Meaning of ??, !!, !?, ?!

Ans : 

1. ?? is  Nil-Coalescing Operator. It is used to provide default value if value is nil.

let val = values["value1"] as? String ?? "default"

2. !!

i.e
struct StockFullData: Codable
{  
           var ok : Bool?  
           var sn : StockName?
}

struct StockName : Codable
{  
           let display_name : String?
}

Now Check :

print(s.sn?.display_name)      
print((s.sn?.display_name!))      
print((s.sn?.display_name!)!)      
 print((s.sn!.display_name!))

Output :

Optional("m")
Optional("m")
m
m

-> See third print, where we have used !! for extract value. I am not sure it is correct answer because it is like !)! .

3. !? : am finding answer or We can make custom operator using this .
4. ?! : am finding answer or We can make custom operator using this .

If you have any comment, question, or recommendation, feel free to post them in the comment section below!

What is Operator overloading?

Ans : 
Operator overloading is the practice of adding new operators and modifying existing ones to do different things. Operators are those little symbols like +, *, and /, and Swift uses them in a variety of ways depending on context – a string plus another string equals a combined string, for example, whereas an integer plus another integer equals a summed integer.

To create a new operator, try adding this to a playground:

infix operator **

That’s the exponentiation operator, designed to raise one number to the power of another. Normally we’d use the pow() function for that job, but with operator overloading we can make ** work instead.

Now you need to tell Swift what to do when it sees that operator. For example, when we write something like 2 ** 4 what does that mean?

Syntax of making operator : 

func **(lhs: Double, rhs: Double) -> Double {
    return pow(lhs, rhs)
}

Use : 

let result = 2 ** 4

We can specify associativity and a precedence group also but it is very deep level.

If you have any comment, question, or recommendation, feel free to post them in the comment section below!

What is meaning of _ in Swift func ?

Ans : 

The _ is used to define that the parameter is not named

If you have multiple _ it states that you do not need to name the parameters in your function call

func myFunc(name:String, _ age:String){       }

myFunc(“Milo", "I'm a really old wizard")

If you do not use the underscore you would use 

myFunc(“Milo”, age: "I'm a really old wizard")

The _ is not necessary in function calls. It is just used to indicate that something does not to have a name.

What is Enumeration in Swift?

Ans : 

What is enum?

An enumeration defines a common type for a group of related values and enables you to work with those values in a type-safe way within your code.
Enumerations offer an easy way to work with sets of related constants. An enumeration, or Enum, is a symbolic name for a set of values. Enumerations are treated as data types, and you can use them to create sets of constants for use with variables and properties.

When to use an enum?
Whenever a procedure accepts a limited set of variables, consider using an enumeration. Enumerations make for clearer and more readable code, particularly when meaningful names are used.

The benefits of using enumerations include:

• Reduces errors caused by transposing or mistyping numbers. 
• Makes it easy to change values in the future. 
• Makes code easier to read, which means it is less likely that errors will creep into it. 
• Ensures forward compatibility. With enumerations, your code is less likely to fail if in the future someone changes the values corresponding to the member names.

Some truths about protocol

Q1 : Can structure confirm protocol?

A1 : Yes

Q2 : Can enumeration confirm protocol?

A2 : Yes

Q3 : Can we declare variable in protocol?

A3 : Yes -> It must be var and it must be read-Only or readAndWrite . Property declaration is like following : 

protocol someprotocol {

     var gettable : Int { get }

      var setAndGettable : Int { get set }

} 

Q4 : Can we add function in the enumeration?

A4 : Yes

Q5 : Can protocol has own init method?

A5 : Yes

Q6 : Can protocol inherit another protocol?

A6 : Yes

protocol someprotocol : anotherprotocol {

}

Q7: Can we make a class-specific protocol?

A7: You can limit protocol adoption to class types (and not structures or enumerations) by adding the AnyObject or class protocol to a protocol’s inheritance list.

protocol someprotocol : AnyObject, Someanotherprotocol {

}

Now someprotocol can only be confirmed by class type. No structure or enum type can confirm this protocol.

Q8. Can we declare an optional protocol method in swift?

A8. Yes. In that protocol name and optional methods should be followed by @objc due to it consider as objective c code.

@objc protocol someprotocol {

        @objc optional func somemethod()

        @objc optional var someName : String { get set }

}

or 

We can make protocol extension and provide default body to protocol method. So any class or struct confirms that protocol doesn't require implementing that method.

Q.9 Can protocol be fileprivate?
A9. Yes. Protocol can be fileprivate, private, public. Private and fileprivate protocol can be confirmed only within current file.

Q.10 Can we define property in extension?
A10. Swift doesn’t support stored properties inside the extension. Computed property is allowed in extension.

Q.11 Can we define property in protocol?
A.11 Property in protocol must have explicit { get } or { get set } specifier. 

protocol VoiceAssistant {

        var s : String // Not allowed

        var name: String {get} // Allowed

        var voice: String {get set} // Allowed

    }

Q.12 Can we declare same name property in protocol and its extension with different datatype?
A.12 Yes. Extension declared property must have valid getter method.

protocol VoiceAssistant {

   

    var name: String {get}

    var voice: String {get set}

}

extension VoiceAssistant {

    var name: Int {get { return 5}}

}

Q.13 Can we define body in method in protocol? How?

A.13 Yes.

protocol VoiceAssistant {

    func makeMessage()

}

extension VoiceAssistant {

    func makeMessage() {

        print("Default make message method")

    }

}

What is singleton class? Pros and Cons.

Ans : The singleton pattern guarantees that only one instance of a class is instantiated. We are aware of following singleton classes,

// Shared URL Session
let sharedURLSession = URLSession.shared

// Default File Manager
let defaultFileManager = FileManager.default

// Standard User Defaults
let standardUserDefaults = UserDefaults.standard

Above classes are instantiate only once, if we try to create another instance, it returns also first instance. So through out application, only one instance is generated for singleton class.

Custom Singleton Class example: 

Different ways : 
1. When we need default configuration  (Using closure) : 

class NetworkManager {

    // MARK: - Properties

    private static var sharedNetworkManager: NetworkManager = {
        let networkManager = NetworkManager(baseURL: API.baseURL)
       // ....
       // Configuration
       // ....         return networkManager
    }()

    let baseURL: URL(string : "https://www.iosiqa.com")

    private init(baseURL: URL) {
        self.baseURL = baseURL
    }

    class func shared() -> NetworkManager {
        return sharedNetworkManager
    }
}

Use  : NetworkManager.shared().baseURL 

2. Using only single statement : 

class mpiosapp {

    

    static var shared = mpiosapp()
    let baseURL: URL(string : "https://www.iosiqa.com")

    private init(){}

    

}

Use : mpiosapp.shared.baseURL

Q : When static variable will be deinitialized?
A : Static variable will be deinit when program or app stops working.

Disadvantage of Singleton :

1. One of the main disadvantages of singletons is that they make unit testing very hard. They introduce global state to the application. The problem is that you cannot completely isolate classes dependent on singletons. When you are trying to test such a class, you inevitably test the Singleton as well. When unit testing, you want the class to be as loosely coupled with other classes as possible and all the dependencies of the class should be ideally provided externally (either by constructor or setters), so they can be easily mocked. Unfortunately, that is not possible with singletons as they introduce tight coupling and the class retrieves the instance on its own. But it gets even worse. The global state of stateful singletons is preserved between test cases.

2. It is static so memory will not be freeze until app will killed. It has it's own creation time and its own lifecycle.

3. Singletons create hidden dependencies. As the Singleton is readily available throughout the code base, it can be overused. Moreover, since its reference is not completely transparent while passing to different methods, it becomes difficult to track. (To solve that we should pass singleton object variable as parameter and this way is called dependency injection).

How many ways to pass data from one view controller to another view controller?

Ans :

Through following methods, we can pass data from one viewcontroller to another viewcontroller.

1. Using segue (PrepareForSegue) method,
2. Delegate
3. Setting variable

Let's assume we have 2 viewcontroller named VC1 and VC2. We want to pass data from VC1 to VC2 and some times VC2 to VC1. For both cases, we can use segue to pass data. But in general practise, to pass data from VC1 to VC2 (Forward data passing), we use segue and from VC2 to VC1(Backward data passing), we use protocol - delegate way.

1. Using segue (PrepareForSegue) steps :  VC1 --->  VC2

•   Draw segue from VC1 to VC2 and give identifier string 'InputVCToDisplayVC'  to segue.
•   Take variable in VC2.swift as :

           var fullName : String?

•    In VC1, write following code in PrepareForSegue method,

       override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {
        if(segue.identifier == "InputVCToDisplayVC"){
let displayVC = segue.destination as! DisplayViewController
displayVC.fullName = nameTextField.text
        }
        }

•       In VC2, viewDidLoad, we can get  value of fullName and access it.

2. Using delegate steps :    VC2  --->  VC1

Import UIKit

class VC1: UIViewController, VC2Delegate {

       override func viewDidLoad() {

                super.viewDidLoad()

                

       }

       func doSomething(data : String) {

                print(data)

      }

      override func prepare(for segue: UIStoryboardSegue, sender: Any?) {

      if(segue.identifier == "InputVCToDisplayVC"){

      let displayVC = segue.destination as! DisplayViewController

      displayVC.delegate = self

      }

       }

 }

Import UIKit

protocol VC2Delegate {

      func doSomething(data : String) 

}

class VC2 : UIViewController {

        

      var fullName : String?

      weak var delegate : VC2Delegate?

      

      override func viewDidLoad() {

             

     }

     @IBAction func btnPassToVC1_TouchUpInside(_ sender : UIButton) {

              if let delegate = delegate {

                     delegate.doSomething(data: btn.titleLabel.text)       

              }

    }

}

In above, method we make custom protocol and create its object as delegate.We set delegate reference to VC1. So on VC2 button pressed event, VC1 doSomething method will be called.

3. Setting Variable steps :     VC1   --->  VC2

• Take variable in VC2.swift as :  

           var fullName : String?

• On buttonPressed action of VC1, write code as :

           let vc2 : VC2 =  UIStoryboard(name: "Main", bundle:                                                                                                        nil).instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "VC2_ID") as! VC2

           vc2.fullName = "iOS iQA"

           self.present(vc2, animated: true, completion: nil)

Note : There are also persistent storage, by which we can store data and access that data any where in our project. But this is not correct answer or solution for above question or problem. We can store data in NSUserDefault, PList, Coredata, SQLite, KeyChain Access, File as persistent storage.

    

What is lazy property?

Ans : 

When to use lazy initialization is when the initial value for a property is not known until after the object is initialized.

For example, if you have a Person class and a personalizedGreeting property. The personalizedGreeting property can be lazily instantiated after the object is created so it can contain the name of the person.

class Person {      
  var name: String
    
  lazy var personalizedGreeting: String = {
    return "Hello, \(self.name)!"
  }()
    
  init(name: String) {
    self.name = name
  }
}

When you initialize a person, their personal greeting hasn’t been created yet:

let person = Person(name: "John Doe") // person.personalizedGreeting is nil But when you attempt to print out the personalized greeting, it’s calculated on-the-fly:

NSLog(person.personalizedGreeting)

Bonus Tip : You do need to declare your lazy property using the var keyword, not the let keyword, because constants must always have a value before initialization completes.

Benefit of lazy property increase performance in terms of speed.

Explain defer keyword or defer statement in Swift

Ans : Defer block is executed just before return statement or exit of block. Let's have a look to following chunk of code for better understanding

      func defer()  { 
          print("Start") 
          var value: String? 
         defer { 
              if let v = value { 
                   print("Ending execution of \(v)")
              } 
        } 
      value = "defer function" 
      print("End") 
   }

So printing sequence is like following :

Start
End
Ending execution of defer function

So in short defer block will be called lastly in the current block. It will be executed in any case like before return, before the break, before throw exception. Yes, if exception comes, then also defer block will be called before program crash or going to exception.

If there is multiple defer block in same method, Then defer block will execute from down to up side.

Difference between Swift Array and Objective C Array

Ans : Swift arrays (Array and for short, []) are passed by value which means
that every object contained will be copied.

NSArray are implemented as classes (and bridged from ObjC) so they're passed as references.

In Swift, we can declare three type of array.
One is Array or [],
Second is NSArray,
Third is NSMutableArray.

NSArray and NSMutableArray are coming from Objective C by bridge. So interviewer may ask what are difference between types arrays in swift?

Extract value from Array : 

Get 3rd Value from Array

Objective C : [arr objectAtIndex:2] // 2 due to index start from 0 in array

Swift : arr[2] 

Determine index of one integer in another integer - online programming question

Problem Description : Determine index of one integer in another integer

i.e If input A = 23,B = 1472367 then Output : 3 . Because '23' is 3rd index in '1472367'.

Asked in Company : Futurescape Technologies Pvt Ltd  via Codility.com

Ans : 

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
// you can also use other imports, for example:
// #import <SomeLibrary/SomeFile.h>

// you can write to stdout for debugging purposes, e.g.
// printf("this is a debug message\n");

int solution(int A, int B) {
    // write your code in Objective-C 2.0
    NSString *strA = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%d",A];
    NSString *strB = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%d",B];
 
   NSRange range =   [strB rangeOfString:strA];
   if(range.location == NSNotFound)
   return -1;
   else
   return range.location;
}

OOPS Concept in iOS

Ans :  OOPS Concepts are mostly same in all language. Their working are same but conditions are different.

1.      Inheritance : It allows a class to be defined that has a certain set of characteristics(methods and variables) and then other classes to be created which are derived from that class. The derived class inherits all of the features of the parent class and typically then adds some features of its own.

2.      Encapsulation : That binds data and functions together and keeps both safe from outside interference and misuse. Data encapsulation’s benefit of data hiding.

Data encapsulation is a mechanism of bundling the data and the functions that use them.

Data abstraction is a mechanism of exposing only the interface and hiding the implementation details from the user.

3. Polymorphism : Difference process depends on type. The method to be invoked is determined at runtime based on the type of the object. It is like override and overload.

Override : Different class, same method name with signature. It is also called runtime or dynamic polymorphism.

Overload : Same class, method name same with Different parameter. It is also called compile-time or static polymorphism. 

‌Which method is called first when app start?

Ans :

According to apple doc,

• (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application willFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions{}

gets called before

• (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions{}

Why array method containObject has id as parameter in ios?

Ans : id is a generic type. This means that the compiler will expect any object type there, and will not enforce restrictions. It can be useful if you're expecting to use more than one class of objects there. So you can add anything of type id to an NSArray.

So array method containObject has id type as parameter.

- (BOOL)containsObject:(ObjectType)anObject;

Usage :

bool bVal = [arr containObject:@5];

Difference between blocks and completion handler in iOS

Ans :

Blocks:

Blocks are a language-level feature added to C, Objective-C and C++, which allow you to create distinct segments of code that can be passed around to methods or functions as if they were values. Blocks are Objective-C objects, which means they can be added to collections like NSArray or NSDictionary.

They can be executed in a later time, and not when the code of the scope they have been implemented is being executed.
Their usage leads eventually to a much cleaner and tidier code writing, as they can be used instead of delegate methods, written just in one place and not spread to many files.
Syntax: ReturnType (^blockName)(Parameters)

see example:

int anInteger = 42;

void (^testBlock)(void) = ^{

    NSLog(@"Integer is: %i", anInteger);   // anInteger outside variables

};

// calling blocks like
testBlock();
Block with argument:

double (^multiplyTwoValues)(double, double) =

                          ^(double firstValue, double secondValue) {

                              return firstValue * secondValue;

                          };
// calling with parameter
double result = multiplyTwoValues(2,4);

NSLog(@"The result is %f", result);

Completion handler:

Whereas completion handler is a way (technique) for implementing callback functionality using blocks.

A completion handler is nothing more than a simple block declaration passed as a parameter to a method that needs to make a callback at a later time.

Note: completion handler should always be the last parameter in a method. A method can have as many arguments as you want, but always have the completion handler as the last argument in the parameters list.

Example:

- (void)beginTaskWithName:(NSString *)name completion:(void(^)(void))callback;

// calling

[self beginTaskWithName:@"MyTask" completion:^{

    NSLog(@"Task completed ..");

}];

More example with UIKit classes methods.

[self presentViewController:viewController animated:YES completion:^{

        NSLog(@"xyz View Controller presented ..");

        // Other code related to view controller presentation...

    }];

[UIView animateWithDuration:0.5

                     animations:^{

                         // Animation-related code here...

                         [self.view setAlpha:0.5];

                     }

                     completion:^(BOOL finished) {

                         // Any completion handler related code here...

                         NSLog(@"Animation over..");

                     }];

Why tableview cell separator leave some space before?

Ans : 

Alternatively, you can also edit this in interface builder (IB):

1. Go to IB.
2. Select Table View.
3. Open "Attribute Inspector" on the right.
4. Change "Separator Insets" from Default to Custom.
5. Change the "Left" attribute from 15 to 0.

15 is default. So Left side space is seen before cell seperator.

Do you know SMTP? is it use SOAP or REST?

Ans : 

SMTP : SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a TCP/IP protocol used in sending and receiving e-mail.

SOAP and REST both allow you to create your own API. API stands for Application Programming Interface. It makes it possible to transfer data from an application to other applications. An API receives requests and sends back responses through internet protocols such as HTTP, SMTP, and others.

It use SOAP web-service. SOAP is protocol and rules are maintained by World wide web consortium(W3C).

Design such button in that text should be displayed below image

Ans : 

1) Select button and go to Attribute Inspector in your storyboard.

2) Assign Image to the button. (Don't use background Image)

3) Set Title text to that button.

4) Now you need to set edge and Inset so first select image from edge and set Inset as you need and then select title from edge and set inset as per your need.

Difference between viewdidload and viewwillappear?

Ans : 

ViewDidLoad - It is excecuted once. So writer settings like set label text in ViewDidLoad.

ViewWillAppear - It is called every time when view appear.

ViewDidLoad - It is called when view is begin constructed.

ViewWillAppear - When view is about ready to appear.

ViewDidLoad :  It is automatically called when view controller completely loaded into memory. Override this method to perform additional initialization on views that were loaded from xib.

I.e instance variable initialization, database access, network request

ViewWillAppear :  It is called when View is about to added on view hierachy. If we want to change some, then we have to override this method.Like change orientation, change screen data.

Suppose your tableview data will be changed periodically. Then you have to write [tableview reloaddata] in ViewWillApper.

Read UIViewController LifeCycle