The collection's "past the end" position---that is, the position one greater than the last valid subscript argument.

When you need a range that includes the last element of a collection, use the half-open range operator (..<) with endIndex. The ..< operator creates a range that doesn't include the upper bound, so it's always safe to use with endIndex. For example:

let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
if let index = numbers.index(of: 30) {
    print(numbers[index ..< numbers.endIndex])
}
// Prints "[30, 40, 50]"

If the collection is empty, endIndex is equal to startIndex.

Declaration

Declared In

The position of the first element in a nonempty collection.

If the collection is empty, startIndex is equal to endIndex.

Declaration

Declared In

A value less than or equal to the number of elements in the sequence, calculated nondestructively.

Complexity: O(1)

Declaration

Declared In

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 sequence, 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 sequence. 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 sequence.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a subsequence containing all but the specified number of final elements.

The sequence must be finite. If the number of elements to drop exceeds the number of elements in the sequence, 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 sequence. n must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence leaving off the specified number of elements.

Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence.

Declaration

Declared In

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"]"

isIncluded: 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

Declared In

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:

1. You cannot use a break or continue statement to exit the current call of the body closure or skip subsequent calls.
2. 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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

Replaces the given index with its successor.

i: A valid index of the collection. i must be less than endIndex.

Declaration

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

Returns a subsequence, up to the specified maximum length, containing the initial elements of the sequence.

If the maximum length exceeds the number of elements in the sequence, the result contains all the elements in the sequence.

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 sequence with at most maxLength elements.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the longest possible subsequences of the sequence, 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 sequence, 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 sequence 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 sequence satisfying the isSeparator predicate. If true, only nonempty subsequences are returned. The default value is true. isSeparator: A closure that returns true if its argument should be used to split the sequence; otherwise, false. Returns: An array of subsequences, split from this sequence's elements.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a subsequence, up to the given maximum length, containing the final elements of the sequence.

The sequence must be finite. If the maximum length exceeds the number of elements in the sequence, the result contains all the elements in the sequence.

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. The value of maxLength must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence terminating at the end of this sequence with at most maxLength elements.

Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence.

Declaration

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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", "Nicolás"]
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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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:

1. You cannot use a break or continue statement to exit the current call of the body closure or skip subsequent calls.
2. 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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

Replaces the given index with its successor.

i: A valid index of the collection. i must be less than endIndex.

Declaration

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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:

1. The nextPartialResult closure is called with the initial result and the first element of numbers, returning the sum: 1.
2. The closure is called again repeatedly with the previous call's return value and each element of the sequence.
3. 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

Declared In

Returns an array containing the elements of this sequence in reverse order.

The sequence must be finite.

Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence.

Returns: An array containing the elements of this sequence in reverse order.

Declaration

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

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

Declared In

Returns an iterator over the elements of this sequence.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence precedes another sequence in a lexicographical (dictionary) ordering, using the less-than operator (<) to compare elements.

This example uses the lexicographicallyPrecedes method to test which array of integers comes first in a lexicographical ordering.

let a = [1, 2, 2, 2]
let b = [1, 2, 3, 4]

print(a.lexicographicallyPrecedes(b))
// Prints "true"
print(b.lexicographicallyPrecedes(b))
// Prints "false"

other: A sequence to compare to this sequence. Returns: true if this sequence precedes other in a dictionary ordering; 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. See Also: lexicographicallyPrecedes(_:by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the maximum element in the sequence.

This example finds the smallest value in an array of height measurements.

let heights = [67.5, 65.7, 64.3, 61.1, 58.5, 60.3, 64.9]
let greatestHeight = heights.max()
print(greatestHeight)
// Prints "Optional(67.5)"

Returns: The sequence's maximum element. If the sequence has no elements, returns nil.

See Also: max(by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the minimum element in the sequence.

This example finds the smallest value in an array of height measurements.

let heights = [67.5, 65.7, 64.3, 61.1, 58.5, 60.3, 64.9]
let lowestHeight = heights.min()
print(lowestHeight)
// Prints "Optional(58.5)"

Returns: The sequence's minimum element. If the sequence has no elements, returns nil.

See Also: min(by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the elements of the sequence, sorted.

You can sort any sequence of elements that conform to the Comparable protocol by calling this method. Elements are sorted in ascending order.

The sorting algorithm is not stable. A nonstable sort may change the relative order of elements that compare equal.

Here's an example of sorting a list of students' names. Strings in Swift conform to the Comparable protocol, so the names are sorted in ascending order according to the less-than operator (<).

let students: Set = ["Kofi", "Abena", "Peter", "Kweku", "Akosua"]
let sortedStudents = students.sorted()
print(sortedStudents)
// Prints "["Abena", "Akosua", "Kofi", "Kweku", "Peter"]"

To sort the elements of your sequence in descending order, pass the greater-than operator (>) to the sorted(by:) method.

let descendingStudents = students.sorted(by: >)
print(descendingStudents)
// Prints "["Peter", "Kweku", "Kofi", "Akosua", "Abena"]"

Returns: A sorted array of the sequence's elements.

See Also: sorted(by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence contains the given element.

This example checks to see whether a favorite actor is in an array storing a movie's cast.

let cast = ["Vivien", "Marlon", "Kim", "Karl"]
print(cast.contains("Marlon"))
// Prints "true"
print(cast.contains("James"))
// Prints "false"

element: The element to find in the sequence. Returns: true if the element was found in the sequence; otherwise, false.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether this sequence and another sequence contain the same elements in the same order.

At least one of the sequences must be finite.

This example tests whether one countable range shares the same elements as another countable range and an array.

let a = 1...3
let b = 1...10

print(a.elementsEqual(b))
// Prints "false"
print(a.elementsEqual([1, 2, 3]))
// Prints "true"

other: A sequence to compare to this sequence. Returns: true if this sequence and other contain the same elements in the same order.

See Also: elementsEqual(_:by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the initial elements of the sequence are the same as the elements in another sequence.

This example tests whether one countable range begins with the elements of another countable range.

let a = 1...3
let b = 1...10

print(b.starts(with: a))
// Prints "true"

Passing an sequence with no elements or an empty collection as possiblePrefix always results in true.

print(b.starts(with: []))
// Prints "true"

possiblePrefix: A sequence to compare to this sequence. Returns: true if the initial elements of the sequence are the same as the elements of possiblePrefix; otherwise, false. If possiblePrefix has no elements, the return value is true.

See Also: starts(with:by:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the elements of this sequence of sequences, concatenated.

In this example, an array of three ranges is flattened so that the elements of each range can be iterated in turn.

let ranges = [0..<3, 8..<10, 15..<17]

// A for-in loop over 'ranges' accesses each range:
for range in ranges {
  print(range)
}
// Prints "0..<3"
// Prints "8..<10"
// Prints "15..<17"

// Use 'joined()' to access each element of each range:
for index in ranges.joined() {
    print(index, terminator: " ")
}
// Prints: "0 1 2 8 9 15 16"

Returns: A flattened view of the elements of this sequence of sequences.

See Also: flatMap(_:), joined(separator:)

Declaration

Declared In

Returns the concatenated elements of this sequence of sequences, inserting the given separator between each element.

This example shows how an array of [Int] instances can be joined, using another [Int] instance as the separator:

let nestedNumbers = [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9]]
let joined = nestedNumbers.joined(separator: [-1, -2])
print(Array(joined))
// Prints "[1, 2, 3, -1, -2, 4, 5, 6, -1, -2, 7, 8, 9]"

separator: A sequence to insert between each of this sequence's elements. Returns: The joined sequence of elements.

See Also: joined()

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a new string by concatenating the elements of the sequence, adding the given separator between each element.

The following example shows how an array of strings can be joined to a single, comma-separated string:

let cast = ["Vivien", "Marlon", "Kim", "Karl"]
let list = cast.joined(separator: ", ")
print(list)
// Prints "Vivien, Marlon, Kim, Karl"

separator: A string to insert between each of the elements in this sequence. The default separator is an empty string. Returns: A single, concatenated string.

Declaration

Declared In

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 sequence, 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 sequence. n must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence starting after the specified number of elements.

Complexity: O(1).

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a subsequence containing all but the given number of final elements.

The sequence must be finite. If the number of elements to drop exceeds the number of elements in the sequence, 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 sequence. n must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence leaving off the specified number of elements.

Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence.

Declaration

Declared In

Returns a subsequence, up to the specified maximum length, containing the initial elements of the sequence.

If the maximum length exceeds the number of elements in the sequence, the result contains all the elements in the sequence.

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. The value of maxLength must be greater than or equal to zero. Returns: A subsequence starting at the beginning of this sequence with at most maxLength elements.

Complexity: O(1)

Declaration

Declared In