Piper
In Swift development it's all to familiar to see nested GCD code like the following:
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_BACKGROUND, 0)) { () -> Void in
// Do some background work...
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue()) { () -> Void in
// Display results on main queue...
}
}
Piper
removes nesting and lets you chain arbitrary operations on any queue you like:
background {
// Do some background work...
}.main {
// Display results on main queue...
}.execute()
Installation
Piper
is available through CocoaPods. To install, simply include the following lines in your podfile:
use_frameworks!
pod 'Piper'
Be sure to import the module at the top of your .swift files:
import Piper
Alternatively, clone this repo or download it as a zip and include the classes in your project.
Usage
Piper
allows you to chain sequential operations across different queues. You can manually specify the queues, operations and return types:
let queue1 = NSOperationQueue()
let queue2 = NSOperationQueue()
let mainQueue = NSOperationQueue.mainQueue()
queue(queue1) {
// Execute a contrived long running operation...
return counter
}.queue(queue2) { counter in
// Run another contrived long running operation...
return (counter, multiplier)
}.finally(mainQueue) { (counter, multiplier) in
// Present the results on the main queue...
print(counter * multiplier)
}
However, Piper
also provides convenience methods and smart defaults that can manage the queues for you:
background /* creates a background queue */ {
// Execute a contrived long running operation...
}.background /* creates another background queue */ { counter in
// Run another contrived long running operation...
}.finally /* defaults to main queue */ { (counter, multiplier) in
// Present the results on the main queue...
}
You can jump back between background and custom queues, as well as the main queue:
main {
// Operation on the main queue
}.background {
// Operation on an anonymous background queue
}.queue(myQueue) {
// Operation on my own queue
}.finally {
// Last operation on the main queue
}
You can also execute after an arbitrary delay (like dispatch_after
):
background {
// Background operation...
return result
}.after(3.0).finally { result in
// Receives result after minimum 3 second delay
print(result)
}
Finally, you can use execute()
instead of finally()
if you'd prefer to trigger execution without a completion block:
background {
// Do some work...
}.execute()
Revision History
- 1.1.0 - Added
after
operation that mimicsdispatch_after
- 1.0.0 - Initial Release
Author
Brad Hilton, brad@skyvive.com
License
Piper is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.