SUINavigation

Overview

Simple navigation framework for SwiftUI. Alternative NavigationStack with support for iOS 14, Apple bug fixes and better features. Compatible with Routing, Coordinator and each other architecture patterns. This navigation framework has functions of getting and applying the URL which allows you to organize deep links without special costs. In addition, the package contains a separate public test framework SUINavigationTest for testing navigation with unit tests and snapshot tests. We care about quality and performance what why we have UI and Unit tests.

Motivation

Now Developers have standard navigation framework SwiftUI. "Correct" navigation features were introduced since iOS 16 as NavigationStack, but developers can not use that becase should support a iOS 14.x as target commonly. Now we have solutions to backport NavigationStack: NavigationBackport but it's too bold and different from the declarative approach. We want a simpler interface. In addition, the NavigationStack and NavigationBackport havn't many functions such as skip and each others. Functions append and replace from SUINavigation with URL allows store and backup navigation state without special costs. Also allows you to use deep links as an additional feature in this SwiftUI navigation component. If you want to use microfeature-architecture you can inject views to your modules closed by value object type.

Features

• Full support SwiftUI, has declarative style.
• Supporting iOS 14, iOS 15, iOS 16, iOS 17, iOS 18.
• Target switching between NavigationView and NavigationStack.
• Fixing known Apple bugs of standart SwiftUI navigation components.
• Has pop, popTo, skip, isRoot and each other functions.
• Works with URL: simple supporting the deep links.
• Multy-module supporting (views injecting).
• Contains unit and snapshot tests framework.
• UI tests full coverage.
• Performance concern.

Installation

Swift Package Manager (SPM)

The Swift Package Manager is a tool for automating the distribution of Swift code and is integrated into the swift compiler. It is in early development, but SUINavigation does support its use on supported platforms.

Once you have your Swift package set up, adding SUINavigation as a dependency is as easy as adding it to the dependencies value of your Package.swift.

dependencies: [
    .Package(url: "https://github.com/ozontech/SUINavigation.git", majorVersion: 1)
]

Manually

If you prefer not to use either of the aforementioned dependency managers, you can integrate SUINavigation into your project manually.

Build & test

Bash script

For tests on popular iOS versions you just call script:

sh Scripts/release.sh

The same script can prepare release with detection version from CHANGELOG and you can use it for tag new version. For the creating release notes I use GL, installed and setup and call next script:

brew install gh
gh auth login
sh Scripts/releasenotes.sh

Manually

Just open Example/NavigationExample/NavigationExample.xcodeproj from Xcode and you can build, test this from IDE.

Using

Use NavigationViewStorage instead of NavigationView or NavigationStack. In parent view use modifiers .navigation(..) with string id param or without (for using struct name) in addition features as in the code below.

• Note that .navigation(..) applies to all content in the view being navigated from. This modifier should not be allowed to apply to child elements of that view, such as childs of ListView, LazyView and each others. Better use .navigation(..) below of all content of that view as in the code below.

import SwiftUI
import SUINavigation

struct RootView: View {
    // True value trigger navigation transition to FirstView
    @State
    private var isShowingFirst: Bool = false

    var body: some View {
        NavigationViewStorage{
            VStack {
                Text("Root")
                Button("to First"){
                    isShowingFirst = true
                }
            }.navigation(isActive: $isShowingFirst){
                FirstView()
            }
        }
    }
}

struct FirstView: View {
    // Not null value trigger navigation transition to SecondView with this value, nil value to dissmiss to this View.
    @State
    private var optionalValue: Int? = nil

    var body: some View {
        VStack(spacing: 0) {
            Text("First")
            Button("to Second"){
                optionalValue = 777
            }
        }.navigation(item: $optionalValue, id: "second"){ item in
            // item is unwrapped optionalValue where can used by SecondView
            SecondView(number: item)
        }
    }
}

struct SecondView: View {
    @State
    private var isShowingLast: Bool = false

    var body: some View {
        VStack(spacing: 0) {
            Text("Second")
            Button("to Last"){
                isShowingLast = true
            }
        }.navigation(isActive: $isShowingLast, id: "last"){
            SomeView()
        }
    }
}

struct SomeView: View {
    // This optional everywhere, because in a test can use NavigationView without navigationStorage object
    @OptionalEnvironmentObject
    private var navigationStorage: NavigationStorage?

    // Standard feature of a dissmiss works too. Swipe to right works too.
    @Environment(\.presentationMode)
    private var presentationMode

    var body: some View {
        Button("Go to First") {
            // You should use struct for navigate, because it determinate without id
            navigationStorage?.popTo(FirstView.self)
        }
        Button("Go to SecondView") {
            // You should use id for navigate to SecondView, because it determinate as id
            navigationStorage?.popTo("second")
        }
        Button("Go to Root") {
            navigationStorage?.popToRoot()
        }
        Button("Skip First") {
            navigationStorage?.skip(FirstView.self)
        }
        Button("Skip Second") {
            navigationStorage?.skip("second")
        }
    }
}

Test of Navigation

SUINavigation is a SwiftUI navigation component that includes SUINavigationTest test library, which allows you to cover your views navigation rooting with Unit and Snapshot tests without use Router or Coordinator architecture approach. More details about why this is needed and how to implement it are written in a separate article SUINavigationTest. The Next example just shows how to write tests:

import SUINavigationTest

final class NavigationExampleTests: XCTestCase {

    /// Unit Test
    func testView1ToView2() throws {
        let view1 = View1()
        test(sourceView: view1, destinationView: View2.self) {
            view1.triggerValue = "trigger"
        } destination: { view2 in
            XCTAssertEqual(view2.inputValue, "trigger")
        }
    }
    
    /// Snapshot Test
    func testAllItemsOfTheRoot() throws {
        let rootView = RootView()
        try assertItemsSnapshot(rootView)
    }
}

Deeplinks supporting

SUINavigation has functions of getting and applying the URL which allows you to organize deep links without special costs. Modifier .navigationAction identical .navigation, but support navigate by append or replace from URL (URI). If you want custom navigate or use presentation type of navigation (alert, botomsheet, fullScreenCover, TabBar, etc) you can use part of .navigationAction as .navigateUrlParams. Modifiers .navigationAction as .navigateUrlParams have addition sets of params for customisation an URL representation.

More about Deeplinks in separated article page Deeplinks.

The Next example just shows how to navigate from url:

import SwiftUI
import SUINavigation

struct SomeView: View {

    @OptionalEnvironmentObject
    private var navigationStorage: NavigationStorage?
    
    @State
    private var optionalValue: Int? = nil
    
    let url = "second?secondValue=777"

    var body: some View {
        VStack() {
            Text("Some")
            Button("to Second from URL"){
                navigationStorage.append(url)
            }
        }.navigationAction(item: $optionalValue, id: "second", paramName: "secondValue") { item in
            SecondView(number: item)
        }
    }
}

Features of Nested Navigation

Since NavigationStack don't support nested NavigationStack it affected to NavigationViewStorage too. But it reproduced on iOS 16 and leter. On iOS 15.x and lower it work fine because NavigationView haven't this problem.

You can also seporate nested NavigationViewStorage with help another navigation for example .fullScreenCover or TabBar then you can use fearlessly nested NavigationViewStorage even with iOS 16 and leter. For this case, we even provided support for deep links of nested navigation.

Multi-module supporting (coordinator pattern)

NavigationStorage has mirror functions for supporting the Coordinator pattern. I show You how does it differ from the classical approach with SwiftUI:

1. You need registry all View's with and binding to special value type. For that use .navigationStorageBinding modifier before triger navigation.
2. You need switch from using .navigation modifier with some View as destination to the same .navigation modifier with this special value type as destination. An Enum can be used as this value type.

Example

enum Destination: Equatable {
    case first(String)
    case second(Int)
    case bool
}

struct RootView: View {
    var body: some View {
        NavigationViewStorage{
            ZStack{
                mainView
            }.navigationStorageBinding(for: Destination.self) { destination in
                switch self {
                case .first(let string):
                    ModularFirstView(string: string)
                case .second(let number):
                    ModularSecondView(number: number)
                case .bool:
                    ModularBoolView()
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

struct ModularFirstView: View {

    @State
    private var numberForSecond: Int? = nil

    var body: some View {
        ZStack {
            VStack {
                Text("This is First")
                Button("to Second with 22") {
                    numberForSecond = 22
                }
            }
        }
        .navigationAction(item: $numberForSecond) { numberValue in
            Destination.second(numberValue)
        }
    }
}

Performance

We did performance research and found weaknesses in the component and tried to fix them. This is covered in a separate article in the documentation: Performance Research.

Apple bugs: NavigationView vs NavigationStorage

Ohh, you know my friend what the hell in use SwiftUI navigation? But yes, we try to fixed bugs on SwiftUI navigation as soon as we can. All test who demonstration they you can found on NavigationExample project with tests on class BugUITests. From iOS 16.0 Apple deprecated NavigationView and it really stopped working stably but to iOS 17 NavigationStorage working unstably too. It forced me introduce NavigationStorageStrategy for chousing to you way: wath do you use with iOS 16.x: NavigationView or NavigationStorage. More details in the description.

This SwiftUI navigation library include many fixes of any I know bugs with standart Apple SwiftUI navigation component, but interface of using SUINavigation have saved native way to use SwiftUI navigation.

Common Functions

NavigationStorage

    func popTo<ViewType: View>(_ type: ViewType.Type)

Dissmiss all Views before a last ViewType of navigation stack. You can use variation popTo(_ id: NavigatinID) if you have enum with all identifier

    func popToRoot()

Dissmiss all Views before the root View of navigation stack.

    func skip<ViewType: View>(_ type: ViewType.Type)

Marking last ViewType as skipped: when user want to dismiss current screen and go to ViewType then this screen should dismiss too. You can use variation skip(_ id: NavigatinID) if you have enum with all identifier

    var currentUrl: String

The url of current navigation state with params. It have x-www-form-urlencoded format. Params may duplicated for different path components.

    func append(from url: String)

Add new screens from url to current opened screens. See currentUrl

    func replace(with url: String)

Open new screens from url to replace current opened screens. See append

View

    func navigation<Item: Equatable, Destination: View>(
        item: Binding<Item?>,
        id: NavigationID? = nil,
        @ViewBuilder destination: @escaping (Item) -> Destination
    )

View modifier for declare navigation to destination View from trigger value of item to not null value. Working as .fullScreenCover

    func navigation<Destination: View>(
        isActive: Binding<Bool>,
        id: NavigationID? = nil,
        @ViewBuilder destination: () -> Destination
    )

View modifier for declare navigation to destination View from trigger bool isActive to true value.

View with deep links

    func navigationAction<Item: Equatable, Destination: View>(
        item: Binding<Item?>,
        id: NavigationID? = nil,
        paramName: String? = nil,
        isRemovingParam: Bool = false,
        @ViewBuilder destination: @escaping (Item) -> Destination
    )

View modifier for declare navigation to destination View from trigger value of item or action deep link with paramName corresponding item. If you wan to remove tish param for next navigation change isRemovingParam to true.

    func navigationAction<Destination: View>(
        isActive: Binding<Bool>,
        id: NavigationID? = nil,
        @ViewBuilder destination: () -> Destination,
        action: @escaping NavigateUrlParamsHandler
    )

View modifier for declare navigation to destination View from trigger bool isActive to true value or action deep link.

    func navigateUrlParams<Destination: View>(
        _ urlComponent: String,
        action: @escaping NavigateUrlParamsHandler
    )

This view modifier need to customise navigationAction if you want custome handle url for a deep link.

Versions

We have been improving the framework and you can help with them: create issue, pull request or just contact with Me. You can view all changes from CHANGELOG

License

Our LICENSE totally coincides APACHE LICENSE, VERSION 2.0