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iOS Enumerations and Optionals in Swift Objects and Optionals Nil Coalescing Operator

Posted by Sam GGG
Sam GGG
5,195 Points

Should firstName be a constant or variable?

I tried doing all three examples in this video: i.e. if let, ternary conditional operator and nil coalescing operator, if the situation was that the user of the app did not provide their name. i.e. let firstName: String?. I got an error each time. Shouldn't firstName be a variable in this case to give the user the option of providing a first name? (that's how it worked for me in the end).

1 Answer

Brian Cornelius
Brian Cornelius
2,227 Points
Brian Cornelius
Brian Cornelius
2,227 Points

I know I'm a bit too late to answer your question, but for future viewers wondering the same thing:

Using a constant with no name will allow the code to execute as planned. The problem with your "let first name: String?" is that it's not being initialized. Constants must always be initialized, even if it's just set to nil. If you simply set the constant equal to nil, the code would run as planned. "let first name: String? = nil" The reason you were successful once it was changed to a variable is because they're not required to be initialized.