list of items on that device (they need not be universally unique).

The Apple Swift docs don't provide much more on the Identifiable protocol so you're encouraged to search for third-party tutorials that will guide you further with best practices around using structs as models in your Swift apps.

Observable Objects

An observable object (class PubNubStore: ObservableObject) is a custom object for your data that can be bound to a view from storage in SwiftUI’s environment. SwiftUI watches for any changes to observable objects that could affect a view, and displays the correct version of the view after a change.

Lazy Variables

The point of lazy properties is that they're computed only when they're first needed, after which their value is saved. This provides faster initial loading of the ContentView in this Quickstart.

Extensions

Extensions add new functionality to an existing class, structure, enumeration, or protocol type. The extensions included in this Quickstart work together to provide a human readable date-time format of the PubNub 17 digit timetoken. If you would like to learn more, review Apple's Language Guide on Extensions.

Next Steps

Now that you have your Swift app up and running with PubNub, learn more about what else you can do with Channels. To discover what else our Swift SDK offers, go to our Swift SDK Reference.

PubNub Docs

Quickstarts

Sample Apps

PubNub Account

Download Sample App

Project Setup

Update Project Files

Replace Pub/Sub Key Placeholders

Run the App

Message Display Order

Walkthrough

Include PubNub SDK

Create the UI

Code Overview

Initialize the PubNub Object

Successive App Run Behavior

Proper PubNub Initialization

Listen for messages & events

Receiving Messages

Receiving Status Events

Receiving Subscription Events

Receiving Presence Events

Subscribe to a Channel

Publishing Messages

Displaying Messages

Note for Advanced Users

Memory Management

Use `weak` reference

Struct Models

Observable Objects

Lazy Variables

Extensions

Next Steps