Swift inout Keyword: Func Example

Use the inout keyword for an argument in a func. Inout means an output parameter.

Inout, parameters. Most parameters are copied as values. They never affect the original call site. But inout parameters are different—they share a memory location.

With inout, changes in the called method are reflected in the variables at the call site. The variables are not separate. This enables some code techniques.

An example. Let us begin with this example. The size() method receives an inout parameter of type Int. We call size() by passing it a reference to the "x" variable.

Size: This modifies the inout parameter to equal 10. After size() returns, "x" still equals 10.

Swift program that uses inout parameter func size(x: inout Int) { // Set out parameter. x = 10 } // Value equals 0. var x = 0 print(x) // Call size with inout argument. size(x: &x) // Now variable equals 10. print(x) Output 0 10

Recursive method. Sometimes a complex problem may require recursion. With an inout argument, we can share a variable among many recursive calls.

X: In this example the x() func use an inout depth argument. When depth reaches 10, no more calls occur.

Tip: The memory location of the depth argument is shared among all calls of the "X" func.

Swift program that uses inout in recursive method func x(depth: inout Int) { // Increase depth value. depth += 1 if (depth < 10) { // Use recursion to increase depth again. x(depth: &depth) } } // Count depth of recursion. var depth = 0 x(depth: &depth) print(depth) Output 10

Immutable error. Here is an error that may occur with inout arguments. We cannot use an immutable let value as an argument when an inout argument is needed.

Note: This makes sense. A constant cannot be modified—its memory location should not be available.

Swift program that causes inout argument error func test(name: inout String) { } // Cannot use let keyword with inout. let name = "" test(name: &name) Output Cannot pass immutable value as inout argument: 'name' is a 'let' constant

Concepts. With inout parameters in Swift, we can use multiple return values. This is an alternative to returning a tuple or modifying a class argument.Tuple Class

Info: It is unclear which approach for multiple return values is best. Try them all and decide.

Quote: You can only pass a variable as the argument for an in-out parameter. You cannot pass a constant or a literal value as the argument, because constants and literals cannot be modified.

Swift Programming Language: apple.com

A syntax note. We must use the ampersand "&" when passing arguments to a method that receives an inout argument. The ampersand means "address of" as opposed to "value of."

Syntax, continued. For Swift 3, we place inout after the argument's label. In previous versions of Swift the inout keyword was before the label.

A summary. The inout keyword is powerful. It provides an alternative to tuples for complex methods with many return values. It may make some code more complex. Use it with care.

The Dev Codes

.Net

.NET Array Dictionary List String 2D Async DataTable Dates DateTime Enum File For Foreach Format IEnumerable If IndexOf Lambda LINQ Parse Path Process Property Regex Replace Sort Split Static StringBuilder Substring Switch Tuple

Java

Core Array ArrayList HashMap String 2D Cast Character Console Deque Duplicates File For Format HashSet If IndexOf Lambda Math ParseInt Process Random Regex Replace Sort Split StringBuilder Substring Switch Vector While

TheDeveloperBlog.com

Swift inout Keyword: Func Example

Related Links:

.Net

Java

Related Links