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I need advice on best practice with Redux in iOS app.

I am trying to master this architectural pattern, but I am not using Redux+Reactive approach. Just ReSwift + simple declarative code.

The problem I am facing is basic. Storing UIImage. As far as I've seen in some tutorial, it is not advisable to store UIImage as a state's property. Hence, it is recommended to store the path to the image.

To obtain the path, we need to save the image locally to disk. The image comes from phone's media library. So, saving it locally takes time (it is done synchronously, because I don't want to add async tasks for the simplest screen with one UIImageView).

Fortunately, image picker controller provides us with the image url:

func imagePickerController(_ picker: UIImagePickerController, didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo info: [UIImagePickerController.InfoKey: Any]) {
    let imageURL = info[.imageURL] as? URL
    picker.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
    store.dispatch(DidPickImageAction(imageURL: imageURL))
}

I can use it, without rewriting image into the file, which solves the problem.

But, there is also option to make new image via camera. In that case info dictionary does not have .imageURL, which again leads me to the necessity to write image to file.

This makes me want to just store UIImage in state, but since it is against Redux rules, I am asking:

What is the best practice in working with images in Redux architecture?

Any help will be very much appreciated.

user28434'mstep
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Yevgeniy Leychenko
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1 Answers1

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This is not good to directly hold the images.

Best approach you can do.

  1. Write you image in documents directory.
  2. Save images name in Core data
  3. Fetch image name with core data and get you image with document directory.
gaurav bajaj
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  • 1. Write to documents directory. - this is what I am actually doing right now. But since the task is syncronous, the user has to wait until image is saved, before image picker controller is dismissed. It takes around half a second, but it is still noticeable. – Yevgeniy Leychenko Dec 27 '18 at 12:29
  • You can call image save functionality in dismiss completion block. self.dismiss(animated: true, completion: { //completion block. }) 2. You can also show a loader until your image is save. – gaurav bajaj Dec 27 '18 at 12:42
  • If I call it in dismiss block, the user will see the empty image view for those half a second. I don't want to make a loader for really-really simple app, where you just select the image and see it. Redux is aimed at simplifying things, so I wonder if I can use it without overcomplications like unnecessary loader. – Yevgeniy Leychenko Dec 27 '18 at 12:46