Declaring and using a bit field enum in Swift

Question

How should bit fields be declared and used in Swift?

Declaring an enum like this does work, but trying to OR 2 values together fails to compile:

enum MyEnum: Int
{
    case One =      0x01
    case Two =      0x02
    case Four =     0x04
    case Eight =    0x08
}

// This works as expected
let m1: MyEnum = .One

// Compiler error: "Could not find an overload for '|' that accepts the supplied arguments"
let combined: MyEnum = MyEnum.One | MyEnum.Four

I looked at how Swift imports Foundation enum types, and it does so by defining a struct that conforms to the RawOptionSet protocol:

struct NSCalendarUnit : RawOptionSet {
    init(_ value: UInt)
    var value: UInt
    static var CalendarUnitEra: NSCalendarUnit { get }
    static var CalendarUnitYear: NSCalendarUnit { get }
    // ...
}

And the RawOptionSet protocol is:

protocol RawOptionSet : LogicValue, Equatable {
    class func fromMask(raw: Self.RawType) -> Self
}

However, there is no documentation on this protocol and I can't figure out how to implement it myself. Moreover, it's not clear if this is the official Swift way of implementing bit fields or if this is only how the Objective-C bridge represents them.

Answer 1

You can build a struct that conforms to the RawOptionSet protocol, and you'll be able to use it like the built-in enum type but with bitmask functionality as well. The answer here shows how: Swift NS_OPTIONS-style bitmask enumerations.

Answer 2

Updated for Swift 2/3

Since swift 2, a new solution has been added as "raw option set" (see: Documentation), which is essentially the same as my original response, but using structs that allow arbitrary values.

This is the original question rewritten as an OptionSet:

struct MyOptions: OptionSet
{
    let rawValue: UInt8
    
    static let One = MyOptions(rawValue: 0x01)
    static let Two = MyOptions(rawValue: 0x02)
    static let Four = MyOptions(rawValue: 0x04)
    static let Eight = MyOptions(rawValue: 0x08)
}

let m1 : MyOptions = .One

let combined : MyOptions = [MyOptions.One, MyOptions.Four]

Combining with new values can be done exactly as Set operations (thus the OptionSet part), .union, likewise:

m1.union(.Four).rawValue // Produces 5

Same as doing One | Four in its C-equivalent. As for One & Mask != 0, can be specified as a non-empty intersection

// Equivalent of A & B != 0
if !m1.intersection(combined).isEmpty
{
    // m1 belongs is in combined
}

Weirdly enough, most of the C-style bitwise enums have been converted to their OptionSet equivalent on Swift 3, but Calendar.Compontents does away with a Set<Enum>:

let compontentKeys : Set<Calendar.Component> = [.day, .month, .year]

Whereas the original NSCalendarUnit was a bitwise enum. So both approaches are usable (thus the original response remains valid)

Original Response

I think the best thing to do, is to simply avoid the bitmask syntax until the Swift devs figure out a better way.

Most of the times, the problem can be solved using an enum and and a Set

enum Options
{
    case A, B, C, D
}

var options = Set<Options>(arrayLiteral: .A, .D)

An and check (options & .A) could be defined as:

options.contains(.A)

Or for multiple "flags" could be:

options.isSupersetOf(Set<Options>(arrayLiteral: .A, .D))

Adding new flags (options |= .C):

options.insert(.C)

This also allows for using all the new stuff with enums: custom types, pattern matching with switch case, etc.

Of course, it doesn't have the efficiency of bitwise operations, nor it would be compatible with low level things (like sending bluetooth commands), but it's useful for UI elements that the overhead of the UI outweighs the cost of the Set operations.

Answer 3

They showed how to do this in one of the WWDC videos.

let combined = MyEnum.One.toRaw() | MyEnum.Four.toRaw()

Note that combined will be Int type and will actually get a compiler error if you specify let combined: MyEnum. That is because there is no enum value for 0x05 which is the result of the expression.

Answer 4

I think maybe some of the answers here are outdated with overcomplicated solutions? This works fine for me..

enum MyEnum: Int  {

    case One = 0
    case Two = 1
    case Three = 2
    case Four = 4
    case Five = 8
    case Six = 16

}

let enumCombined = MyEnum.Five.rawValue | MyEnum.Six.rawValue

if enumCombined & MyEnum.Six.rawValue != 0 {
    println("yay") // prints
}

if enumCombined & MyEnum.Five.rawValue != 0 {
    println("yay again") // prints
}

if enumCombined & MyEnum.Two.rawValue != 0 {
    println("shouldn't print") // doesn't print
}

Answer 5

If you don't need to interoperate with Objective-C and just want the syntax of bit masks in Swift, I've written a simple "library" called BitwiseOptions that can do this with regular Swift enumerations, e.g.:

enum Animal: BitwiseOptionsType {
    case Chicken
    case Cow
    case Goat
    static let allOptions = [.Chicken, .Cow, .Goat]
}

var animals = Animal.Chicken | Animal.Goat
animals ^= .Goat
if animals & .Chicken == .Chicken {
    println("Chick-Fil-A!")
}

and so on. No actual bits are being flipped here. These are set operations on opaque values. You can find the gist here.

Answer 6

@Mattt's very famous "NSHipster" has an extensive detailed description of the RawOptionsSetType : http://nshipster.com/rawoptionsettype/

It includes a handy Xcode snipped:

struct <# Options #> : RawOptionSetType, BooleanType {
    private var value: UInt = 0
    init(_ value: UInt) { self.value = value }
    var boolValue: Bool { return value != 0 }
    static func fromMask(raw: UInt) -> <# Options #> { return self(raw) }
    static func fromRaw(raw: UInt) -> <# Options #>? { return self(raw) }
    func toRaw() -> UInt { return value }
    static var allZeros: <# Options #> { return self(0) }
    static func convertFromNilLiteral() -> <# Options #> { return self(0) }

    static var None: <# Options #>          { return self(0b0000) }
    static var <# Option #>: <# Options #>  { return self(0b0001) }
    // ...
}

Answer 7

I use the following I need the both values I can get, rawValue for indexing arrays and value for flags.

enum MyEnum: Int {
    case one
    case two
    case four
    case eight

    var value: UInt8 {
        return UInt8(1 << self.rawValue)
    }
}

let flags: UInt8 = MyEnum.one.value ^ MyEnum.eight.value

(flags & MyEnum.eight.value) > 0 // true
(flags & MyEnum.four.value) > 0  // false
(flags & MyEnum.two.value) > 0   // false
(flags & MyEnum.one.value) > 0   // true

MyEnum.eight.rawValue // 3
MyEnum.four.rawValue // 2

Answer 8

You have to use .toRaw() after each member:

let combined: Int = MyEnum.One.toRaw() | MyEnum.Four.toRaw()

will work. Because as it is you're just trying to assign "One" which is a MyEnum type, not an integer. As Apple's documentation says:

“Unlike C and Objective-C, Swift enumeration members are not assigned a default integer value when they are created. In the CompassPoints example, North, South, East and West do not implicitly equal 0, 1, 2 and 3. Instead, the different enumeration members are fully-fledged values in their own right, with an explicitly-defined type of CompassPoint.”

so you have to use raw values if you want the members to represent some other type, as described here:

Enumeration members can come prepopulated with default values (called raw values), which are all of the same type. The raw value for a particular enumeration member is always the same. Raw values can be strings, characters, or any of the integer or floating-point number types. Each raw value must be unique within its enumeration declaration. When integers are used for raw values, they auto-increment if no value is specified for some of the enumeration members. Access the raw value of an enumeration member with its toRaw method.

Answer 9

This worked for me.

• 1 << 0 //0000
• 1 << 1 //0010
• 1 << 2 //0100

• 1 << 3 //1000

    enum Collision: Int {
      case Enemy, Projectile, Debris, Ground
      func bitmask() -> UInt32 {
          return 1 << self.rawValue
        }
    }
  

Answer 10

I'm taking a guess that something like this is how they are modeling enum options in Foundation:

struct TestOptions: RawOptionSet {

    // conform to RawOptionSet
    static func fromMask(raw: UInt) -> TestOptions {
        return TestOptions(raw)
    }

    // conform to LogicValue
    func getLogicValue() -> Bool {
        if contains([1, 2, 4], value) {
            return true
        }
        return false
    }

    // conform to RawRepresentable
    static func fromRaw(raw: UInt) -> TestOptions? {
        if contains([1, 2, 4], raw) {
            return TestOptions(raw)
        }
        return nil
    }
    func toRaw() -> UInt {
        return value
    }

    // options and value
    var value: UInt
    init(_ value: UInt) {
        self.value = value
    }

    static var OptionOne: TestOptions {
        return TestOptions(1)
    }
    static var OptionTwo: TestOptions {
        return TestOptions(2)
    }
    static var OptionThree: TestOptions {
        return TestOptions(4)
    }
}

let myOptions = TestOptions.OptionOne | TestOptions.OptionThree
println("myOptions: \(myOptions.toRaw())")
if (myOptions & TestOptions.OptionOne) {
    println("OPTION ONE is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no ONE")
}
if (myOptions & TestOptions.OptionTwo) {
    println("OPTION TWO is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no TWO")
}
if (myOptions & TestOptions.OptionThree) {
    println("OPTION THREE is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no THREE")
}

let nextOptions = myOptions | TestOptions.OptionTwo
println("options: \(nextOptions.toRaw())")
if (nextOptions & TestOptions.OptionOne) {
    println("OPTION ONE is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no ONE")
}
if (nextOptions & TestOptions.OptionTwo) {
    println("OPTION TWO is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no TWO")
}
if (nextOptions & TestOptions.OptionThree) {
    println("OPTION THREE is in there")
} else {
    println("nope, no THREE")
}

...where myOptions and nextOptions are of type TestOptions - I'm not exactly sure how fromMask() and getLogicValue() are supposed to act here (I just took some best guesses), maybe somebody could pick this up and work it out?

Answer 11

If you want bitfield in Swift, then enum is the wrong way. Better just do like this

class MyBits {
    static let One =      0x01
    static let Two =      0x02
    static let Four =     0x04
    static let Eight =    0x08
}
let m1 = MyBits.One
let combined = MyBits.One | MyBits.Four

You don't really need the class/static wrapper, but I include it as a kind of pseudo namespace.

Answer 12

Do bitwise operation using raw value then create a new enum object using the result.

let mask = UIViewAutoresizing(rawValue: UIViewAutoresizing.FlexibleWidth.rawValue|UIViewAutoresizing.FlexibleHeight.rawValue) self.view.autoresizingMask = mask

Answer 13

Here's something I put together to try to make a Swift enum that resembles to some extent a C# flags-style enum. But I'm just learning Swift, so this should only be considered to be "proof of concept" code.

/// This EnumBitFlags protocol can be applied to a Swift enum definition, providing a small amount
/// of compatibility with the flags-style enums available in C#.
///
/// The enum should be defined as based on UInt, and enum values should be defined that are powers
/// of two (1, 2, 4, 8, ...). The value zero, if defined, should only be used to indicate a lack of
/// data or an error situation.
///
/// Note that with C# the enum may contain a value that does not correspond to the defined enum
/// constants. This is not possible with Swift, it enforces that only valid values can be set.
public protocol EnumBitFlags : RawRepresentable, BitwiseOperations {

   var rawValue : UInt { get }  // This provided automatically by enum

   static func createNew(_ rawValue : UInt) -> Self  // Must be defined as some boiler-plate code
}

/// Extension methods for enums that implement the EnumBitFlags protocol.
public extension EnumBitFlags {

   // Implement protocol BitwiseOperations. But note that some of these operators, especially ~, 
   // will almost certainly result in an invalid (nil) enum object, resulting in a crash.

   public static func & (leftSide: Self, rightSide: Self) -> Self {
      return self.createNew(leftSide.rawValue & rightSide.rawValue)
   }

   public static func | (leftSide: Self, rightSide: Self) -> Self {
      return self.createNew(leftSide.rawValue | rightSide.rawValue)
   }

   public static func ^ (leftSide: Self, rightSide: Self) -> Self {
      return self.createNew(leftSide.rawValue ^ rightSide.rawValue)
   }

   public static prefix func ~ (x: Self) -> Self {
      return self.createNew(~x.rawValue)
   }

   public static var allZeros: Self {
      get {
         return self.createNew(0)
      }
   }

   // Method hasFlag() for compatibility with C#
   func hasFlag<T : EnumBitFlags>(_ flagToTest : T) -> Bool {
      return (self.rawValue & flagToTest.rawValue) != 0
   }
}

This shows how it can be used:

class TestEnumBitFlags {

   // Flags-style enum specifying where to write the log messages
   public enum LogDestination : UInt, EnumBitFlags {
      case none = 0             // Error condition
      case systemOutput = 0b01  // Logging messages written to system output file
      case sdCard       = 0b10  // Logging messages written to SD card (or similar storage)
      case both         = 0b11  // Both of the above options

      // Implement EnumBitFlags protocol
      public static func createNew(_ rawValue : UInt) -> LogDestination {
         return LogDestination(rawValue: rawValue)!
      }
   }

   private var _logDestination : LogDestination = .none
   private var _anotherEnum : LogDestination = .none

   func doTest() {

      _logDestination = .systemOutput
      assert(_logDestination.hasFlag(LogDestination.systemOutput))
      assert(!_logDestination.hasFlag(LogDestination.sdCard))

      _anotherEnum = _logDestination
      assert(_logDestination == _anotherEnum)

      _logDestination = .systemOutput | .sdCard
      assert(_logDestination.hasFlag(LogDestination.systemOutput) &&
             _logDestination.hasFlag(LogDestination.sdCard))

      /* don't do this, it results in a crash
      _logDestination = _logDestination & ~.systemOutput
      assert(_logDestination == .sdCard)
      */

      _logDestination = .sdCard
      _logDestination |= .systemOutput
      assert(_logDestination == .both)
   }
}

Suggestions for improvement are welcome.

EDIT: I've given up on this technique myself, and therefore obviously can't recommend it anymore.

The big problem is that Swift demands that rawValue must match one of the defined enum values. This is OK if there are only 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 flag bits - just define all of the combination values in order to make Swift happy. But for 5 or more flag bits it becomes totally crazy.

I'll leave this posted in case someone finds it useful, or maybe as a warning of how NOT to do it.

My current solution to this situation is based on using a struct instead of enum, together with a protocol and some extension methods. This works much better. Maybe I'll post it someday when I'm more sure that that isn't also isn't going to backfire on me.

Answer 14

Task

Get all flags from flags_combination. Each flag and flags_combination are integers. flags_combination = flag_1 | flags_2

Details

• Xcode 11.2.1 (11B500), Swift 5.1

Solution

import Foundation

protocol FlagPrototype: CaseIterable, RawRepresentable where RawValue == Int {}
extension FlagPrototype {
    init?(rawValue: Int) {
        for flag in Self.allCases where flag.rawValue == rawValue {
            self = flag
            return
        }
        return nil
    }
    static func all(from combination: Int) -> [Self] {
        return Self.allCases.filter { return combination | $0.rawValue == combination }
    }
}

Usage

enum Flag { case one, two, three }
extension Flag: FlagPrototype {
    var rawValue: Int {
        switch self {
        case .one: return 0x1
        case .two: return 0x2
        case .three: return 0x4
        }
    }
}

var flags = Flag.two.rawValue | Flag.three.rawValue
let selectedFlags = Flag.all(from: flags)
print(selectedFlags)
if selectedFlags == [.two, .three] { print("two | three") }