Create clear, concise, and occasionally entertaining code using custom operators. When I first came across Swift code that contained custom I immediately dismissed them as just another one of those advanced language features that the average tinkerer like myself would never have a need for. However, after I ended up using them as a very basic package example in an earlier , I’ve decided that in addition to being convenient they can also make your code more readable, even when using non-standard operators. operators post What are Operators? Taken straight from : Wikipedia (Operators are) constructs which behave generally like functions, but which differ syntactically or semantically from usual functions. If you’ve done any you’ve used operators. You’re probably familiar with the basics, such as , , and for example. All languages define their operators differently, some like Java and Javascript rely mostly on a small set symbols used individually or in combinations, while others like python make use of english words for some of its operators like , , , and . programming + - =< and or is not Types of Operators Operators typically break down into several general categories: — Assignment operators are used to assign values to variables. Assignment — Arithmetic operators are used to perform mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication etc. Arithmetic — Comparison operators are used to compare values. It either returns or according to a condition. Comparison True False — Logical operators are used to create define boolean logic, i.e. , , and . Logical And Or Not — Bitwise operators operate on one or more bits or binary patterns. Bitwise Operator Syntax Typically operator syntax can be broken down into three general types of operators, , , and . prefix postfix infix Infix Swift, and most other programming ranges generally favor operators, as they are the type of operator that allow you to make use of multiple operands. operators are also sometimes referred to as binary operators because they operate on two targets. Using this idea and are also referred to as unary operators. Swift, and several other languages also support ternary operators. infix infix prefix postfix Prefix operators are placed before their operand and are unary operators. prefix Postfix operators are placed after their operand and are unary operators. postfix Creating Custom Operators Now that I’ve defined briefly what operators are, I’ll demonstrate how to define custom operators in Swift and a few use cases. Declaring Custom Operators Apple describes declaring operators , but you can refer to this pseudo-code sample for a brief look at the syntax used. New operators are declared at a global level using the keyword and their associated modifier. here operator Swift Operator Declarations One thing to note is that there are limitations on how you may define your operator name. While I would have loved to define a 🌮 or 💩 operator, Swift limits you to a . defined range of unicode characters Prefix One use case for creating a custom operator is if you have a common operation where a common symbol may be just as understandable and more concise than calling a function for each use. For example, finding the square root or cube root of a number. prefix Postfix There are numerous great uses for a operator, such as the and ones I used . But when I saw that sickle and hammer unicode was usable in Swift.. oh boy. postfix -- ++ here Infix As I stated earlier, operators tend to be the most common. Here are a few fun examples I put together that leverage them. infix One thing to note here is the use of precedence groups and when defining operators. infix Operator gives some operators higher priority than others; these operators are applied first. precedence Operator defines how operators of the same precedence are grouped together — either grouped from the left, or grouped from the right. Think of it as meaning “they associate with the expression to their left,” or “they associate with the expression to their right.” associativity — Apple Summary Swift’s decision to include custom operators enables you to create concise, readable code that is tailored to your needs. They can also be a lot of fun to explain to your fellow coders if someone happens upon a ☭ or ⛹ in your projects. 😉
