1

Hi, i have asked the same question :
Here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/message/153781#153781
And here : java - Array with associatedtype protocol - Stack Overflow

But it seams like swift doesn’t have generic protocols arrays. I am asking here as a last resource if it can be done yet or there is a better design.

Regards,

2

The answer here is the same as the answer you've gotten from those other excellent resources.

Here's the issue: Imagine that Swift supported this feature. You write this line of code:

  let event0 = events[0]
  let event1 = events[1]
  event0.doSomething(event1.interval)

Is this code valid? Well, who knows? `event0` and `event1` might have different Interval types, or might not.

Java's type system does not try to protect you from this kind of mistake; Swift's does. Unfortunately, it's not yet expressive enough to describe the types involved. Consider this snippet:

  let event = events[0]
  let interval = event.interval

What's the type of `interval`? There's no way you can know for sure, really. All you can really say is "whatever the `IntervalType` of `event` is".

There are proposals in the works to actually allow you to say `event.IntervalType` as a type, but unfortunately they won't make Swift 3. Until that feature is added, you have three options:

1. Fake that intended future Swift feature by writing `AnyInterval` and `AnyEvent` type-erasing wrappers.
2. Halfway fake it by writing an `AnyEvent<IntervalType>` type-erasing wrapper.
3. Remove the associated type and require that any `Event` work with any `Interval` (or make `Interval` a concrete type).

···

On Jul 13, 2016, at 11:23 AM, 4 bottiglie g via swift-dev <swift-dev@swift.org> wrote:

Hi, i have asked the same question :
Here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/message/153781#153781
And here : java - Array with associatedtype protocol - Stack Overflow

But it seams like swift doesn’t have generic protocols arrays. I am asking here as a last resource if it can be done yet or there is a better design.

--
Brent Royal-Gordon
Architechies

3

I believe it's on the roadmap, but won’t make Swift 3.

See the Generics Manifesto: https://github.com/apple/swift/blob/master/docs/GenericsManifesto.md

When I read it before, I seem to remember it explicitly called out having an Array of Equatable as an example of something which should be allowed. I can’t see it there now, but I think it’s still the intention that it works some day.

Karl

···

On 13 Jul 2016, at 20:23, 4 bottiglie g via swift-dev <swift-dev@swift.org> wrote:

Hi, i have asked the same question :
Here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/message/153781#153781
And here : java - Array with associatedtype protocol - Stack Overflow

But it seams like swift doesn’t have generic protocols arrays. I am asking here as a last resource if it can be done yet or there is a better design.

Regards,
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