Swift: Testing optionals for nil

Question

I\'m using Xcode 6 Beta 4. I have this weird situation where I cannot figure out how to appropriately test for optionals.

If I have an optional xyz, is the correct w

Answer 1

Another approach besides using if or guard statements to do the optional binding is to extend Optional with:

extension Optional {

    func ifValue(_ valueHandler: (Wrapped) -> Void) {
        switch self {
        case .some(let wrapped): valueHandler(wrapped)
        default: break
        }
    }

}

ifValue receives a closure and calls it with the value as an argument when the optional is not nil. It is used this way:

var helloString: String? = "Hello, World!"

helloString.ifValue {
    print($0) // prints "Hello, World!"
}

helloString = nil

helloString.ifValue {
    print($0) // This code never runs
}

You should probably use an if or guard however as those are the most conventional (thus familiar) approaches used by Swift programmers.