How do I make an HTTP request in Swift?

Question

I read The Programming Language Swift by Apple in iBooks, but cannot figure out how to make an HTTP request (something like cURL) in Swift. Do I need to import Obj-C classes

Answer 1

Check Below Codes :

1. SynchonousRequest

Swift 1.2

    let urlPath: String = "YOUR_URL_HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request1: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    var response: AutoreleasingUnsafeMutablePointer<NSURLResponse?>=nil
    var dataVal: NSData =  NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(request1, returningResponse: response, error:nil)!
    var err: NSError
    println(response)
    var jsonResult: NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(dataVal, options: NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers, error: &err) as? NSDictionary
    println("Synchronous\(jsonResult)")

Swift 2.0 +

let urlPath: String = "YOUR_URL_HERE"
    let url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    let request1: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    let response: AutoreleasingUnsafeMutablePointer<NSURLResponse?>=nil


    do{

        let dataVal = try NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(request1, returningResponse: response)

            print(response)
            do {
                if let jsonResult = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(dataVal, options: []) as? NSDictionary {
                    print("Synchronous\(jsonResult)")
                }
            } catch let error as NSError {
                print(error.localizedDescription)
            }



    }catch let error as NSError
    {
         print(error.localizedDescription)
    }

2. AsynchonousRequest

Swift 1.2

let urlPath: String = "YOUR_URL_HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request1: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()
    NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse!, data: NSData!, error: NSError!) -> Void in
        var err: NSError
        var jsonResult: NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data, options: NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers, error: nil) as NSDictionary
        println("Asynchronous\(jsonResult)")
       })

Swift 2.0 +

let urlPath: String = "YOUR_URL_HERE"
    let url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    let request1: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()

    NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse?, data: NSData?, error: NSError?) -> Void in

        do {
            if let jsonResult = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data!, options: []) as? NSDictionary {
                print("ASynchronous\(jsonResult)")
            }
        } catch let error as NSError {
            print(error.localizedDescription)
        }


    })

3. As usual URL connection

Swift 1.2

    var dataVal = NSMutableData()
    let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    var connection: NSURLConnection = NSURLConnection(request: request, delegate: self, startImmediately: true)!
    connection.start()

Then

 func connection(connection: NSURLConnection!, didReceiveData data: NSData!){
    self.dataVal?.appendData(data)
}


func connectionDidFinishLoading(connection: NSURLConnection!)
{
    var error: NSErrorPointer=nil

    var jsonResult: NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(dataVal!, options: NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers, error: error) as NSDictionary

    println(jsonResult)



}

Swift 2.0 +

   var dataVal = NSMutableData()
    let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request: NSURLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: url)
    var connection: NSURLConnection = NSURLConnection(request: request, delegate: self, startImmediately: true)!
    connection.start()

Then

func connection(connection: NSURLConnection!, didReceiveData data: NSData!){
    dataVal.appendData(data)
}


func connectionDidFinishLoading(connection: NSURLConnection!)
{

    do {
        if let jsonResult = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(dataVal, options: []) as? NSDictionary {
            print(jsonResult)
        }
    } catch let error as NSError {
        print(error.localizedDescription)
    }

}

4. Asynchonous POST Request

Swift 1.2

    let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request1: NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)

    request1.HTTPMethod = "POST"
     var stringPost="deviceToken=123456" // Key and Value

    let data = stringPost.dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)

    request1.timeoutInterval = 60
    request1.HTTPBody=data
    request1.HTTPShouldHandleCookies=false

    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()

     NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse!, data: NSData!, error: NSError!) -> Void in


        var err: NSError

        var jsonResult: NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data, options: NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers, error: nil) as NSDictionary
        println("AsSynchronous\(jsonResult)")


        })

Swift 2.0 +

let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    let url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    let request1: NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)

    request1.HTTPMethod = "POST"
    let stringPost="deviceToken=123456" // Key and Value

    let data = stringPost.dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)

    request1.timeoutInterval = 60
    request1.HTTPBody=data
    request1.HTTPShouldHandleCookies=false

    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()

    NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse?, data: NSData?, error: NSError?) -> Void in

        do {
            if let jsonResult = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data!, options: []) as? NSDictionary {
                print("ASynchronous\(jsonResult)")
            }
        } catch let error as NSError {
            print(error.localizedDescription)
        }


    })

5. Asynchonous GET Request

Swift 1.2

    let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    var url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    var request1: NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)

    request1.HTTPMethod = "GET"
    request1.timeoutInterval = 60
    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()

     NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse!, data: NSData!, error: NSError!) -> Void in


        var err: NSError

        var jsonResult: NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data, options: NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers, error: nil) as NSDictionary
        println("AsSynchronous\(jsonResult)")


        })

Swift 2.0 +

let urlPath: String = "YOUR URL HERE"
    let url: NSURL = NSURL(string: urlPath)!
    let request1: NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)

    request1.HTTPMethod = "GET"
    let queue:NSOperationQueue = NSOperationQueue()

    NSURLConnection.sendAsynchronousRequest(request1, queue: queue, completionHandler:{ (response: NSURLResponse?, data: NSData?, error: NSError?) -> Void in

        do {
            if let jsonResult = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(data!, options: []) as? NSDictionary {
                print("ASynchronous\(jsonResult)")
            }
        } catch let error as NSError {
            print(error.localizedDescription)
        }


    })

6. Image(File) Upload

Swift 2.0 +

  let mainURL = "YOUR_URL_HERE"

    let url = NSURL(string: mainURL)
    let request = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url!)
    let boundary = "78876565564454554547676"
    request.addValue("multipart/form-data; boundary=\(boundary)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")


    request.HTTPMethod = "POST" // POST OR PUT What you want
    let session = NSURLSession(configuration:NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration(), delegate: nil, delegateQueue: nil)

    let imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(UIImage(named: "Test.jpeg")!, 1)





    var body = NSMutableData()

    body.appendData("--\(boundary)\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)

    // Append your parameters

    body.appendData("Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"name\"\r\n\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)
    body.appendData("PREMKUMAR\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding, allowLossyConversion: true)!)
    body.appendData("--\(boundary)\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)

    body.appendData("Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"description\"\r\n\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)
    body.appendData("IOS_DEVELOPER\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding, allowLossyConversion: true)!)
    body.appendData("--\(boundary)\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)


    // Append your Image/File Data

    var imageNameval = "HELLO.jpg"

    body.appendData("--\(boundary)\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)
    body.appendData("Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"profile_photo\"; filename=\"\(imageNameval)\"\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)
    body.appendData("Content-Type: image/jpeg\r\n\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)
    body.appendData(imageData!)
    body.appendData("\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)

    body.appendData("--\(boundary)--\r\n".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!)

    request.HTTPBody = body




    let dataTask = session.dataTaskWithRequest(request) { (data, response, error) -> Void in

        if error != nil {

            //handle error


        }
        else {




            let outputString : NSString = NSString(data:data!, encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
            print("Response:\(outputString)")


        }
    }
    dataTask.resume()

Answer 2

Swift 3.0

Through a small abstraction https://github.com/daltoniam/swiftHTTP

Example

    do {
        let opt = try HTTP.GET("https://google.com")
        opt.start { response in
            if let err = response.error {
                print("error: \(err.localizedDescription)")
                return //also notify app of failure as needed
            }
            print("opt finished: \(response.description)")
            //print("data is: \(response.data)") access the response of the data with response.data
        }
    } catch let error {
        print("got an error creating the request: \(error)")
    }

Answer 3

 var post:NSString = "api=myposts&userid=\(uid)&page_no=0&limit_no=10"

    NSLog("PostData: %@",post);

    var url1:NSURL = NSURL(string: url)!

    var postData:NSData = post.dataUsingEncoding(NSASCIIStringEncoding)!

    var postLength:NSString = String( postData.length )

    var request:NSMutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url1)
    request.HTTPMethod = "POST"
    request.HTTPBody = postData
    request.setValue(postLength, forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Length")
    request.setValue("application/x-www-form-urlencoded", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
    request.setValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept")

    var reponseError: NSError?
    var response: NSURLResponse?

    var urlData: NSData? = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(request, returningResponse:&response, error:&reponseError)

    if ( urlData != nil ) {
        let res = response as NSHTTPURLResponse!;

        NSLog("Response code: %ld", res.statusCode);

        if (res.statusCode >= 200 && res.statusCode < 300)
        {
            var responseData:NSString  = NSString(data:urlData!, encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding)!

            NSLog("Response ==> %@", responseData);

            var error: NSError?

            let jsonData:NSDictionary = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(urlData!, options:NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers , error: &error) as NSDictionary

            let success:NSInteger = jsonData.valueForKey("error") as NSInteger

            //[jsonData[@"success"] integerValue];

            NSLog("Success: %ld", success);

            if(success == 0)
            {
                NSLog("Login SUCCESS");

                self.dataArr = jsonData.valueForKey("data") as NSMutableArray
                self.table.reloadData()

            } else {

                NSLog("Login failed1");
                ZAActivityBar.showErrorWithStatus("error", forAction: "Action2")
            }

        } else {

            NSLog("Login failed2");
            ZAActivityBar.showErrorWithStatus("error", forAction: "Action2")

        }
    } else {

        NSLog("Login failed3");
        ZAActivityBar.showErrorWithStatus("error", forAction: "Action2")
}

it will help you surely

Answer 4

I am calling the json on login button click

@IBAction func loginClicked(sender : AnyObject) {

    var request = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: NSURL(string: kLoginURL)) // Here, kLogin contains the Login API.

    var session = NSURLSession.sharedSession()

    request.HTTPMethod = "POST"

    var err: NSError?
    request.HTTPBody = NSJSONSerialization.dataWithJSONObject(self.criteriaDic(), options: nil, error: &err) // This Line fills the web service with required parameters.
    request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
    request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept")

    var task = session.dataTaskWithRequest(request, completionHandler: {data, response, error -> Void in
        var strData = NSString(data: data, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding)
        var err1: NSError?
        var json2 = NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(strData.dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding), options: .MutableLeaves, error:&err1 ) as NSDictionary

        println("json2 :\(json2)")

        if(err) {
            println(err!.localizedDescription)
        }
        else {
            var success = json2["success"] as? Int
            println("Success: \(success)")
        }
    })

    task.resume()
}

Here, I have made a seperate dictionary for the parameters.

var params = ["format":"json", "MobileType":"IOS","MIN":"f8d16d98ad12acdbbe1de647414495ec","UserName":emailTxtField.text,"PWD":passwordTxtField.text,"SigninVia":"SH"]as NSDictionary
    return params
}

// You can add your own sets of parameter here.

Answer 5

A simple Swift 2.0 approach to making a HTTP GET request

The HTTP request is asynchronous so you need a way to get the returned value from the HTTP Request. This approach uses Notifiers and is spread over two classes.

The example is to check the username and password for an identifier token using the website http://www.example.com/handler.php?do=CheckUserJson&json= That is the file is called handler.php and has a switch statement on the do parameter to get a RESTful approach.

In the viewDidLoad we setup the NotifierObserver, set up the json and make the call to the getHTTPRequest function. It will return to the function checkedUsernameAndPassword with the returned parameter from the http request.

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    // setup the Notification observer to catch the result of check username and password
    NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().addObserver(self, selector: "checkedUsernameAndPassword:", name: CHECK_USERNAME_AND_PASSWORD, object: nil)        
    let username = GlobalVariables.USER_NAME
    let password = GlobalVariables.PASSWORD
    // check username and password
    if let jsonString = Utility.checkUsernameAndPasswordJson(username, password:password){
        print("json string returned = \(jsonString)")
        let url = CHECKUSERJSON+jsonString
        // CHECKUSERJSON = http://www.example.com/handler.php?do=CheckUserJson&json=
        // jsonString = {\"username\":\"demo\",\"password\":\"demo\"}"
        // the php script handles a json request and returns a string identifier           
        Utility.getHTTPRequest(url,notifierId: CHECK_USERNAME_AND_PASSWORD)
        // the returned identifier is sent to the checkedUsernaeAndPassword function when it becomes availabel.
    }
}

There are two static functions in Utility.swift first to encode the json and then to do the HTTP call.

    static func checkUsernameAndPasswordJson(username: String, password: String) -> String?{
    let para:NSMutableDictionary = NSMutableDictionary()
        para.setValue("demo", forKey: "username")
        para.setValue("demo", forKey: "password")
    let jsonData: NSData
    do{
        jsonData = try NSJSONSerialization.dataWithJSONObject(para, options: NSJSONWritingOptions())
        let jsonString = NSString(data: jsonData, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding) as! String
        return jsonString
    } catch _ {
        print ("UH OOO")
        return nil
    }
}

and the Http request

    static func getHTTPRequest (url:String , notifierId: String) -> Void{
    let urlString = url
    let config = NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration()
    let session = NSURLSession(configuration: config, delegate: nil, delegateQueue: nil)
    let safeURL = urlString.stringByAddingPercentEncodingWithAllowedCharacters(NSCharacterSet.URLQueryAllowedCharacterSet())!
    if let url = NSURL(string: safeURL){
        let request  = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)
        request.HTTPMethod = "GET"
        request.timeoutInterval = 60
        let taskData = session.dataTaskWithRequest(request, completionHandler: {
            (data:NSData?, response:NSURLResponse?, error:NSError?) -> Void in
            if (data != nil) {
                let result = NSString(data: data! , encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding)
                sendNotification (notifierId, message: String(result), num: 0)
            }else{
                  sendNotification (notifierId, message: String(UTF8String: nil), num: -1)                    }
        })
    taskData.resume()
    }else{
        print("bad urlString = \(urlString)")
    }
}

The sendNotification function completes the circle. Notice that in teh Observer there is a ":" at the end of the selector string. This allows the notification to carry a payload in userInfo. I give this a String and an Int.

    static func sendNotification (key: String, message:String?, num: Int?){
    NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().postNotificationName(
        key,
        object: nil,
        userInfo:   (["message": message!,
                      "num": "\(num!)"])
    )
}

Note that using HTTP is oldFashioned, prefer HTTPS see How do I load an HTTP URL with App Transport Security enabled in iOS 9?

Answer 6

Swift 4 and above : Data Request using URLSession API

   //create the url with NSURL
   let url = URL(string: "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1")! //change the url

   //create the session object
   let session = URLSession.shared

   //now create the URLRequest object using the url object
   let request = URLRequest(url: url)

   //create dataTask using the session object to send data to the server
   let task = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { data, response, error in

       guard error == nil else {
           return
       }

       guard let data = data else {
           return
       }

      do {
         //create json object from data
         if let json = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .mutableContainers) as? [String: Any] {
            print(json)
         }
      } catch let error {
        print(error.localizedDescription)
      }
   })

   task.resume()

Swift 4 and above, Decodable and Result enum

//APPError enum which shows all possible errors
enum APPError: Error {
    case networkError(Error)
    case dataNotFound
    case jsonParsingError(Error)
    case invalidStatusCode(Int)
}

//Result enum to show success or failure
enum Result<T> {
    case success(T)
    case failure(APPError)
}

//dataRequest which sends request to given URL and convert to Decodable Object
func dataRequest<T: Decodable>(with url: String, objectType: T.Type, completion: @escaping (Result<T>) -> Void) {

    //create the url with NSURL
    let dataURL = URL(string: url)! //change the url

    //create the session object
    let session = URLSession.shared

    //now create the URLRequest object using the url object
    let request = URLRequest(url: dataURL, cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy, timeoutInterval: 60)

    //create dataTask using the session object to send data to the server
    let task = session.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: { data, response, error in

        guard error == nil else {
            completion(Result.failure(AppError.networkError(error!)))
            return
        }

        guard let data = data else {
            completion(Result.failure(APPError.dataNotFound))
            return
        }

        do {
            //create decodable object from data
            let decodedObject = try JSONDecoder().decode(objectType.self, from: data)
            completion(Result.success(decodedObject))
        } catch let error {
            completion(Result.failure(APPError.jsonParsingError(error as! DecodingError)))
        }
    })

    task.resume()
}

example:

//if we want to fetch todo from placeholder API, then we define the ToDo struct and call dataRequest and pass "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1" string url.

struct ToDo: Decodable {
    let id: Int
    let userId: Int
    let title: String
    let completed: Bool

}

dataRequest(with: "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1", objectType: ToDo.self) { (result: Result) in
    switch result {
    case .success(let object):
        print(object)
    case .failure(let error):
        print(error)
    }
}

//this prints the result:

ToDo(id: 1, userId: 1, title: "delectus aut autem", completed: false)