SwiftJsonUI 7.1.2 Release Notes - Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI GitHub Wiki

SwiftJsonUI 7.1.2 Release Notes

Release Date

August 28, 2025

Overview

SwiftJsonUI 7.1.2 brings major improvements to the Collection component for SwiftUI, introducing section-based architecture, enhanced data binding, and full support for both Dynamic and Static modes.

✨ Major Improvements

1. CollectionDataSource Redesigned for SwiftUI

New Section-Based Architecture

The CollectionDataSource has been completely redesigned with a section-based approach:

New CollectionDataSection Class:

class CollectionDataSection {
    var header: (viewName: String, data: [String: Any](/Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI/wiki/String:-Any))?
    var cells: (viewName: String, data: [String: Any](/Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI/wiki/String:-Any))?
    var footer: (viewName: String, data: [String: Any](/Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI/wiki/String:-Any))?
    var numberOfColumns: Int = 2
}

Benefits:

  • ✅ One cell type can handle multiple data items
  • ✅ Each section can have different column counts
  • ✅ Separate header and footer views per section
  • ✅ More flexible data management

Usage Example:

let dataSource = CollectionDataSource()

// Create sections with different configurations
let section1 = CollectionDataSection()
section1.cells = ("ProductCell", productData)
section1.numberOfColumns = 3

let section2 = CollectionDataSection()
section2.cells = ("CategoryCell", categoryData)
section2.numberOfColumns = 2
section2.header = ("SectionHeader", ["title": "Categories"](/Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI/wiki/"title":-"Categories"))

dataSource.sections = [section1, section2]

2. Enhanced Static Mode (Code Generation)

Updated Collection Converter

The collection_converter.rb has been updated to support the new section architecture:

// Generated code example
ForEach(Array(viewModel.collectionDataSource.sections.enumerated()), id: \.offset) { index, section in
    Section {
        if let cells = section.cells?.data {
            LazyVGrid(columns: columns, spacing: 10) {
                ForEach(Array(cells.enumerated()), id: \.offset) { cellIndex, cellData in
                    buildCellView(section.cells?.viewName ?? "", cellData)
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

New Features:

  • Optional chaining with cells?.data for safe access
  • Horizontal scroll support
  • Scroll indicator visibility control

3. Dynamic Mode Collection Display Fix

Problem Solved

Collections were not displaying in Dynamic mode due to type mismatch.

Issue:

  • items property was defined as [String]
  • Could not accept binding strings like "@{items1}"

Solution:

  • Modified to accept both arrays and strings
  • Proper binding resolution for Dynamic mode

4. Dynamic Mode CollectionConverter Implementation

Full Feature Support

The Dynamic mode converter now supports:

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": "@{collectionItems}",
  "sections": [
    {
      "cells": "ProductCell",
      "columns": 3
    },
    {
      "cells": "CategoryCell", 
      "columns": 2,
      "header": "SectionHeader"
    }
  ],
  "layout": "horizontal",
  "showsHorizontalScrollIndicator": false,
  "showsVerticalScrollIndicator": true
}

Features:

  • Section attribute parsing
  • Data retrieval from CollectionDataSource
  • Per-section column configuration
  • Horizontal layout support (layout: "horizontal")
  • Scroll indicator visibility control

5. Multi-Section Testing Support

Enhanced Test Capabilities

Added support for complex multi-section layouts:

// Example: 3 sections with different column counts
multiSectionItems = [
    Section(columns: 3, cells: "ProductCell"),
    Section(columns: 2, cells: "UserCard"),
    Section(columns: 4, cells: "IconCell")
]

Improvements:

  • Different cell types per section
  • Variable column counts (3, 2, 4 columns)
  • Section-specific layouts

6. Debugging and Troubleshooting

Enhanced Debug Logging

Added comprehensive debugging support:

  • FailableDecodable: Debug logs for decoding failures
  • DynamicDecodingHelper: Component decode logging
  • Collection-specific: Detailed error identification

Example Debug Output:

[Collection] Decoding component...
[Collection] Successfully decoded with items: @{items1}
[Collection] Sections count: 2
[Collection] Section 0: 3 columns, ProductCell
[Collection] Section 1: 2 columns, CategoryCell

📋 Technical Improvements

SwiftUI CollectionView Compatibility

  • ✅ Native SwiftUI LazyVGrid/LazyHGrid support
  • ✅ Proper GeometryReader usage for responsive layouts
  • ✅ Smooth scrolling performance

Unified Behavior Across Modes

  • ✅ Dynamic and Static modes work identically
  • ✅ Same JSON structure for both modes
  • ✅ Consistent rendering results

Layout Support

  • ✅ Vertical scrolling (default)
  • ✅ Horizontal scrolling with layout: "horizontal"
  • ✅ Scroll indicator customization
  • ✅ Adaptive column widths

Data Binding Flexibility

  • ✅ Direct array binding
  • ✅ ViewModel property binding with @{propertyName}
  • ✅ Section-based data organization
  • ✅ Dynamic cell type selection

🔄 Migration from 7.1.1

Update Package.swift

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/Tai-Kimura/SwiftJsonUI.git", from: "7.1.2")
]

Update Collection Usage

Old Format (Still Supported):

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": ["item1", "item2"],
  "columns": 2
}

New Format (Recommended):

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": "@{collectionData}",
  "sections": [
    {
      "cells": "MyCell",
      "columns": 3,
      "header": "HeaderView",
      "footer": "FooterView"
    }
  ],
  "showsVerticalScrollIndicator": false
}

💡 Usage Examples

Example 1: Product Grid

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": "@{products}",
  "sections": [
    {
      "cells": "ProductCard",
      "columns": 3
    }
  ],
  "padding": 16,
  "spacing": 10
}

Example 2: Horizontal Category Scroll

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": "@{categories}",
  "layout": "horizontal",
  "sections": [
    {
      "cells": "CategoryChip",
      "columns": 1
    }
  ],
  "showsHorizontalScrollIndicator": false,
  "height": 50
}

Example 3: Multi-Section Layout

{
  "type": "Collection",
  "items": "@{mixedContent}",
  "sections": [
    {
      "header": "FeaturedHeader",
      "cells": "FeaturedCell",
      "columns": 1
    },
    {
      "header": "PopularHeader",
      "cells": "GridCell",
      "columns": 2
    },
    {
      "cells": "CompactCell",
      "columns": 4,
      "footer": "LoadMoreFooter"
    }
  ]
}

🐛 Bug Fixes

  • Fixed Collection components not displaying in Dynamic mode
  • Resolved type mismatch issues with items property
  • Fixed horizontal scroll layout using HStack instead of VStack
  • Corrected scroll indicator visibility attributes
  • Fixed section data optional chaining in generated code

📚 Documentation Updates

  • Updated Collection component documentation
  • Added section-based layout examples
  • Improved debugging guides
  • Enhanced migration instructions

📬 Support

SwiftJsonUI is developed and maintained by Tai Kimura