How return data from an HTTP request in Swift/Objective C

Question

I\'m trying to use Coinbase\'s API to get information about my online bitcoin wallet, and I\'m trying to use Swift\'s NSURLSession object to do so. Perhaps I\'m missing some

Answer 1

In objective-C you can use __block and get the data when the operation finishes:

__block NSData *myData;
NSURLSession *session = [NSURLSession sharedSession];
[[session dataTaskWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]
      completionHandler:^(NSData *data,
                          NSURLResponse *response,
                          NSError *error) {
        myData = data;

}] resume];

Answer 2

In the edit to your question, you say:

I need to RETURN the data which I receive from the response. Both answers (and all other answers I've seen on SO) simply print the data received. I would like code that doesn't use a void-returning completion handler, but instead returns the data so that it can be used later in the lifecycle of the app. If there is anything unclear about my question, please tell me, though I don't see how this can be made clearer.

I understand the appeal of this strategy, because it feels so intuitively logical. The problem is that your networking requests should always run asynchronously (e.g. use that completion handler pattern to which you allude).

While there are techniques making a function "wait" for the asynchronous request to complete (i.e. to make the asynchronous NSURLSession method behave synchronously or use one of the old synchronous network request methods), this is a really bad idea for a number of reasons:

• If you do this from the main thread, it results in a horrible user experience (the app will be unresponsive while the request is in progress and the user won't know if the app is busy doing something or whether it's frozen for some unknown reason).

• Again, if you do this from the main thread, you also risk having the iOS "watch dog" process kill your app (because if you block the main queue for more than a few seconds at the wrong time, particularly as the app comes to foreground, the OS will unceremoniously terminate your app). See Technical Q&A #1693 for a discussion on the problems of doing synchronous network requests.

• We generally prefer the asynchronous network techniques because they offer more features unavailable with synchronous techniques (e.g. making requests cancelable, offer progress updates when using delegate-based network requests, etc.).

You really should use the completion handler pattern that those other questions suggest, and manage the changing state of the app in those handlers. In those situations where you absolutely cannot let the user proceed until some network request is done (e.g. you can't let the user buy something until you confirm their bitcoin balance, and you can't do that until they log in), then change the UI to indicate that such a request is in progress. For example, dim the UI, disable the controls, pop up an activity indicator view (a.k.a., a "spinner"), etc. Only then would you initiate the request. And upon completion of the request, you would restore the UI. I know it seems like a lot, but it's the right way to do it when the user absolutely cannot proceed until the prior request is done.

I'd also think long and hard as to whether it's truly the case that you absolutely have to force the user to wait for the prior network request to complete. Sometimes there are situations where you can let the user do/review something else while the network request is in progress. Yes, sometimes that isn't possible, but if you can find those sorts of opportunities in your app, you'll end up with a more elegant UX.

Answer 3

I know that problem and use this code for synchronous requests:

func synchronousRequest() -> NSDictionary {

        //creating the request
        let url: NSURL! = NSURL(string: "exampledomain/...")
        var request = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url)
        request.HTTPMethod = "GET"
        request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")


        var error: NSError?

        var response: NSURLResponse?

        let urlData = NSURLConnection.sendSynchronousRequest(request, returningResponse: &response, error: &error)

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

        return resultDictionary
    }

Answer 4

What you are asking for is a synchronous network request. There are many ways to do this, such as... NSData's init(contentsOfURL aURL: NSURL!) NSURLConnection's synchronous request method ...etc.

These methods will block the current thread until they complete - which can be a potentially long time. Network requests can have very high timeouts, it may be several minutes before the device gives up. NSData's init with contents of URL will return NSData, not void, and does not execute asynchronously. It will block until it is complete, which is why it's recommended to not do these types of requests from the main thread. The UI will be frozen until it completes.

In general the use of synchronous networking methods is discouraged. Asynchronous network requests are greatly preferred for a number of reasons. Using an asynchronous method that takes a completion block as a parameter will not prevent you from using the returned data elsewhere in your application. The block is executed when the network request has finished (wether it succeeds or fails) and it is passed the data, response metadata, and error. You are free to do what you want with that data - nothing prevents you from persisting it, passing it off to another object, etc. Based on your comments it sounds like you want to take the data that was the result of the network request and set it as the value of a property somewhere - that is entirely doable using an asynchronous method that uses a block as a completion handler.