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Testing the Untestable

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

In the previous episodes, we unit tested the analytics library we built. The integration with the Google SDK is an aspect of the implementation we haven't talked about in detail. We shouldn't unit test the Google SDK itself, but can we unit test the integration with the project? That is the question we focus on in this episode.

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Filling in the Gaps of the Test Suite

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

In the previous episodes, we used code coverage to help us write unit tests for the analytics library we built. This worked fine, but code coverage isn't perfect. Code coverage inspects which lines of code are executed when the test suite is run. The result may be misleading or incorrect at times. In this episode, we take a look at an important shortcoming of code coverage.

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Looking Beyond Code Coverage

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

In the previous episode, we wrote the first unit test for the analytics library we built. In this episode, we write a few more unit tests and take advantage of the compiler to find gaps in the test suite.

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Unit Testing the Analytics Library

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

The analytics library we built in this series is easy to use thanks to its intuitive API. The call site is no longer littered with string literals and the API the analytics library exposes is type safe. We don't stop here, though. I promised you that the analytics library would be testable. Let's focus on that aspect in the next few episodes.

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Decoupling the Analytics Library

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

The analytics library we are building is tightly coupled to the GoogleAnalyticsClient class. Tight coupling negatively impacts testability and it is often an indication that there is room for improvement. In this episode, we decouple the analytics library from the GoogleAnalyticsClient class by taking a protocol-oriented approach. Let me show you how that works.

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Eliminating String Literals

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

We drastically improved the analytics code of the NotesViewModel class in the past few episodes, but we still use a few string literals at the call site. That is something we address in this episode.

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The Meditation Timer Trusted by Thousands for Over 12 Years

If you're looking for a reliable, beautifully designed meditation timer for iPad and iPhone, Samsara is one of the best choices you can make. For more than a decade, this app has been helping yoga practitioners, meditators, and mindfulness enthusiasts create calm, focused, and meaningful sessions. With a 4.7 out of 5 rating and tens of thousands of users worldwide, Samsara is more than just a timer; it's a trusted companion for your practice.

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What Plants Can Teach Us about Focus and Balance

If you're anything like me, then you're used to solving complex problems with logic and structure. That's what developers do. Right? But outside of our screens, nature reminds us that not everything runs on neatly written code. Some of the most rewarding systems, the ones that fuel our creativity and give us balance, are messy, alive, and organic.

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Is This the Best Mouse for Programmers?

While I don't typically write reviews on Cocoacasts, the Logitech MX Master 3S deserves one as it has been a loyal companion of mine for many years. Like most programmers, I'm picky about the equipment I work with. Ideally, the tools I work with should be invisible, allowing me to focus on getting work done. In this post, I hope I can convince you that the Logitech MX Master 3S is the best mouse for programmers like myself.

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Defining Properties

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

We still use string literals to define the properties of an event. That is something I would like to change in this episode. The Journey enum defines the list of events the API supports. We take a similar approach for the properties of an event.

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Creating Events

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

In this episode, we focus on the analytics API itself. We define a single entry point for analytics and remove some of the string literals at the call site. The resulting API is surprisingly small, intuitive to use, and easy to extend.

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Eliminating Stringly Typed Code

Building Type-Safe APIs in Swift

Swift has a lot to offer, but it isn't always obvious how to get the most out of the language. I often see developers compromise the APIs they build by using stringly typed code while Swift provides features that make stringly typed code unnecessary. In this series, I show you how a handful of simple patterns and techniques can help you build APIs that are type-safe, elegant, and intuitive to use.

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