Return multiple values from a function in swift

function swift return
OllieGreen picture OllieGreen · Dec 17, 2014 · Viewed 99k times · Source

How do I return 3 separate data values of the same type(Int) from a function in swift?

I'm attempting to return the time of day, I need to return the Hour, Minute and Second as separate integers, but all in one go from the same function, is this possible?

I think I just don't understand the syntax for returning multiple values. This is the code I'm using, I'm having trouble with the last(return) line.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

func getTime() -> Int
{
    let date = NSDate()
    let calendar = NSCalendar.currentCalendar()
    let components = calendar.components(.CalendarUnitHour | .CalendarUnitMinute | .CalendarUnitSecond, fromDate: date)
    let hour = components.hour
    let minute = components.minute
    let second = components.second
    let times:String = ("\(hour):\(minute):\(second)")
    return hour, minute, second
}

Answer

David Berry picture David Berry · Dec 17, 2014

Return a tuple:

func getTime() -> (Int, Int, Int) {
    ...
    return ( hour, minute, second)
}

Then it's invoked as:

let (hour, minute, second) = getTime()

or:

let time = getTime()
println("hour: \(time.0)")

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