Reference type inside value type

Question

I am exploring Swift value types particularly structs to get a better understanding of it\'s uses in different scenario. I was amazed to see how enum can be used to build Bi

Answer 1

You can test this in a playground:

class B {
    var data: Int = 0

    deinit {
        print("deallocated!")
    }
}

struct A {
    var b = B()
}

var a1: A? = A()
var a2: A? = A()
var a3: A? = a1

// Do the two instances of struct A share the same instance of class B?
a1?.b === a2?.b // false

// Do copies of instances of struct A share the same instance of class B?
a1?.b === a3?.b // true

// When will deinit be called?
a1 = nil    // Not yet, a3 still holds a strong reference to the shared instance of class B
a3 = nil    // Now! There are no longer any strong references to the shared instance of class B, so it is deallocated.