Catch an exception for invalid user input in swift

Question

I am trying this code that is a calculator. How can I handle input from the user that is not valid?

//ANSWER: Bridging header to Objective-C// https://github.com/kongtomorrow/TryCatchFinally-Swift

Here is the same question but in objc but I want to do this in swift. Catching NSInvalidArgumentException from NSExpression

All I want to show is a message if it doesn't work, but now I am getting an exception when the user doesn't input the correct format.

import Foundation

var equation:NSString = "60****2"  // This gives a NSInvalidArgumentException', 
let expr = NSExpression(format: equation) // reason: 'Unable to parse the format string
if let result = expr.expressionValueWithObject(nil, context: nil) as? NSNumber {
    let x = result.doubleValue
    println(x)
} else {
    println("failed")
}

Chamade

Why not use regex matching to see your list of acceptable equations. You should consider automation theory to understand calculations. – Latt

It seems to be impossible to catch exceptions currently in Swift, compare #24023612 and the linked questions. - Unfortunately, NSExpression (and other Foundation classes) does not follow Apple's advice to use an error parameter instead of throwing exceptions. – Treen

This is what apple uses for the the Mac spotlight inline calculations. I wonder if I could access the built in parser to check the string before passing it to the expression. – Whaleboat

I assume that Apple uses Object-C for Spotlight and there catching exceptions should work. – Cartography

I found this bridging file that works github.com/kongtomorrow/TryCatchFinally-Swift – Whaleboat

Is this there still no simplistic answer? This seems ridiculous they would design it this way. – Ethelda

Possible duplicate of Catching NSException in Swift – Tillion

Answer 1

This is still an issue in Swift 2. As noted, the best solution is to use a bridging header and catch the NSException in Objective C.

https://medium.com/swift-programming/adding-try-catch-to-swift-71ab27bcb5b8 describes a good solution, but the exact code doesn't compile in Swift 2 because try and catch are now reserved keywords. You'll need to change the method signature to workaround this. Here's an example:

// https://medium.com/swift-programming/adding-try-catch-to-swift-71ab27bcb5b8

@interface TryCatch : NSObject

+ (void)tryBlock:(void (^)())try catchBlock:(void (^)(NSException *))catch finallyBlock:(void (^)())finally;

@end

@implementation TryCatch

+ (void)tryBlock:(void (^)())try catchBlock:(void (^)(NSException *))catch finallyBlock:(void (^)())finally {
    @try {
        try ? try() : nil;
    }
    @catch (NSException *e) {
        catch ? catch(e) : nil;
    }
    @finally {
        finally ? finally() : nil;
    }
}

@end

Metalworking

Answer 2

More "Swifty" solution:

@implementation TryCatch

+ (BOOL)tryBlock:(void(^)())tryBlock
           error:(NSError **)error
{
    @try {
        tryBlock ? tryBlock() : nil;
    }
    @catch (NSException *exception) {
        if (error) {
            *error = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"com.something"
                                         code:42
                                     userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: exception.name}];
        }
        return NO;
    }
    return YES;
}

@end

This will generate Swift code:

class func tryBlock((() -> Void)!) throws

And you can use it with try:

do {
    try TryCatch.tryBlock {
        let expr = NSExpression(format: "60****2")
        ...
    }
} catch {
    // Handle error here
}

Intussuscept

The suggested workarounds don't work for a framework built in Swift. Still hoping for a real solution. – Livestock

@WimHaanstra we have this in our Swift framework: github.com/eggheadgames/SwiftTryCatch – Intussuscept

Thanks, got it working now. Made the header public and now it works (?) – Livestock

@WimHaanstra you're welcome! Do you mean TryCatch header, or SwiftTryCatch? – Intussuscept

Answer 3

A nice solution editing from https://github.com/kongtomorrow/TryCatchFinally-Swift:

First create TryCatch.h & TryCatch.m and bridge them to Swift:

TryCatch.h

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

void tryCatch(void(^tryBlock)(), void(^catchBlock)(NSException *e), void(^finallyBlock)());

TryCatch.m

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

void tryCatch(void(^tryBlock)(), void(^catchBlock)(NSException *e), void(^finallyBlock)()) {
    @try {
        tryBlock();
    }
    @catch (NSException *exception) {
        catchBlock(exception);
    }
    @finally {
        finallyBlock();
    }
}

Then create the class TryCatch in Swift:

func `try`(`try`:()->()) -> TryCatch {
    return TryCatch(`try`)
}
class TryCatch {
    let tryFunc : ()->()
    var catchFunc = { (e:NSException!)->() in return }
    var finallyFunc : ()->() = {}

    init(_ `try`:()->()) {
        tryFunc = `try`
    }

    func `catch`(`catch`:(NSException)->()) -> TryCatch {
        // objc bridging needs NSException!, not NSException as we'd like to expose to clients.
        catchFunc = { (e:NSException!) in `catch`(e) }
        return self
    }

    func finally(finally:()->()) {
        finallyFunc = finally
    }

    deinit {
        tryCatch(tryFunc, catchFunc, finallyFunc)
    }
}

Finally, use it! :)

`try` {
    let expn = NSExpression(format: "60****2")

    //let resultFloat = expn.expressionValueWithObject(nil, context: nil).floatValue
    // Other things...
    }.`catch` { e in
        // Handle error here...
        print("Error: \(e)")
}

Clausewitz