Shark ORM

Shark allows you to create a model layer in your iOS, macOS or tvOS app naturally, using simple and clean syntax. Shark does as much of the heavy lifting for you, so you don't have to put unnecessary effort into dealing with your data objects.

Regularly updated with over 12k downloads over the past 4 years and in constant use within many public applications, thriving on feedback and input from other developers.

Its mantra is simple, to be fast, simple and the first choice for any developer.

Getting started

Shark is designed to get your app working quickly, integrated as source code, or as a framework.

Requirements

| Shark Version | Minimum iOS Target | Notes | |:--------------------:|:---------------------------:|:----------------------------:|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------:| | 2.x.x | iOS 6 as source, iOS 8 as framework | Xcode 7 is required. | | 2.x.x | tvOS 9 as source and framework | Xcode 7 is required. | | 2.x.x | macOS 10.8 as source and framework | Xcode 7 is required. | | 2.x.x | watchOS 2 as source and framework | Xcode 7 is required. |

###Install From Cocoapods

####To install it, simply add the following line to your Podfile:

pod "SharkORM"

###Install as Framework Download the source code from GitHub and compile the SharkORM framework target, and then within your application, add the following:

// include the framework header within your app, for Swift add this to the bridging header
#include <SharkORM/SharkORM.h>

###Install as Source Download the source code from GitHub and add to your target the contents of Core and SQLite:

// include the header within your app, for Swift add this to the bridging header
#include “SharkORM.h”

##Getting help and support If you are having trouble with your implementation then simply ask a question on Stack Overflow, the team actively monitor SO and will answer your questions as quickly as possible.

If you have found a bug or want to suggest a feature, then feel free to use the issue tracker in GitHub to raise an issue.

Usage

Setting up your project

Once you have added the SharkORM framework into your application, you will need to start it as soon as possible in your application lifecycle. SRKDelegate needs to be set as well, we recommend this is added to your application delegate.

// Objective-C
@interface AppDelegate : UIResponder <UIApplicationDelegate, SRKDelegate>

// Swift
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, SRKDelegate

Then you need to start SharkORM early on:

// Objective-C
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
    [SharkORM setDelegate:self];
    [SharkORM openDatabaseNamed:@"myDatabase"];
    return YES;
}

// Swift
func application(application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [NSObject: AnyObject]?) -> Bool {
	
	SharkORM.setDelegate(self)
	SharkORM.openDatabaseNamed("myDatabase")
	
	return true
}

###Objects SharkORM objects are normal classes with properties defined on them, the ORM then inspects all these classes and mirrors their structure in a SQLite database automatically. If you add or remove columns, then the tables are updated to represent the current structure of the classes.

You can use these classes in much the same way as any other class in the system, and they can be extended with methods and sub classed, and passed around from thread to thread with no problem.

In Objective-C properties need to be implemented using @dynamic, this is to indicate to the ORM that it will control the fetching and setting of these values from the database, and in Swift the property is implemented as var dynamic

####Example Object Objective-C

//  Header File : Person.h
#import "SharkORM.h"

@interface Person : SRKObject

@property NSString*         name;
@property int               age;
@property int               payrollNumber;

// to create a relationship, you add a property as another SRKObject class
@property Department*       department;

@end

// Source File : Person.m
#import "Person.h"

@implementation Person

@dynamic name,age,payrollNumber, department;

@end

Swift

class Person: SRKObject {
	dynamic var name : String?
	dynamic var age : NSNumber?
	dynamic var payrollNumber : NSNumber?
	dynamic var department : Department?
}

##Supported Types

Shark supports the following types: BOOL, bool, int, int64, uint, uint64, float, double, long, long long, unsigned long long, NSString, NSDate, NSData, NSNumber.

##Relationships

SRKObjects can be linked to each other either by directly embedding them to create a one-to-one relationship (dynamic var department : Department?) or for a one-to-many relationship we employ the use of a method which returns either an NSArray or SRKResultSet object.

With the Person object already defined, and with a property department let’s look at the Department class.

Objective-C

// Department.h
@interface Department : SRKObject
@property NSString*   	name;
@property Location*		location;
@end

Swift

class Department : SRKObject { 
    dynamic var name: String?
    dynamic var location: Location?
}

###One-to-One Relationships

This has been created by adding the Department property into the SRKObject class, and once it has been set with a value it can be used as any other property making use of object dot notation.

Objective-C

Person* employee = [Person new];
Department* section = [Department new];
employee.department = section;

Swift

let employee = Person()
let section = Department()
employee.department = section

Properties can then be accessed directly, and Shark will automatically retrieve any related objects and allow you to access their properties. For example employee.deparment.location.address will automatically retrieve the required objects to satisfy the statement by loading the related Department and Location objects.

###One-to-Many Relationships

You can define to-many relationships by adding methods to the inverse relationship. For example, to relate in a to-many relationship Department and Person we would add the following method to Department.

Objective-C

- (SRKResultSet*)people {
    return [[[Person query] whereWithFormat:@"department = %@", self] fetch];
}

Swift

func people() -> SRKResultSet {
	return Person.query()
            	 .whereWithFormat("department = %@", withParameters: [self])
                 .fetch()
}

You can then safely use these results anywhere, and because an SRKResultSet is an array object, these can be iterated inline. for (Person* employee in [department people]) {...}.

##Indexing Properties

Shark supports indexing by overriding the indexDefinitionForEntity method and returning an SRKIndexDefinition object which describes all of the indexes that need to be maintained on the object.

Objective-C

+ (SRKIndexDefinition *)indexDefinitionForEntity {
    SRKIndexDefinition* idx = [SRKIndexDefinition new];
    [idx addIndexForProperty:@"name" propertyOrder:SRKIndexSortOrderAscending];
    [idx addIndexForProperty:@"age" propertyOrder:SRKIndexSortOrderAscending];
    return idx;
}

Swift

override class func indexDefinitionForEntity() -> SRKIndexDefinition {
	let idx = SRKIndexDefinition()
	idx.addIndexForProperty("name", propertyOrder: SRKIndexSortOrderAscending)
	idx.addIndexForProperty("age", propertyOrder: SRKIndexSortOrderAscending)
	return idx
}

These will automatically be matched to the appropriate query to aid performance. All related object properties are automatically indexed as is required for caching. So there would be no need, for instance, to add in an index for Person.department as it will have already been created.

###Default Values You can specify a set of default values for whenever a new SRKObject is created, by overriding the method defaultValuesForEntity, and returning a dictionary of default values: Objective-C

+ (NSDictionary *)defaultValuesForEntity {
    return @{@"age": @(36), @"name" : @"Billy"};
}

Swift

override class func defaultValuesForEntity() -> [NSObject : AnyObject] {
    return ["name" : "Billy", "age" : 36]
}

##Triggers Shark objects all have the same methods available for them, to enforce constraints and check validity before or after writes have been made.

###entityWillInsert(), entityWillUpdate(), entityWillDelete() returning bool Objects receive this method before any action has been carried out. In here you can test to see if you wish the operation to continue. If true is returned then the operation is told to continue, but if false is retuned then the transaction is aborted, and the commit returns false. Objective-C

- (BOOL)entityWillDelete {
    return self.persons.count == 0;
}

Swift

override func entityWillDelete() -> Bool {
    return Department.people().count == 0;
}

###entityDidInsert(), entityDidUpdate(), entityDidDelete() Objects receive this message after an event has happened and after the transaction is complete.

###Printing objects using print(), NSLog or po We have provided a printable dictionary styled output which, when called, produces output like below.

{
    entity = Person;
    joins =     {
    };
    "pk column" = Id;
    "pk value" = 36664;
    properties =     (
                {
            name = Id;
            type = number;
            value = 36664;
        },
                {
            name = payrollNumber;
            type = number;
            value = 0;
        },
                {
            name = age;
            type = number;
            value = 36;
        },
                {
            name = Name;
            type = unset;
            value = "<null>";
        },
                {
            name = location;
            type = unset;
            value = "<null>";
        },
                {
            name = department;
            type = unset;
            value = "<null>";
        },
                {
            name = seq;
            type = number;
            value = 0;
        }
    );
    relationships =     (
                {
            property = department;
            status = unloaded;
            target = Department;
        },
                {
            property = location;
            status = unloaded;
            target = Location;
        }
    );
}

##Writing Objects Shark looks to simplify the persistence of objects down to a simple method commit. This can be called at any moment and from any thread. If an object contains either a single or multiple related objects within it, then calling commit on the parent object will automatically store all the subsequent objects too.

Objective-C

// Create a new object
Person* thisPerson = [Person new];

// Set some properties
thisPerson.age = 37;
thisPerson.payrollNumber = 123456;
thisPerson.name = @"Adrian Herridge";

// Persist the object into the datastore
[thisPerson commit];

Swift

// Create a new object
var thisPerson = Person()

// Set some properties
thisPerson.age = 37;
thisPerson.payrollNumber = 123456;
thisPerson.name = "Adrian Herridge";

// Persist the object into the datastore
thisPerson.commit()

Objects are committed immediately and are written to the store in an atomic fashion. They will become immediately queryable upon completion.

###Writing in Transactions For some batch storage situations, it may be better to batch a lot of writes into a single transaction, this will improve speed, but will also increase memory usage during that process as any event methods would have to be honoured during the commit. Transactions are setup as follows:

Objective-C

[SRKTransaction transaction:^{
    // Create a new object
    Person* thisPerson = [Person new];
    thisPerson.name = @"Adrian Herridge";
    // although the commit is indicated, it is delayed until the transaction is closed.
    [thisPerson commit];
} withRollback:^{}];

Swift

SRKTransaction.transaction({ 
    // Create a new object
    var thisPerson = Person()
    thisPerson.name = "Adrian Herridge";
    // although the commit is indicated, it is delayed until the transaction is closed.
    thisPerson.commit()
    }) { // the rollback on failure }

##Querying To retrieve objects back, we use the SRKQuery object that is associated with every SRKObject class. This then takes optional parameters such as where, limit, orderBy & offset. All of the parameters return the same query object back, enabling the building of a query within a single nested instruction.

The final call to a query object is made using fetch, count, sum, fetchLightweight & fetchAsync which will then execute the query and return the results.

An example to fetch an entire table: Objective-C

SRKResultSet* results = [[Person query] fetch];

Swift

var results : SRKResultSet = Person.query().fetch()

Queries can be built up using a FLUENT interface, so every call except a call to a retrieval method returns itself as a SRKQuery, allowing you to nest your parameters. Objective-C

SRKResultSet* results = [[[[[Person query]
                       		where:@"age = 35"]
                       		limit:99]
                     	  orderBy:@"name"]
                        fetch];

Swift

var results = Person.query()
					.whereWithFormat("age = %@", withParameters: [35])
					.limit(99).orderBy("name")
					.fetch()

###Supported parameters to SRKQuery Shark supports the following optional parameters to a query:

###where, whereWithFormat (and with parameters).
This is the query string supplied to the query, and can contain format specifiers along with object to be placed into the query as normal parameter options. Supported format specifiers are %@,%i,%u,%d,%s,%f,%ul,%ull.

%@ objects can also be Arrays and Sets for use in subqueries, such as @"department IN (%@)", @[@(1),@(2),@(3)]. ###limit Specifies the limit to the number of query results to return ###orderBy Specifies the order by which the SRKResultSet will be returned. These can be multiple values, such as orderBy("name,age"). ###offset Specifies the offset in the values to be retrieved, to allow developers to only retrieve a window of data when required. ###batch This, although it does not affect the query, does allow developers to iterate through a large data set without having the performance and memory issue of dealing with the entire data set. If a batch size of 10 is specified, then the SRKResultSet will perform an entire query, but will only fully retrieve the first 10 objects. Then, it will maintain a window of the batch size when iterating through the results, automatically fetching them in batches. This enables developers to optimise their system without the need to change the way their code is written. ###joinTo Shark allows LEFT JOIN unions to be made, to allow for faster and less nested queries. See Joins for more info. ##Other types of Query In addition to retrieving entire objects there are also additional types of queries which help developers solve other problems. ###fetchLightweight Fetches an object from the store, except it does not retrieve any property values. These are lazily loaded upon access, and can be configured to then be permanently available of freed immediately. ###fetchAsync Performs an asynchronous query on a background thread and then executes the supplied block when the results are complete.

###count Returns a count of the query, the same as COUNT(*) would. ###sum Returns a SUM(field) value from the supplied property name, these can also be compound, such as SUM(property1 + property2). ###distinct Returns an NSArray of the distinct values for a particular column, it is used like distinct("surname"). ###groupBy Returns an NSDictionary, which is grouped by the specified property groupBy("surname"). ###ids Returns the PK values of the matching objects, this is a faster way to store results for use in a subquery. Although, in practice it is little faster than using lightweight objects.

##Joins Joins represent the most powerful feature of SQL as the way any RDBMS is optimised is not through subqueries, but through joins and null checking.

In Shark, for the time being, all joins are LEFT JOIN. Simply because we have to retrieve whole objects from the originating query class. But joins can be multiple and compound.

Example of a join from [Person] -> [Department] Objective-C

[[Person query] joinTo:[Department class] leftParameter:@"department" targetParameter:@"Id"]

Swift

Person.query()
	  .joinTo(Department, leftParameter: "department", targetParameter: "Id")

But you can also create an [Person]->[Department]->[Location] three way join, using the result of the first join to perform the second. Objective-C

[[[Person query] joinTo:[Department class] leftParameter:@"department" targetParameter:@"Id"]
                 joinTo:[Location class] leftParameter:@"Department.location" targetParameter:@"Id"]

Swift

Person.query()
      .joinTo(Department, leftParameter: "department", targetParameter: "Id")
      .joinTo(Location, leftParameter: "Department.location", targetParameter: "Id")

Once you have performed your join, the results are stored per object in a dictionary joinedResults.

An example of output looks like this.

{
    "Department.Id" = 61;
    "Department.location" = 35;
    "Department.name" = Development;
    "Location.Id" = 35;
    "Location.locationName" = Alton;
}

###Removing objects To remove an object from Shark you simply call remove() on this object, this will delete it form the data store and sterilise it to ensure it cannot be accidentally written back at a later date. To optimise the bulk removal of objects, a query can be combined with a call to removeAll() on the result set to delete many objects at once.

Objective-C

[[[[Person query] where:@"age < 18"] fetch] removeAll];

Swift

Person.query()
      .whereWithFormat("age < %@", withParameters: [18])
      .fetch()
      .removeAll()

The longhand version of this is: Objective-C

for (Person* person in [[Person query] fetch]) {
	[person remove];
}

Swift

for person in Person.query().fetch() {
	person.remove()
}

##Event handling Shark events fall into two caregories, the first being events on an individual object and the second being events on a class.

Class events are raised when there has been any underlying change in the values stored in a class. This is useful for updating a view when data is written on a background thread, or event triggers are actioned.

Registering an event block simply requires you to create a new SRKEventHandler object by calling a creation method on the class. Objective-C

SRKEventHandler* eHandler = [Person eventHandler];
[eHandler registerBlockForEvents:SharkORMEventInsert withBlock:^(SRKEvent *event) {
        // update the tableview here
} onMainThread:YES];

Swift

let eHandler = Person.eventHandler()
eHandler.registerBlockForEvents(SharkORMEventInsert, withBlock: { (event: SRKEvent!) in
        // update the tableview here
}, onMainThread: true)

For object event handlers, all individual objects have the ability to register blocks against them by just making the same call to registerBlockForEvents. This will then automatically make the object live and will observe any changes to that corresponding object within the datastore, these will happen across any thread.

Requirements:

CocoaPods 1.0.0

txhong / sharkorm

Shark ORM

Getting started

Requirements

Usage

Setting up your project

Requirements:

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