From Swift 5.6
Swift Proposal [SE-0320] allows non String/Int (e.g. a enum) as key of a dictionary.
Conform your enum to the CodingKeyRepresentable protocol.
e.g.
enum AnEnum: String, Codable, CodingKeyRepresentable {
case enumValue
}
Before Swift 5.6
(original answer)
The problem is that Dictionary's Codable conformance can currently only properly handle String and Int keys. For a dictionary with any other Key type (where that Key is Encodable/Decodable), it is encoded and decoded with an unkeyed container (JSON array) with alternating key values.
Therefore when attempting to decode the JSON:
{"dictionary": {"enumValue": "someString"}}
into AStruct, the value for the "dictionary" key is expected to be an array.
So,
let jsonDict = ["dictionary": ["enumValue", "someString"]]
would work, yielding the JSON:
{"dictionary": ["enumValue", "someString"]}
which would then be decoded into:
AStruct(dictionary: [AnEnum.enumValue: "someString"])
However, really I think that Dictionary's Codable conformance should be able to properly deal with any CodingKey conforming type as its Key (which AnEnum can be) – as it can just encode and decode into a keyed container with that key (feel free to file a bug requesting for this).
Until implemented (if at all), we could always build a wrapper type to do this:
struct CodableDictionary<Key : Hashable, Value : Codable> : Codable where Key : CodingKey {
let decoded: [Key: Value]
init(_ decoded: [Key: Value]) {
self.decoded = decoded
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: Key.self)
decoded = Dictionary(uniqueKeysWithValues:
try container.allKeys.lazy.map {
(key: $0, value: try container.decode(Value.self, forKey: $0))
}
)
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: Key.self)
for (key, value) in decoded {
try container.encode(value, forKey: key)
}
}
}
and then implement like so:
enum AnEnum : String, CodingKey {
case enumValue
}
struct AStruct: Codable {
let dictionary: [AnEnum: String]
private enum CodingKeys : CodingKey {
case dictionary
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
dictionary = try container.decode(CodableDictionary.self, forKey: .dictionary).decoded
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
try container.encode(CodableDictionary(dictionary), forKey: .dictionary)
}
}
(or just have the dictionary property of type CodableDictionary<AnEnum, String> and use the auto-generated Codable conformance – then just speak in terms of dictionary.decoded)
Now we can decode the nested JSON object as expected:
let data = """
{"dictionary": {"enumValue": "someString"}}
""".data(using: .utf8)!
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
do {
let result = try decoder.decode(AStruct.self, from: data)
print(result)
} catch {
print(error)
}
// AStruct(dictionary: [AnEnum.enumValue: "someString"])
Although that all being said, it could be argued that all you're achieving with a dictionary with an enum as a key is just a struct with optional properties (and if you expect a given value to always be there; make it non-optional).
Therefore you may just want your model to look like:
struct BStruct : Codable {
var enumValue: String?
}
struct AStruct: Codable {
private enum CodingKeys : String, CodingKey {
case bStruct = "dictionary"
}
let bStruct: BStruct
}
Which would work just fine with your current JSON:
let data = """
{"dictionary": {"enumValue": "someString"}}
""".data(using: .utf8)!
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
do {
let result = try decoder.decode(AStruct.self, from: data)
print(result)
} catch {
print(error)
}
// AStruct(bStruct: BStruct(enumValue: Optional("someString")))
