struct String.UTF16View A view of a string's contents as a collection of UTF-16 code units. You can access a string's view of UTF-16 code units by using its utf16 property. A string's UTF-16 view encodes the string's Unicode scalar values as 16-bit integers. let flowers = "Flowers π" for v in flowers.utf16 { print(v) } // 70 // 108 // 111 // 119 // 101 // 114 // 115 // 32 // 55357 // 56464 Unicode scalar values that make up a string's contents can be up to 21 bits long. The longer scalar values may need two UInt16 values for storage. Those "pairs" of code units are called surrogate pairs. let flowermoji = "π" for v in flowermoji.unicodeScalars { print(v, v.value) } // π 128144 for v in flowermoji.utf16 { print(v) } // 55357 // 56464 To convert a String.UTF16View instance back into a string, use the String type's init(_:) initializer. let favemoji = "My favorite emoji is π" if let i = favemoji.utf16.index(where: { $0 >= 128 }) { let asciiPrefix = String(favemoji.utf16.prefix(upTo: i)) print(asciiPrefix) } // Prints "My favorite emoji is " UTF16View Elements Match NSString Characters The UTF-16 code units of a string's utf16 view match the elements accessed through indexed NSString APIs. print(flowers.utf16.count) // Prints "10" let nsflowers = flowers as NSString print(nsflowers.length) // Prints "10" Unlike NSString, however, String.UTF16View does not use integer indices. If you need to access a specific position in a UTF-16 view, use Swift's index manipulation methods. The following example accesses the fourth code unit in both the flowers and nsflowers strings: print(nsflowers.character(at: 3)) // Prints "119" let i = flowers.utf16.index(flowers.utf16.startIndex, offsetBy: 3) print(flowers.utf16[i]) // Prints "119" Although the Swift overlay updates many Objective-C methods to return native Swift indices and index ranges, some still return instances of NSRange. To convert an NSRange instance to a range of String.UTF16View.Index, follow these steps: Use the NSRange type's toRange method to convert the instance to an optional range of Int values. Use your string's utf16 view's index manipulation methods to convert the integer bounds to String.UTF16View.Index values. Create a new Range instance from the new index values. Here's an implementation of those steps, showing how to retrieve a substring described by an NSRange instance from the middle of a string. let snowy = "βοΈ Let it snow! βοΈ" let nsrange = NSRange(location: 3, length: 12) if let r = nsrange.toRange() { let start = snowy.utf16.index(snowy.utf16.startIndex, offsetBy: r.lowerBound) let end = snowy.utf16.index(snowy.utf16.startIndex, offsetBy: r.upperBound) let substringRange = start..<end print(snowy.utf16[substringRange]) } // Prints "Let it snow!" Inheritance BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, CustomDebugStringConvertible, CustomPlaygroundQuickLookable, CustomReflectable, CustomStringConvertible, Indexable, IndexableBase, Sequence View Protocol Hierarchy → Associated Types IndexDistance = Int A type used to represent the number of steps between two indices, where one value is reachable from the other. In Swift, reachability refers to the ability to produce one value from the other through zero or more applications of index(after:). Iterator = IndexingIterator<String.UTF16View> Type alias inferred. Element = UTF16.CodeUnit Type alias inferred. Index = String.UTF16View.Index Type alias inferred. SubSequence = String.UTF16View Type alias inferred. Nested Types String.UTF16View.Index, String.UTF16View.Indices Import import Swift Instance Variables var count: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance The number of elements in the collection. Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the length of the collection. Declaration var count: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection , Collection var customMirror: Mirror Returns a mirror that reflects the UTF-16 view of a string. Declaration var customMirror: Mirror { get } var customPlaygroundQuickLook: PlaygroundQuickLook A custom playground Quick Look for this instance. If this type has value semantics, the PlaygroundQuickLook instance should be unaffected by subsequent mutations. Declaration var customPlaygroundQuickLook: PlaygroundQuickLook { get } var debugDescription: String A textual representation of this instance, suitable for debugging. Declaration var debugDescription: String { get } var description: String A textual representation of this instance. Instead of accessing this property directly, convert an instance of any type to a string by using the String(describing:) initializer. For example: struct Point: CustomStringConvertible { let x: Int, y: Int var description: String { return "(\(x), \(y))" } } let p = Point(x: 21, y: 30) let s = String(describing: p) print(s) // Prints "(21, 30)" The conversion of p to a string in the assignment to s uses the Point type's description property. Declaration var description: String { get } var endIndex: String.UTF16View.Index The "past the end" position---that is, the position one greater than the last valid subscript argument. In an empty UTF-16 view, endIndex is equal to startIndex. Declaration var endIndex: String.UTF16View.Index { get } var first: UTF16.CodeUnit? The first element of the collection. If the collection is empty, the value of this property is nil. let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50] if let firstNumber = numbers.first { print(firstNumber) } // Prints "10" Declaration var first: UTF16.CodeUnit? { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection , Collection var indices: String.UTF16View.Indices The indices that are valid for subscripting the collection, in ascending order. A collection's indices property can hold a strong reference to the collection itself, causing the collection to be non-uniquely referenced. If you mutate the collection while iterating over its indices, a strong reference can cause an unexpected copy of the collection. To avoid the unexpected copy, use the index(after:) method starting with startIndex to produce indices instead. var c = MyFancyCollection([10, 20, 30, 40, 50]) var i = c.startIndex while i != c.endIndex { c[i] /= 5 i = c.index(after: i) } // c == MyFancyCollection([2, 4, 6, 8, 10]) Declaration var indices: String.UTF16View.Indices { get } var isEmpty: Bool A Boolean value indicating whether the collection is empty. When you need to check whether your collection is empty, use the isEmpty property instead of checking that the count property is equal to zero. For collections that don't conform to RandomAccessCollection, accessing the count property iterates through the elements of the collection. let horseName = "Silver" if horseName.characters.isEmpty { print("I've been through the desert on a horse with no name.") } else { print("Hi ho, \(horseName)!") } // Prints "Hi ho, Silver!") Complexity: O(1) Declaration var isEmpty: Bool { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection , Collection var last: UTF16.CodeUnit? The last element of the collection. If the collection is empty, the value of this property is nil. let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50] if let lastNumber = numbers.last { print(lastNumber) } // Prints "50" Declaration var last: UTF16.CodeUnit? { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection var lazy: LazyBidirectionalCollection<String.UTF16View> A view onto this collection that provides lazy implementations of normally eager operations, such as map and filter. Use the lazy property when chaining operations to prevent intermediate operations from allocating storage, or when you only need a part of the final collection to avoid unnecessary computation. See Also: LazySequenceProtocol, LazyCollectionProtocol. Declaration var lazy: LazyBidirectionalCollection<String.UTF16View> { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection var startIndex: String.UTF16View.Index The position of the first code unit if the String is nonempty; identical to endIndex otherwise. Declaration var startIndex: String.UTF16View.Index { get } var underestimatedCount: Int A value less than or equal to the number of elements in the collection. Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the length of the collection. Declaration var underestimatedCount: Int { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection , Collection , Sequence Subscripts subscript(_: ClosedRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) Accesses a contiguous subrange of the collection's elements. The accessed slice uses the same indices for the same elements as the original collection. Always use the slice's startIndex property instead of assuming that its indices start at a particular value. This example demonstrates getting a slice of an array of strings, finding the index of one of the strings in the slice, and then using that index in the original array. let streets = ["Adams", "Bryant", "Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"] let streetsSlice = streets[2 ..< streets.endIndex] print(streetsSlice) // Prints "["Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"]" let index = streetsSlice.index(of: "Evarts") // 4 print(streets[index!]) // Prints "Evarts" bounds: A range of the collection's indices. The bounds of the range must be valid indices of the collection. Declaration subscript(bounds: ClosedRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) -> String.UTF16View { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable subscript(_: Range<String.UTF16View.Index>) Accesses the contiguous subrange of elements enclosed by the specified range. Complexity: O(n) if the underlying string is bridged from Objective-C, where n is the length of the string; otherwise, O(1). Declaration subscript(bounds: Range<String.UTF16View.Index>) -> String.UTF16View { get } subscript(_: String.UTF16View.Index) Accesses the code unit at the given position. The following example uses the subscript to print the value of a string's first UTF-16 code unit. let greeting = "Hello, friend!" let i = greeting.utf16.startIndex print("First character's UTF-16 code unit: \(greeting.utf16[i])") // Prints "First character's UTF-16 code unit: 72" position: A valid index of the view. position must be less than the view's end index. Declaration subscript(i: String.UTF16View.Index) -> UTF16.CodeUnit { get } Instance Methods func contains(where:) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence contains an element that satisfies the given predicate. You can use the predicate to check for an element of a type that doesn't conform to the Equatable protocol, such as the HTTPResponse enumeration in this example. enum HTTPResponse { case ok case error(Int) } let lastThreeResponses: [HTTPResponse] = [.ok, .ok, .error(404)] let hadError = lastThreeResponses.contains { element in if case .error = element { return true } else { return false } } // 'hadError' == true Alternatively, a predicate can be satisfied by a range of Equatable elements or a general condition. This example shows how you can check an array for an expense greater than $100. let expenses = [21.37, 55.21, 9.32, 10.18, 388.77, 11.41] let hasBigPurchase = expenses.contains { $0 > 100 } // 'hasBigPurchase' == true predicate: A closure that takes an element of the sequence as its argument and returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the passed element represents a match. Returns: true if the sequence contains an element that satisfies predicate; otherwise, false. Declaration func contains(where predicate: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> Bool Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func distance(from:to:) Returns the distance between two indices. Unless the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol, start must be less than or equal to end. Parameters: start: A valid index of the collection. end: Another valid index of the collection. If end is equal to start, the result is zero. Returns: The distance between start and end. The result can be negative only if the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol. Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the resulting distance. Declaration func distance(from start: String.UTF16View.Index, to end: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View.IndexDistance Declared In String.UTF16View, BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func dropFirst() Returns a subsequence containing all but the first element of the sequence. The following example drops the first element from an array of integers. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.dropFirst()) // Prints "[2, 3, 4, 5]" If the sequence has no elements, the result is an empty subsequence. let empty: [Int] = [] print(empty.dropFirst()) // Prints "[]" Returns: A subsequence starting after the first element of the sequence. Complexity: O(1) Declaration func dropFirst() -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func dropFirst(_:) Returns a subsequence containing all but the given number of initial elements. If the number of elements to drop exceeds the number of elements in the collection, the result is an empty subsequence. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.dropFirst(2)) // Prints "[3, 4, 5]" print(numbers.dropFirst(10)) // Prints "[]" n: The number of elements to drop from the beginning of the collection. n must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence starting after the specified number of elements. Complexity: O(n), where n is the number of elements to drop from the beginning of the collection. Declaration func dropFirst(_ n: Int) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func dropLast() Returns a subsequence containing all but the last element of the sequence. The sequence must be finite. If the sequence has no elements, the result is an empty subsequence. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.dropLast()) // Prints "[1, 2, 3, 4]" If the sequence has no elements, the result is an empty subsequence. let empty: [Int] = [] print(empty.dropLast()) // Prints "[]" Returns: A subsequence leaving off the last element of the sequence. Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence. Declaration func dropLast() -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func dropLast(_:) Returns a subsequence containing all but the specified number of final elements. If the number of elements to drop exceeds the number of elements in the collection, the result is an empty subsequence. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.dropLast(2)) // Prints "[1, 2, 3]" print(numbers.dropLast(10)) // Prints "[]" n: The number of elements to drop off the end of the collection. n must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence that leaves off n elements from the end. Complexity: O(n), where n is the number of elements to drop. Declaration func dropLast(_ n: Int) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func elementsEqual(_:by:) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether this sequence and another sequence contain equivalent elements, using the given predicate as the equivalence test. At least one of the sequences must be finite. The predicate must be a equivalence relation over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areEquivalent(a, a) is always true. (Reflexivity) areEquivalent(a, b) implies areEquivalent(b, a). (Symmetry) If areEquivalent(a, b) and areEquivalent(b, c) are both true, then areEquivalent(a, c) is also true. (Transitivity) Parameters: other: A sequence to compare to this sequence. areEquivalent: A predicate that returns true if its two arguments are equivalent; otherwise, false. Returns: true if this sequence and other contain equivalent items, using areEquivalent as the equivalence test; otherwise, false. See Also: elementsEqual(_:) Declaration func elementsEqual<OtherSequence where OtherSequence : Sequence, OtherSequence.Iterator.Element == Iterator.Element>(_ other: OtherSequence, by areEquivalent: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> Bool Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func enumerated() Returns a sequence of pairs (n, x), where n represents a consecutive integer starting at zero, and x represents an element of the sequence. This example enumerates the characters of the string "Swift" and prints each character along with its place in the string. for (n, c) in "Swift".characters.enumerated() { print("\(n): '\(c)'") } // Prints "0: 'S'" // Prints "1: 'w'" // Prints "2: 'i'" // Prints "3: 'f'" // Prints "4: 't'" When enumerating a collection, the integer part of each pair is a counter for the enumeration, not necessarily the index of the paired value. These counters can only be used as indices in instances of zero-based, integer-indexed collections, such as Array and ContiguousArray. For other collections the counters may be out of range or of the wrong type to use as an index. To iterate over the elements of a collection with its indices, use the zip(_:_:) function. This example iterates over the indices and elements of a set, building a list of indices of names with five or fewer letters. let names: Set = ["Sofia", "Camilla", "Martina", "Mateo", "NicolΓ‘s"] var shorterIndices: [SetIndex<String>] = [] for (i, name) in zip(names.indices, names) { if name.characters.count <= 5 { shorterIndices.append(i) } } Now that the shorterIndices array holds the indices of the shorter names in the names set, you can use those indices to access elements in the set. for i in shorterIndices { print(names[i]) } // Prints "Sofia" // Prints "Mateo" Returns: A sequence of pairs enumerating the sequence. Declaration func enumerated() -> EnumeratedSequence<String.UTF16View> Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func filter(_:) Returns an array containing, in order, the elements of the sequence that satisfy the given predicate. In this example, filter is used to include only names shorter than five characters. let cast = ["Vivien", "Marlon", "Kim", "Karl"] let shortNames = cast.filter { $0.characters.count < 5 } print(shortNames) // Prints "["Kim", "Karl"]" shouldInclude: A closure that takes an element of the sequence as its argument and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the element should be included in the returned array. Returns: An array of the elements that includeElement allowed. Declaration func filter(_ isIncluded: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> [UTF16.CodeUnit] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func first(where:) Returns the first element of the sequence that satisfies the given predicate or nil if no such element is found. predicate: A closure that takes an element of the sequence as its argument and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the element is a match. Returns: The first match or nil if there was no match. Declaration func first(where predicate: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> UTF16.CodeUnit? Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func flatMap<ElementOfResult>(_: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> ElementOfResult?) Returns an array containing the non-nil results of calling the given transformation with each element of this sequence. Use this method to receive an array of nonoptional values when your transformation produces an optional value. In this example, note the difference in the result of using map and flatMap with a transformation that returns an optional Int value. let possibleNumbers = ["1", "2", "three", "///4///", "5"] let mapped: [Int?] = numbers.map { str in Int(str) } // [1, 2, nil, nil, 5] let flatMapped: [Int] = numbers.flatMap { str in Int(str) } // [1, 2, 5] transform: A closure that accepts an element of this sequence as its argument and returns an optional value. Returns: An array of the non-nil results of calling transform with each element of the sequence. Complexity: O(m + n), where m is the length of this sequence and n is the length of the result. Declaration func flatMap<ElementOfResult>(_ transform: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> ElementOfResult?) rethrows -> [ElementOfResult] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func flatMap<SegmentOfResult : Sequence>(_: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> SegmentOfResult) Returns an array containing the concatenated results of calling the given transformation with each element of this sequence. Use this method to receive a single-level collection when your transformation produces a sequence or collection for each element. In this example, note the difference in the result of using map and flatMap with a transformation that returns an array. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4] let mapped = numbers.map { Array(count: $0, repeatedValue: $0) } // [[1], [2, 2], [3, 3, 3], [4, 4, 4, 4]] let flatMapped = numbers.flatMap { Array(count: $0, repeatedValue: $0) } // [1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4] In fact, s.flatMap(transform) is equivalent to Array(s.map(transform).joined()). transform: A closure that accepts an element of this sequence as its argument and returns a sequence or collection. Returns: The resulting flattened array. Complexity: O(m + n), where m is the length of this sequence and n is the length of the result. See Also: joined(), map(_:) Declaration func flatMap<SegmentOfResult : Sequence>(_ transform: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> SegmentOfResult) rethrows -> [SegmentOfResult.Iterator.Element] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func forEach(_:) Calls the given closure on each element in the sequence in the same order as a for-in loop. The two loops in the following example produce the same output: let numberWords = ["one", "two", "three"] for word in numberWords { print(word) } // Prints "one" // Prints "two" // Prints "three" numberWords.forEach { word in print(word) } // Same as above Using the forEach method is distinct from a for-in loop in two important ways: You cannot use a break or continue statement to exit the current call of the body closure or skip subsequent calls. Using the return statement in the body closure will exit only from the current call to body, not from any outer scope, and won't skip subsequent calls. body: A closure that takes an element of the sequence as a parameter. Declaration func forEach(_ body: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Swift.Void) rethrows Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func formIndex(_:offsetBy:) Offsets the given index by the specified distance. The value passed as n must not offset i beyond the endIndex or before the startIndex of this collection. Parameters: i: A valid index of the collection. n: The distance to offset i. n must not be negative unless the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol. See Also: index(_:offsetBy:), formIndex(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:) Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the absolute value of n. Declaration func formIndex(_ i: inout String.UTF16View.Index, offsetBy n: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance) Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func formIndex(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:) Offsets the given index by the specified distance, or so that it equals the given limiting index. The value passed as n must not offset i beyond the endIndex or before the startIndex of this collection, unless the index passed as limit prevents offsetting beyond those bounds. Parameters: i: A valid index of the collection. n: The distance to offset i. n must not be negative unless the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol. Returns: true if i has been offset by exactly n steps without going beyond limit; otherwise, false. When the return value is false, the value of i is equal to limit. See Also: index(_:offsetBy:), formIndex(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:) Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the absolute value of n. Declaration func formIndex(_ i: inout String.UTF16View.Index, offsetBy n: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance, limitedBy limit: String.UTF16View.Index) -> Bool Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func formIndex(after:) Replaces the given index with its successor. i: A valid index of the collection. i must be less than endIndex. Declaration func formIndex(after i: inout String.UTF16View.Index) Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func formIndex(before:) Replaces the given index with its predecessor. i: A valid index of the collection. i must be greater than startIndex. Declaration func formIndex(before i: inout String.UTF16View.Index) Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable func index(_:offsetBy:) Returns an index that is the specified distance from the given index. The following example obtains an index advanced four positions from a string's starting index and then prints the character at that position. let s = "Swift" let i = s.index(s.startIndex, offsetBy: 4) print(s[i]) // Prints "t" The value passed as n must not offset i beyond the endIndex or before the startIndex of this collection. Parameters: i: A valid index of the collection. n: The distance to offset i. n must not be negative unless the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol. Returns: An index offset by n from the index i. If n is positive, this is the same value as the result of n calls to index(after:). If n is negative, this is the same value as the result of -n calls to index(before:). See Also: index(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:), formIndex(_:offsetBy:) Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the absolute value of n. Declaration func index(_ i: String.UTF16View.Index, offsetBy n: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance) -> String.UTF16View.Index Declared In String.UTF16View, BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func index(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:) Returns an index that is the specified distance from the given index, unless that distance is beyond a given limiting index. The following example obtains an index advanced four positions from a string's starting index and then prints the character at that position. The operation doesn't require going beyond the limiting s.endIndex value, so it succeeds. let s = "Swift" if let i = s.index(s.startIndex, offsetBy: 4, limitedBy: s.endIndex) { print(s[i]) } // Prints "t" The next example attempts to retrieve an index six positions from s.startIndex but fails, because that distance is beyond the index passed as limit. let j = s.index(s.startIndex, offsetBy: 6, limitedBy: s.endIndex) print(j) // Prints "nil" The value passed as n must not offset i beyond the endIndex or before the startIndex of this collection, unless the index passed as limit prevents offsetting beyond those bounds. Parameters: i: A valid index of the collection. n: The distance to offset i. n must not be negative unless the collection conforms to the BidirectionalCollection protocol. limit: A valid index of the collection to use as a limit. If n > 0, a limit that is less than i has no effect. Likewise, if n < 0, a limit that is greater than i has no effect. Returns: An index offset by n from the index i, unless that index would be beyond limit in the direction of movement. In that case, the method returns nil. See Also: index(_:offsetBy:), formIndex(_:offsetBy:limitedBy:) Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the absolute value of n. Declaration func index(_ i: String.UTF16View.Index, offsetBy n: String.UTF16View.IndexDistance, limitedBy limit: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View.Index? Declared In String.UTF16View, BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable func index(after:) Returns the position immediately after the given index. i: A valid index of the collection. i must be less than endIndex. Returns: The index value immediately after i. Declaration func index(after i: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View.Index func index(before:) Returns the position immediately before the given index. i: A valid index of the collection. i must be greater than startIndex. Returns: The index value immediately before i. Declaration func index(before i: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View.Index func index(where:) Returns the first index in which an element of the collection satisfies the given predicate. You can use the predicate to find an element of a type that doesn't conform to the Equatable protocol or to find an element that matches particular criteria. Here's an example that finds a student name that begins with the letter "A": let students = ["Kofi", "Abena", "Peter", "Kweku", "Akosua"] if let i = students.index(where: { $0.hasPrefix("A") }) { print("\(students[i]) starts with 'A'!") } // Prints "Abena starts with 'A'!" predicate: A closure that takes an element as its argument and returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the passed element represents a match. Returns: The index of the first element for which predicate returns true. If no elements in the collection satisfy the given predicate, returns nil. See Also: index(of:) Declaration func index(where predicate: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> String.UTF16View.Index? Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection func lexicographicallyPrecedes(_:by:) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence precedes another sequence in a lexicographical (dictionary) ordering, using the given predicate to compare elements. The predicate must be a strict weak ordering over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areInIncreasingOrder(a, a) is always false. (Irreflexivity) If areInIncreasingOrder(a, b) and areInIncreasingOrder(b, c) are both true, then areInIncreasingOrder(a, c) is also true. (Transitive comparability) Two elements are incomparable if neither is ordered before the other according to the predicate. If a and b are incomparable, and b and c are incomparable, then a and c are also incomparable. (Transitive incomparability) Parameters: other: A sequence to compare to this sequence. areInIncreasingOrder: A predicate that returns true if its first argument should be ordered before its second argument; otherwise, false. Returns: true if this sequence precedes other in a dictionary ordering as ordered by areInIncreasingOrder; otherwise, false. Note: This method implements the mathematical notion of lexicographical ordering, which has no connection to Unicode. If you are sorting strings to present to the end user, use String APIs that perform localized comparison instead. See Also: lexicographicallyPrecedes(_:) Declaration func lexicographicallyPrecedes<OtherSequence where OtherSequence : Sequence, OtherSequence.Iterator.Element == Iterator.Element>(_ other: OtherSequence, by areInIncreasingOrder: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> Bool Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func makeIterator() Returns an iterator over the elements of the collection. Declaration func makeIterator() -> IndexingIterator<String.UTF16View> Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection func map(_:) Returns an array containing the results of mapping the given closure over the sequence's elements. In this example, map is used first to convert the names in the array to lowercase strings and then to count their characters. let cast = ["Vivien", "Marlon", "Kim", "Karl"] let lowercaseNames = cast.map { $0.lowercaseString } // 'lowercaseNames' == ["vivien", "marlon", "kim", "karl"] let letterCounts = cast.map { $0.characters.count } // 'letterCounts' == [6, 6, 3, 4] transform: A mapping closure. transform accepts an element of this sequence as its parameter and returns a transformed value of the same or of a different type. Returns: An array containing the transformed elements of this sequence. Declaration func map<T>(_ transform: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> T) rethrows -> [T] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence @warn_unqualified_access func max(by:) Returns the maximum element in the sequence, using the given predicate as the comparison between elements. The predicate must be a strict weak ordering over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areInIncreasingOrder(a, a) is always false. (Irreflexivity) If areInIncreasingOrder(a, b) and areInIncreasingOrder(b, c) are both true, then areInIncreasingOrder(a, c) is also true. (Transitive comparability) Two elements are incomparable if neither is ordered before the other according to the predicate. If a and b are incomparable, and b and c are incomparable, then a and c are also incomparable. (Transitive incomparability) This example shows how to use the max(by:) method on a dictionary to find the key-value pair with the highest value. let hues = ["Heliotrope": 296, "Coral": 16, "Aquamarine": 156] let greatestHue = hues.max { a, b in a.value < b.value } print(greatestHue) // Prints "Optional(("Heliotrope", 296))" areInIncreasingOrder: A predicate that returns true if its first argument should be ordered before its second argument; otherwise, false. Returns: The sequence's maximum element if the sequence is not empty; otherwise, nil. See Also: max() Declaration @warn_unqualified_access func max(by areInIncreasingOrder: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> UTF16.CodeUnit? Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence @warn_unqualified_access func min(by:) Returns the minimum element in the sequence, using the given predicate as the comparison between elements. The predicate must be a strict weak ordering over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areInIncreasingOrder(a, a) is always false. (Irreflexivity) If areInIncreasingOrder(a, b) and areInIncreasingOrder(b, c) are both true, then areInIncreasingOrder(a, c) is also true. (Transitive comparability) Two elements are incomparable if neither is ordered before the other according to the predicate. If a and b are incomparable, and b and c are incomparable, then a and c are also incomparable. (Transitive incomparability) This example shows how to use the min(by:) method on a dictionary to find the key-value pair with the lowest value. let hues = ["Heliotrope": 296, "Coral": 16, "Aquamarine": 156] let leastHue = hues.min { a, b in a.value < b.value } print(leastHue) // Prints "Optional(("Coral", 16))" areInIncreasingOrder: A predicate that returns true if its first argument should be ordered before its second argument; otherwise, false. Returns: The sequence's minimum element, according to areInIncreasingOrder. If the sequence has no elements, returns nil. See Also: min() Declaration @warn_unqualified_access func min(by areInIncreasingOrder: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> UTF16.CodeUnit? Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence mutating func popFirst() Removes and returns the first element of the collection. Returns: The first element of the collection if the collection is not empty; otherwise, nil. Complexity: O(1) Declaration mutating func popFirst() -> UTF16.CodeUnit? Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection mutating func popLast() Removes and returns the last element of the collection. Returns: The last element of the collection if the collection has one or more elements; otherwise, nil. Complexity: O(1). See Also: removeLast() Declaration mutating func popLast() -> UTF16.CodeUnit? Declared In BidirectionalCollection func prefix(_:) Returns a subsequence, up to the specified maximum length, containing the initial elements of the collection. If the maximum length exceeds the number of elements in the collection, the result contains all the elements in the collection. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.prefix(2)) // Prints "[1, 2]" print(numbers.prefix(10)) // Prints "[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]" maxLength: The maximum number of elements to return. maxLength must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence starting at the beginning of this collection with at most maxLength elements. Declaration func prefix(_ maxLength: Int) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func prefix(through:) Returns a subsequence from the start of the collection through the specified position. The resulting subsequence includes the element at the position end. The following example searches for the index of the number 40 in an array of integers, and then prints the prefix of the array up to, and including, that index: let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60] if let i = numbers.index(of: 40) { print(numbers.prefix(through: i)) } // Prints "[10, 20, 30, 40]" end: The index of the last element to include in the resulting subsequence. end must be a valid index of the collection that is not equal to the endIndex property. Returns: A subsequence up to, and including, the end position. Complexity: O(1) See Also: prefix(upTo:) Declaration func prefix(through position: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection func prefix(upTo:) Returns a subsequence from the start of the collection up to, but not including, the specified position. The resulting subsequence does not include the element at the position end. The following example searches for the index of the number 40 in an array of integers, and then prints the prefix of the array up to, but not including, that index: let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60] if let i = numbers.index(of: 40) { print(numbers.prefix(upTo: i)) } // Prints "[10, 20, 30]" Passing the collection's starting index as the end parameter results in an empty subsequence. print(numbers.prefix(upTo: numbers.startIndex)) // Prints "[]" end: The "past the end" index of the resulting subsequence. end must be a valid index of the collection. Returns: A subsequence up to, but not including, the end position. Complexity: O(1) See Also: prefix(through:) Declaration func prefix(upTo end: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection func reduce(_:_:) Returns the result of calling the given combining closure with each element of this sequence and an accumulating value. The nextPartialResult closure is called sequentially with an accumulating value initialized to initialResult and each element of the sequence. This example shows how to find the sum of an array of numbers. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4] let addTwo: (Int, Int) -> Int = { x, y in x + y } let numberSum = numbers.reduce(0, addTwo) // 'numberSum' == 10 When numbers.reduce(_:_:) is called, the following steps occur: The nextPartialResult closure is called with the initial result and the first element of numbers, returning the sum: 1. The closure is called again repeatedly with the previous call's return value and each element of the sequence. When the sequence is exhausted, the last value returned from the closure is returned to the caller. Parameters: initialResult: the initial accumulating value. nextPartialResult: A closure that combines an accumulating value and an element of the sequence into a new accumulating value, to be used in the next call of the nextPartialResult closure or returned to the caller. Returns: The final accumulated value. Declaration func reduce<Result>(_ initialResult: Result, _ nextPartialResult: (Result, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Result) rethrows -> Result Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence mutating func removeFirst() Removes and returns the first element of the collection. The collection must not be empty. Returns: The first element of the collection. Complexity: O(1) See Also: popFirst() Declaration mutating func removeFirst() -> UTF16.CodeUnit Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection mutating func removeFirst(_:) Removes the specified number of elements from the beginning of the collection. n: The number of elements to remove. n must be greater than or equal to zero, and must be less than or equal to the number of elements in the collection. Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n). Declaration mutating func removeFirst(_ n: Int) Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection mutating func removeLast() Removes and returns the last element of the collection. The collection must not be empty. Returns: The last element of the collection. Complexity: O(1) See Also: popLast() Declaration mutating func removeLast() -> UTF16.CodeUnit Declared In BidirectionalCollection mutating func removeLast(_:) Removes the given number of elements from the end of the collection. n: The number of elements to remove. n must be greater than or equal to zero, and must be less than or equal to the number of elements in the collection. Complexity: O(1) if the collection conforms to RandomAccessCollection; otherwise, O(n), where n is the length of the collection. Declaration mutating func removeLast(_ n: Int) Declared In BidirectionalCollection func reversed() Returns a view presenting the elements of the collection in reverse order. You can reverse a collection without allocating new space for its elements by calling this reversed() method. A ReversedCollection instance wraps an underlying collection and provides access to its elements in reverse order. This example prints the characters of a string in reverse order: let word = "Backwards" for char in word.characters.reversed() { print(char, terminator="") } // Prints "sdrawkcaB" If you need a reversed collection of the same type, you may be able to use the collection's sequence-based or collection-based initializer. For example, to get the reversed version of a string, reverse its characters and initialize a new String instance from the result. let reversedWord = String(word.characters.reversed()) print(reversedWord) // Prints "sdrawkcaB" Complexity: O(1) Declaration func reversed() -> ReversedCollection<String.UTF16View> Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func sorted(by:) Returns the elements of the sequence, sorted using the given predicate as the comparison between elements. When you want to sort a sequence of elements that don't conform to the Comparable protocol, pass a predicate to this method that returns true when the first element passed should be ordered before the second. The elements of the resulting array are ordered according to the given predicate. The predicate must be a strict weak ordering over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areInIncreasingOrder(a, a) is always false. (Irreflexivity) If areInIncreasingOrder(a, b) and areInIncreasingOrder(b, c) are both true, then areInIncreasingOrder(a, c) is also true. (Transitive comparability) Two elements are incomparable if neither is ordered before the other according to the predicate. If a and b are incomparable, and b and c are incomparable, then a and c are also incomparable. (Transitive incomparability) The sorting algorithm is not stable. A nonstable sort may change the relative order of elements for which areInIncreasingOrder does not establish an order. In the following example, the predicate provides an ordering for an array of a custom HTTPResponse type. The predicate orders errors before successes and sorts the error responses by their error code. enum HTTPResponse { case ok case error(Int) } let responses: [HTTPResponse] = [.error(500), .ok, .ok, .error(404), .error(403)] let sortedResponses = responses.sorted { switch ($0, $1) { // Order errors by code case let (.error(aCode), .error(bCode)): return aCode < bCode // All successes are equivalent, so none is before any other case (.ok, .ok): return false // Order errors before successes case (.error, .ok): return true case (.ok, .error): return false } } print(sortedResponses) // Prints "[.error(403), .error(404), .error(500), .ok, .ok]" You also use this method to sort elements that conform to the Comparable protocol in descending order. To sort your sequence in descending order, pass the greater-than operator (>) as the areInIncreasingOrder parameter. let students: Set = ["Kofi", "Abena", "Peter", "Kweku", "Akosua"] let descendingStudents = students.sorted(by: >) print(descendingStudents) // Prints "["Peter", "Kweku", "Kofi", "Akosua", "Abena"]" Calling the related sorted() method is equivalent to calling this method and passing the less-than operator (<) as the predicate. print(students.sorted()) // Prints "["Abena", "Akosua", "Kofi", "Kweku", "Peter"]" print(students.sorted(by: <)) // Prints "["Abena", "Akosua", "Kofi", "Kweku", "Peter"]" areInIncreasingOrder: A predicate that returns true if its first argument should be ordered before its second argument; otherwise, false. Returns: A sorted array of the sequence's elements. See Also: sorted() Declaration func sorted(by areInIncreasingOrder: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) -> Bool) -> [UTF16.CodeUnit] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func split(_:omittingEmptySubsequences:whereSeparator:) Returns the longest possible subsequences of the collection, in order, that don't contain elements satisfying the given predicate. The resulting array consists of at most maxSplits + 1 subsequences. Elements that are used to split the sequence are not returned as part of any subsequence. The following examples show the effects of the maxSplits and omittingEmptySubsequences parameters when splitting a string using a closure that matches spaces. The first use of split returns each word that was originally separated by one or more spaces. let line = "BLANCHE: I don't want realism. I want magic!" print(line.characters.split(whereSeparator: { $0 == " " }) .map(String.init)) // Prints "["BLANCHE:", "I", "don\'t", "want", "realism.", "I", "want", "magic!"]" The second example passes 1 for the maxSplits parameter, so the original string is split just once, into two new strings. print( line.characters.split( maxSplits: 1, whereSeparator: { $0 == " " } ).map(String.init)) // Prints "["BLANCHE:", " I don\'t want realism. I want magic!"]" The final example passes false for the omittingEmptySubsequences parameter, so the returned array contains empty strings where spaces were repeated. print(line.characters.split(omittingEmptySubsequences: false, whereSeparator: { $0 == " " }) .map(String.init)) // Prints "["BLANCHE:", "", "", "I", "don\'t", "want", "realism.", "I", "want", "magic!"]" Parameters: maxSplits: The maximum number of times to split the collection, or one less than the number of subsequences to return. If maxSplits + 1 subsequences are returned, the last one is a suffix of the original collection containing the remaining elements. maxSplits must be greater than or equal to zero. The default value is Int.max. omittingEmptySubsequences: If false, an empty subsequence is returned in the result for each pair of consecutive elements satisfying the isSeparator predicate and for each element at the start or end of the collection satisfying the isSeparator predicate. The default value is true. isSeparator: A closure that takes an element as an argument and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the collection should be split at that element. Returns: An array of subsequences, split from this collection's elements. Declaration func split(maxSplits: Int = default, omittingEmptySubsequences: Bool = default, whereSeparator isSeparator: (UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> [String.UTF16View] Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func starts(with:by:) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the initial elements of the sequence are equivalent to the elements in another sequence, using the given predicate as the equivalence test. The predicate must be a equivalence relation over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold: areEquivalent(a, a) is always true. (Reflexivity) areEquivalent(a, b) implies areEquivalent(b, a). (Symmetry) If areEquivalent(a, b) and areEquivalent(b, c) are both true, then areEquivalent(a, c) is also true. (Transitivity) Parameters: possiblePrefix: A sequence to compare to this sequence. areEquivalent: A predicate that returns true if its two arguments are equivalent; otherwise, false. Returns: true if the initial elements of the sequence are equivalent to the elements of possiblePrefix; otherwise, false. If possiblePrefix has no elements, the return value is true. See Also: starts(with:) Declaration func starts<PossiblePrefix where PossiblePrefix : Sequence, PossiblePrefix.Iterator.Element == Iterator.Element>(with possiblePrefix: PossiblePrefix, by areEquivalent: (UTF16.CodeUnit, UTF16.CodeUnit) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> Bool Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func suffix(_:) Returns a subsequence, up to the given maximum length, containing the final elements of the collection. If the maximum length exceeds the number of elements in the collection, the result contains the entire collection. let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(numbers.suffix(2)) // Prints "[4, 5]" print(numbers.suffix(10)) // Prints "[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]" maxLength: The maximum number of elements to return. maxLength must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence terminating at the end of the collection with at most maxLength elements. Complexity: O(n), where n is equal to maxLength. Declaration func suffix(_ maxLength: Int) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection, Sequence func suffix(from:) Returns a subsequence from the specified position to the end of the collection. The following example searches for the index of the number 40 in an array of integers, and then prints the suffix of the array starting at that index: let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60] if let i = numbers.index(of: 40) { print(numbers.suffix(from: i)) } // Prints "[40, 50, 60]" Passing the collection's endIndex as the start parameter results in an empty subsequence. print(numbers.suffix(from: numbers.endIndex)) // Prints "[]" start: The index at which to start the resulting subsequence. start must be a valid index of the collection. Returns: A subsequence starting at the start position. Complexity: O(1) Declaration func suffix(from start: String.UTF16View.Index) -> String.UTF16View Declared In BidirectionalCollection, Collection Conditionally Inherited Items The initializers, methods, and properties listed below may be available on this type under certain conditions (such as methods that are available on Array when its elements are Equatable) or may not ever be available if that determination is beyond SwiftDoc.org's capabilities. Please open an issue on GitHub if you see something out of place! Where Index : Strideable, Index.Stride : SignedInteger subscript(_: CountableClosedRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) Accesses a contiguous subrange of the collection's elements. The accessed slice uses the same indices for the same elements as the original collection. Always use the slice's startIndex property instead of assuming that its indices start at a particular value. This example demonstrates getting a slice of an array of strings, finding the index of one of the strings in the slice, and then using that index in the original array. let streets = ["Adams", "Bryant", "Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"] let streetsSlice = streets[2 ..< streets.endIndex] print(streetsSlice) // Prints "["Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"]" let index = streetsSlice.index(of: "Evarts") // 4 print(streets[index!]) // Prints "Evarts" bounds: A range of the collection's indices. The bounds of the range must be valid indices of the collection. Declaration subscript(bounds: CountableClosedRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) -> String.UTF16View { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable subscript(_: CountableRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) Accesses a contiguous subrange of the collection's elements. The accessed slice uses the same indices for the same elements as the original collection. Always use the slice's startIndex property instead of assuming that its indices start at a particular value. This example demonstrates getting a slice of an array of strings, finding the index of one of the strings in the slice, and then using that index in the original array. let streets = ["Adams", "Bryant", "Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"] let streetsSlice = streets[2 ..< streets.endIndex] print(streetsSlice) // Prints "["Channing", "Douglas", "Evarts"]" let index = streetsSlice.index(of: "Evarts") // 4 print(streets[index!]) // Prints "Evarts" bounds: A range of the collection's indices. The bounds of the range must be valid indices of the collection. Declaration subscript(bounds: CountableRange<String.UTF16View.Index>) -> String.UTF16View { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection, BidirectionalIndexable, Collection, Indexable Where Indices == DefaultBidirectionalIndices var indices: DefaultBidirectionalIndices<String.UTF16View> The indices that are valid for subscripting the collection, in ascending order. A collection's indices property can hold a strong reference to the collection itself, causing the collection to be non-uniquely referenced. If you mutate the collection while iterating over its indices, a strong reference can cause an unexpected copy of the collection. To avoid the unexpected copy, use the index(after:) method starting with startIndex to produce indices instead. var c = MyFancyCollection([10, 20, 30, 40, 50]) var i = c.startIndex while i != c.endIndex { c[i] /= 5 i = c.index(after: i) } // c == MyFancyCollection([2, 4, 6, 8, 10]) Declaration var indices: DefaultBidirectionalIndices<String.UTF16View> { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection Where Indices == DefaultIndices var indices: DefaultIndices<String.UTF16View> The indices that are valid for subscripting the collection, in ascending order. A collection's indices property can hold a strong reference to the collection itself, causing the collection to be non-uniquely referenced. If you mutate the collection while iterating over its indices, a strong reference can cause an unexpected copy of the collection. To avoid the unexpected copy, use the index(after:) method starting with startIndex to produce indices instead. var c = MyFancyCollection([10, 20, 30, 40, 50]) var i = c.startIndex while i != c.endIndex { c[i] /= 5 i = c.index(after: i) } // c == MyFancyCollection([2, 4, 6, 8, 10]) Declaration var indices: DefaultIndices<String.UTF16View> { get } Declared In BidirectionalCollection , Collection