ReactiveCocoa简述

什么是ReactiveCocoa?

ReactiveCocoa文档写得很厉害,并且详细地介绍了RAC是什么以及它是怎么工作的?
如果你多学一点，我们推荐下面这些资源:
1.Introduction
2.When to use ReactiveCocoa
3.Framework Overview
4.Basic Operators
5.Header documentation
6.Previously answered Stack Overflow questions and GitHub issues
7.The rest of the Documentation folder
8.Functional Reactive Programming on iOS(eBook)
如果你有任何其他的问题,请随意提交issue,
file an issue.

介绍

ReactiveCocoa的灵感来自函数式响应式编程.Rather than using mutable variables which are replaced and modified in-place,RAC提供signals（表现为RACSignal）来捕捉当前以及将来的值.
通过对signals进行连接,绑定和响应,不需要连续地观察和更新值,软件就能写了.
举个例子,一个text field能够绑定到最新状态,即使它在变,而不需要用额外的代码去更新text field每一秒的状态.它有点像KVO,但它用blocks代替了重写-observeValueForKeyPath:ofObject:change:context:.
Signals也能够呈现异步的操作,有点像futures and
promises.这极大地简化了异步软件,包括了网络处理的代码.
RAC有一个主要的优点,就是提供了一个单一的，统一的方法去处理异步的行为,包括delegate方法,blocks回调,target-action机制,notifications和KVO.

这里有一个简单的例子:

// When self.username changes, logs the new name to the console.
//
// RACObserve(self, username) creates a new RACSignal that sends the current
// value of self.username, then the new value whenever it changes.
// -subscribeNext: will execute the block whenever the signal sends a value.
[RACObserve(self, username) subscribeNext:^(NSString *newName) {
    NSLog(@"%@", newName);
}];

这不像KVO notifications,signals能够连接在一起并且能够同时进行操作:

// Only logs names that starts with "j".
//
// -filter returns a new RACSignal that only sends a new value when its block
// returns YES.
[[RACObserve(self, username)
    filter:^(NSString *newName) {
        return [newName hasPrefix:@"j"];
    }]
    subscribeNext:^(NSString *newName) {
        NSLog(@"%@", newName);
    }];

Signals也能够用来导出状态.而不是observing properties或者设置其他的 properties去反应新的值,RAC通过signals and operations让表示属性变得有可能:

// Creates a one-way binding so that self.createEnabled will be
// true whenever self.password and self.passwordConfirmation
// are equal.
//
// RAC() is a macro that makes the binding look nicer.
// 
// +combineLatest:reduce: takes an array of signals, executes the block with the
// latest value from each signal whenever any of them changes, and returns a new
// RACSignal that sends the return value of that block as values.
RAC(self, createEnabled) = [RACSignal 
    combineLatest:@[ RACObserve(self, password), RACObserve(self, passwordConfirmation) ] 
    reduce:^(NSString *password, NSString *passwordConfirm) {
        return @([passwordConfirm isEqualToString:password]);
    }];

Signals不仅仅能够用在KVO,还可以用在很多的地方.比如说,它们也能够展示button presses:

// Logs a message whenever the button is pressed.
//
// RACCommand creates signals to represent UI actions. Each signal can
// represent a button press, for example, and have additional work associated
// with it.
//
// -rac_command is an addition to NSButton. The button will send itself on that
// command whenever it's pressed.
self.button.rac_command = [[RACCommand alloc] initWithSignalBlock:^(id _) {
    NSLog(@"button was pressed!");
    return [RACSignal empty];
}];

或者异步的网络操作:

// Hooks up a "Log in" button to log in over the network.
//
// This block will be run whenever the login command is executed, starting
// the login process.
self.loginCommand = [[RACCommand alloc] initWithSignalBlock:^(id sender) {
    // The hypothetical -logIn method returns a signal that sends a value when
    // the network request finishes.
    return [client logIn];
}];

// -executionSignals returns a signal that includes the signals returned from
// the above block, one for each time the command is executed.
[self.loginCommand.executionSignals subscribeNext:^(RACSignal *loginSignal) {
    // Log a message whenever we log in successfully.
    [loginSignal subscribeCompleted:^{
        NSLog(@"Logged in successfully!");
    }];
}];

// Executes the login command when the button is pressed.
self.loginButton.rac_command = self.loginCommand;

Signals能够展示timers,其他的UI事件,或者其他跟时间改变有关的东西.
对于用signals来进行异步操作,通过连接和改变这些signals能够进行更加复杂的行为.在一组操作完成时,工作能够很简单触发:

// Performs 2 network operations and logs a message to the console when they are
// both completed.
//
// +merge: takes an array of signals and returns a new RACSignal that passes
// through the values of all of the signals and completes when all of the
// signals complete.
//
// -subscribeCompleted: will execute the block when the signal completes.
[[RACSignal 
    merge:@[ [client fetchUserRepos], [client fetchOrgRepos] ]] 
    subscribeCompleted:^{
        NSLog(@"They're both done!");
    }];

Signals能够顺序地执行异步操作,而不是嵌套block回调.这个和futures and promises很相似:

// Logs in the user, then loads any cached messages, then fetches the remaining
// messages from the server. After that's all done, logs a message to the
// console.
//
// The hypothetical -logInUser methods returns a signal that completes after
// logging in.
//
// -flattenMap: will execute its block whenever the signal sends a value, and
// returns a new RACSignal that merges all of the signals returned from the block
// into a single signal.
[[[[client 
    logInUser] 
    flattenMap:^(User *user) {
        // Return a signal that loads cached messages for the user.
        return [client loadCachedMessagesForUser:user];
    }]
    flattenMap:^(NSArray *messages) {
        // Return a signal that fetches any remaining messages.
        return [client fetchMessagesAfterMessage:messages.lastObject];
    }]
    subscribeNext:^(NSArray *newMessages) {
        NSLog(@"New messages: %@", newMessages);
    } completed:^{
        NSLog(@"Fetched all messages.");
    }];

RAC也能够简单地绑定异步操作的结果:

// Creates a one-way binding so that self.imageView.image will be set as the user's
// avatar as soon as it's downloaded.
//
// The hypothetical -fetchUserWithUsername: method returns a signal which sends
// the user.
//
// -deliverOn: creates new signals that will do their work on other queues. In
// this example, it's used to move work to a background queue and then back to the main thread.
//
// -map: calls its block with each user that's fetched and returns a new
// RACSignal that sends values returned from the block.
RAC(self.imageView, image) = [[[[client 
    fetchUserWithUsername:@"joshaber"]
    deliverOn:[RACScheduler scheduler]]
    map:^(User *user) {
        // Download the avatar (this is done on a background queue).
        return [[NSImage alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:user.avatarURL];
    }]
    // Now the assignment will be done on the main thread.
    deliverOn:RACScheduler.mainThreadScheduler];

这里仅仅说了RAC能做什么,但很难说清RAC为什么如此强大.虽然通过这个README很难说清RAC,但我尽可能用更少的代码,更少的模版,把更好的代码去表达清楚.
如果想要更多的示例代码,可以check outC-41 或者 GroceryList,这些都是真正用ReactiveCocoa写的iOS apps.更多的RAC信息可以看一下Documentation文件夹.

什么时候用ReactiveCocoa
乍看上去,ReactiveCocoa是很抽象的,它可能很难理解如何将它应用到具体的问题.
这里有一些RAC常用的地方.
处理异步或者事件驱动数据源
很多Cocoa编程集中在响应user events或者改变application state.这样写代码很快地会变得很复杂,就像一个意大利面,需要处理大量的回调和状态变量的问题.
这个模式表面上看起来不同,像UI回调,网络响应,和KVO notifications,实际上有很多的共同之处。RACSignal统一了这些API,这样他们能够组装在一起然后用相同的方式操作.
举例看一下下面的代码:

static void *ObservationContext = &ObservationContext;

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    [LoginManager.sharedManager addObserver:self forKeyPath:@"loggingIn" options:NSKeyValueObservingOptionInitial context:&ObservationContext];
    [NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter addObserver:self selector:@selector(loggedOut:) name:UserDidLogOutNotification object:LoginManager.sharedManager];

    [self.usernameTextField addTarget:self action:@selector(updateLogInButton) forControlEvents:UIControlEventEditingChanged];
    [self.passwordTextField addTarget:self action:@selector(updateLogInButton) forControlEvents:UIControlEventEditingChanged];
    [self.logInButton addTarget:self action:@selector(logInPressed:) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
}

- (void)dealloc {
    [LoginManager.sharedManager removeObserver:self forKeyPath:@"loggingIn" context:ObservationContext];
    [NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter removeObserver:self];
}

- (void)updateLogInButton {
    BOOL textFieldsNonEmpty = self.usernameTextField.text.length > 0 && self.passwordTextField.text.length > 0;
    BOOL readyToLogIn = !LoginManager.sharedManager.isLoggingIn && !self.loggedIn;
    self.logInButton.enabled = textFieldsNonEmpty && readyToLogIn;
}

- (IBAction)logInPressed:(UIButton *)sender {
    [[LoginManager sharedManager]
        logInWithUsername:self.usernameTextField.text
        password:self.passwordTextField.text
        success:^{
            self.loggedIn = YES;
        } failure:^(NSError *error) {
            [self presentError:error];
        }];
}

- (void)loggedOut:(NSNotification *)notification {
    self.loggedIn = NO;
}

- (void)observeValueForKeyPath:(NSString *)keyPath ofObject:(id)object change:(NSDictionary *)change context:(void *)context {
    if (context == ObservationContext) {
        [self updateLogInButton];
    } else {
        [super observeValueForKeyPath:keyPath ofObject:object change:change context:context];
    }
}

… 用RAC表达的话就像下面这样:

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    @weakify(self);

    RAC(self.logInButton, enabled) = [RACSignal
        combineLatest:@[
            self.usernameTextField.rac_textSignal,
            self.passwordTextField.rac_textSignal,
            RACObserve(LoginManager.sharedManager, loggingIn),
            RACObserve(self, loggedIn)
        ] reduce:^(NSString *username, NSString *password, NSNumber *loggingIn, NSNumber *loggedIn) {
            return @(username.length > 0 && password.length > 0 && !loggingIn.boolValue && !loggedIn.boolValue);
        }];

    [[self.logInButton rac_signalForControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside] subscribeNext:^(UIButton *sender) {
        @strongify(self);

        RACSignal *loginSignal = [LoginManager.sharedManager
            logInWithUsername:self.usernameTextField.text
            password:self.passwordTextField.text];

            [loginSignal subscribeError:^(NSError *error) {
                @strongify(self);
                [self presentError:error];
            } completed:^{
                @strongify(self);
                self.loggedIn = YES;
            }];
    }];

    RAC(self, loggedIn) = [[NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter
        rac_addObserverForName:UserDidLogOutNotification object:nil]
        mapReplace:@NO];
}

连接依赖的操作
依赖经常用在网络请求,当下一个对服务器网络请求需要构建在前一个完成时,可以看一下下面的代码:

[client logInWithSuccess:^{
    [client loadCachedMessagesWithSuccess:^(NSArray *messages) {
        [client fetchMessagesAfterMessage:messages.lastObject success:^(NSArray *nextMessages) {
            NSLog(@"Fetched all messages.");
        } failure:^(NSError *error) {
            [self presentError:error];
        }];
    } failure:^(NSError *error) {
        [self presentError:error];
    }];
} failure:^(NSError *error) {
    [self presentError:error];
}];

ReactiveCocoa 则让这种模式特别简单:

[[[[client logIn]
    then:^{
        return [client loadCachedMessages];
    }]
    flattenMap:^(NSArray *messages) {
        return [client fetchMessagesAfterMessage:messages.lastObject];
    }]
    subscribeError:^(NSError *error) {
        [self presentError:error];
    } completed:^{
        NSLog(@"Fetched all messages.");
    }];

并行地独立地工作
与独立的数据集并行,然后将它们合并成一个最终的结果在Cocoa中是相当不简单的,并且还经常涉及大量的同步:

__block NSArray *databaseObjects;
__block NSArray *fileContents;

NSOperationQueue *backgroundQueue = [[NSOperationQueue alloc] init];
NSBlockOperation *databaseOperation = [NSBlockOperation blockOperationWithBlock:^{
    databaseObjects = [databaseClient fetchObjectsMatchingPredicate:predicate];
}];

NSBlockOperation *filesOperation = [NSBlockOperation blockOperationWithBlock:^{
    NSMutableArray *filesInProgress = [NSMutableArray array];
    for (NSString *path in files) {
        [filesInProgress addObject:[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:path]];
    }

    fileContents = [filesInProgress copy];
}];

NSBlockOperation *finishOperation = [NSBlockOperation blockOperationWithBlock:^{
    [self finishProcessingDatabaseObjects:databaseObjects fileContents:fileContents];
    NSLog(@"Done processing");
}];

[finishOperation addDependency:databaseOperation];
[finishOperation addDependency:filesOperation];
[backgroundQueue addOperation:databaseOperation];
[backgroundQueue addOperation:filesOperation];
[backgroundQueue addOperation:finishOperation];

上面的代码能够简单地用合成signals来清理和优化:

RACSignal *databaseSignal = [[databaseClient
    fetchObjectsMatchingPredicate:predicate]
    subscribeOn:[RACScheduler scheduler]];

RACSignal *fileSignal = [RACSignal startEagerlyWithScheduler:[RACScheduler scheduler] block:^(idsubscriber) {
    NSMutableArray *filesInProgress = [NSMutableArray array];
    for (NSString *path in files) {
        [filesInProgress addObject:[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:path]];
    }

    [subscriber sendNext:[filesInProgress copy]];
    [subscriber sendCompleted];
}];

[[RACSignal
    combineLatest:@[ databaseSignal, fileSignal ]
    reduce:^ id (NSArray *databaseObjects, NSArray *fileContents) {
        [self finishProcessingDatabaseObjects:databaseObjects fileContents:fileContents];
        return nil;
    }]
    subscribeCompleted:^{
        NSLog(@"Done processing");
    }];

简化集合转换
像map, filter, fold/reduce 这些高级功能在Foundation中是极度缺少的m导致了一些像下面这样循环集中的代码:

NSMutableArray *results = [NSMutableArray array];
for (NSString *str in strings) {
    if (str.length < 2) { continue; } NSString *newString = [str stringByAppendingString:@"foobar"]; [results addObject:newString]; } 

RACSequence能够允许Cocoa集合用统一的方式操作:

RACSequence *results = [[strings.rac_sequence
    filter:^ BOOL (NSString *str) {
        return str.length >= 2;
    }]
    map:^(NSString *str) {
        return [str stringByAppendingString:@"foobar"];
    }];