Async HTTP API purchasers in Swift

Introducing SwiftHttp

An superior Swift HTTP library to quickly create communication layers with API endpoints. The library tries to separate the shopper request logic from the request constructing and response dealing with. That is the principle purpose why it has a HttpClient protocol which can be utilized to carry out information, obtain and add duties. You possibly can implement your personal HttpClient, however SwiftHttp comes with a built-in UrlSessionHttpClient based mostly on Basis networking.

So the shopper is accountable for executing the requests, however we nonetheless have to explain the request itself by some means. That is the place the HttpRawRequest object comes into play. You possibly can simply create a base HttpUrl and carry out a request utilizing the HttpRawRequest object. When working with a uncooked request you may specify further header fields and a uncooked physique information object too. 💪

let url = HttpUrl(scheme: "https",
                  host: "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com",
                  port: 80,
                  path: ["todos"],
                  useful resource: nil,
                  question: [:],
                  fragment: nil)

let req = HttpRawRequest(url: url, methodology: .get, headers: [:], physique: nil)


let shopper = UrlSessionHttpClient(session: .shared, log: true)
let response = attempt await shopper.dataTask(req)


let todos = attempt JSONDecoder().decode([Todo].self, from: response.information)

The HTTP shopper can carry out community calls utilizing the brand new async / await Swift concurrency API. It’s potential to cancel a community request by wrapping it right into a structured concurrency Activity.

let activity = Activity {
    let api = TodoApi()
    _ = attempt await api.listing()
}

DispatchQueue.international().asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + .milliseconds(10)) {
    activity.cancel()
}

do {
    let _ = attempt await activity.worth
}
catch {
    if (error as? URLError)?.code == .cancelled {
        print("cancelled")
    }
}

It is a neat tick, you may as well test the rationale contained in the catch block, whether it is an URLError with a .cancelled code then the request was cancelled, in any other case it have to be some kind of community error.

So that is how you should utilize the shopper to carry out or cancel a community activity, however often you do not wish to work with uncooked information, however encodable and decodable objects. While you work with such objects, you may wish to validate the response headers and ship further headers to tell the server about the kind of the physique information. Simply take into consideration the Content material-Sort / Settle for header fields. 🤔

So we would wish to ship further headers alongside the request, plus it might be good to validate the standing code and response headers earlier than we attempt to parse the information. This looks like a stream of frequent operations, first we encode the information, set the extra header fields, and when the response arrives we validate the standing code and the header fields, lastly we attempt to decode the information object. It is a typical use case and SwiftHttp calls this workflow as a pipeline.

There are 4 sorts of built-in HTTP pipelines:

• Uncooked – Ship a uncooked information request, return a uncooked information response
• Encodable – Ship an encodable object, return a uncooked information response
• Decodable – Ship a uncooked information request, return a decodable object
• Codable – Ship an encodable object, return a decodable object

We are able to use a HttpRawPipeline and execute our request utilizing a shopper as an executor.

let baseUrl = HttpUrl(host: "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com")
let shopper = UrlSessionHttpClient(session: .shared, log: true)

let pipeline = HttpRawPipeline(url: baseUrl.path("todos"), methodology: .get)

let response = attempt await pipeline.execute(shopper.dataTask)
let todos = attempt JSONDecoder().decode([Todo].self, from: response.information)
print(response.statusCode)
print(todos.depend)

On this case we have been utilizing the dataTask operate, however in case you anticipate the response to be an enormous file, you may wish to think about using a downloadTask, or in case you’re importing a considerable amount of information when sending the request, it’s best to select the uploadTask operate. 💡

So on this case we needed to manually decode the Todo object from the uncooked HTTP response information, however we are able to use the decodable pipeline to make issues much more easy.

let baseUrl = HttpUrl(host: "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com")
let shopper = UrlSessionHttpClient(session: .shared, log: true)


let pipeline = HttpDecodablePipeline<[Todo]>(url: baseUrl.path("todos"),
                                             methodology: .get,
                                             decoder: .json(JSONDecoder(), validators: [
                                                HttpStatusCodeValidator(.ok),
                                                HttpHeaderValidator(.key(.contentType)) {
                                                    $0.contains("application/json")
                                                },
                                             ]))

let todos = attempt await pipeline.execute(shopper.dataTask)
print(todos.depend)

As you may see, on this case the as an alternative of returning the response, the pipeline can carry out further validation and the decoding utilizing the supplied decoder and validators. You possibly can create your personal validators, there’s a HttpResponseValidator protocol for this function.

The encodable pipeline works like the identical, you may specify the encoder, you may present the encodable object and you will get again a HttpResponse occasion.

let shopper = UrlSessionHttpClient(session: .shared, log: true)
        
let todo = Todo(id: 1, title: "lorem ipsum", accomplished: false)

let pipeline = HttpEncodablePipeline(url: baseUrl.path("todos"),
                                     methodology: .put up,
                                     physique: todo,
                                     encoder: .json())

let response = attempt await pipeline.execute(shopper.dataTask)

print(response.statusCode == .created)

The codable pipeline is a mix of the encodable and decodable pipeline. 🙃

let baseUrl = HttpUrl(host: "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com")
let shopper = UrlSessionHttpClient(session: .shared, log: true)

let todo = Todo(id: 1, title: "lorem ipsum", accomplished: false)

let pipeline = HttpCodablePipeline<Todo, Todo>(url: baseUrl.path("todos", String(1)),
                                               methodology: .put,
                                               physique: todo,
                                               encoder: .json(),
                                               decoder: .json())

let todo = attempt await pipeline.execute(shopper.dataTask)
print(todo.title)

As you may see that is fairly a standard sample, and after we’re speaking with a REST API, we will carry out roughly the very same community calls for each single endpoint. SwiftHttp has a pipeline assortment protocol that you should utilize to carry out requests with out the necessity of explicitly organising these pipelines. Here is an instance:

import SwiftHttp

struct Todo: Codable {
    let id: Int
    let title: String
    let accomplished: Bool
}

struct TodoApi: HttpCodablePipelineCollection {

    let shopper: HttpClient = UrlSessionHttpClient(log: true)
    let apiBaseUrl = HttpUrl(host: "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com")

    
    func listing() async throws -> [Todo] {
        attempt await decodableRequest(executor: shopper.dataTask,
                                   url: apiBaseUrl.path("todos"),
                                   methodology: .get)
    }    
}

let todos = attempt await api.listing()

When utilizing a HttpCodablePipelineCollection you may carry out an encodable, decodable or codable request utilizing an executor object. This may cut back the boilerplate code wanted to carry out a request and the whole lot goes to be sort secure because of the generic protocol oriented networking layer. You possibly can setup as many pipeline collections as you want, it’s potential to make use of a shared shopper or you may create a devoted shopper for every.

By the way in which, if one thing goes incorrect with the request, or one of many validators fail, you may at all times test for the errors utilizing a do-try-catch block. 😅

do {
    _ = attempt await api.listing()
}
catch HttpError.invalidStatusCode(let res) {
    
    let decoder = HttpResponseDecoder<CustomError>(decoder: JSONDecoder())
    do {
        let error = attempt decoder.decode(res.information)
        print(res.statusCode, error)
    }
    catch {
        print(error.localizedDescription)
    }
}
catch {
    print(error.localizedDescription)
}

That is how SwiftHttp works in a nutshell, after all you may setup customized encoders and decoders, however that is one other subject. In case you are within the mission, be happy to offer it a star on GitHub. We will use it sooner or later rather a lot each on the shopper and server facet. ⭐️⭐️⭐️