Currently, I am checking if the JSON value is an NSString
and if it isn't, assign the property a default string. This way I can prevent the app from crashing if the JSON value is null
and I can return a User object with a default first name and last name.
// User model
+ (Email *)getEmailInfoWithDictionary:(id)dict {
Email *email = [[self alloc] init];
if ([dict isKindOfClass:[NSDictionary class]]) {
user.firstname = [NSString checkType:dict[@"firstname"] defaultString:@"John"];
user.lastname = [NSString checkType:dict[@"lastname"] defaultString:@"Smith"];
}
}
return user;
}
// NSString category method.
+ (NSString *)checkType:(id)obj defaultString:(NSString *)def {
if (obj == nil || ![obj isKindOfClass:[NSString class]]) {
return def;
}
return obj;
}
I have a couple of concerns, however. Is it a good idea to always check for null values regarding json values so this way you won't get crashes? I've noticed some Objective C tutorials that don't do this. Makes me wonder if I shouldn't worry about this and I should expect the API to return the correct values. My second concern is the method I am using a good idea or is a there better way?
I would say start by leaning into Objective-C's default handling of nil
. In most cases, nil
will do what you want without crashing. In contrast, [NSNull null]
is poorly designed and a constant problem.
@interface NSObject (MyCasting)
- (NSString *)stringOrNil;
- (NSNumber *)numberOrNil;
- (NSDictionary *)dictionaryOrNil;
- (NSArray *)arrayOrNil;
@end
@implementation NSObject (MyCasting)
- (NSString *)stringOrNil {
return [self isKindOfClass:NSString.class] ? (NSString *)self : nil;
}
- (NSNumber *)numberOrNil {
return [self isKindOfClass:NSNumber.class] ? (NSNumber *)self: nil;
}
- (NSDictionary *)dictionaryOrNil {
return [self isKindOfClass:NSDictionary.class] ? (NSDictionary *)self: nil;
}
- (NSArray *)arrayOrNil {
return [self isKindOfClass:NSArray.class] ? (NSArray *)self: nil;
}
@end
This will provide you with a good level of safety using nil
as the default value.
+ (Email *)getEmailInfoWithDictionary:(id)dict {
Email *email = [[self alloc] init];
NSDictionary *dictionary = [dict dictionaryOrNil];
email.firstname = [dictionary[@"firstname"] stringOrNil];
email.lastname = [dictionary[@"lastname"] stringOrNil];
return email;
}
If you feel you need the additional safety of object default values, then you can use the ?:
operator.
email.firstname = [dictionary[@"firstname"] stringOrNil] ?: "";
email.lastname = [dictionary[@"lastname"] stringOrNil] ?: "";