Swift Protocol get only settable?

Question

why can I do this without any error:

var testDto = ModelDto(modelId: 1)
testDto.objectId = 2

while I define this:

protocol DataTransferObject {
    var objectType: DtoType { get }
    var parentObjectId: Int { get set }
    var objectId: Int { get }
    var objectName: String { get set }
}

struct ModelDto: DataTransferObject {
    var objectType: DtoType
    var parentObjectId: Int
    var objectId: Int
    var objectName: String

    init(modelId: Int) {
        self.objectType = DtoType.Model
        self.objectId = modelId
        self.parentObjectId = -1
        self.objectName = String()
    }
}

If the definition in my protocol is mostly ignored (getter, setter definition), why should I use them anyway?

Answer 1

Apple states in the "Swift Programming Language (Swift 3)":

If the protocol only requires a property to be gettable, the requirement can be satisfied by any kind of property, and it is valid for the property to be also settable if this is useful for your own code.

For this reason, the five following Playground code snippets are all valid:

Example #1: constant property

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    let fullName: String
}

let scrooge = Duck(fullName: "Scrooge McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge McDuck"

Example #2: variable property

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String        
}    

var scrooge = Duck(fullName: "Scrooge McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge McDuck"

scrooge.fullName = "Scrooge H. McDuck"
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge H. McDuck"

Example #3: computed property (get only)

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    private var name: String
    var fullName: String {
        return name
    }
}

let scrooge = Duck(name: "Scrooge McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge McDuck"

Example #4: computed property (get and set)

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    private var name: String
    var fullName: String {
        get {
            return name
        }
        set {
            name = newValue
        }
    }
}

var scrooge = Duck(name: "Scrooge McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge McDuck"

scrooge.fullName = "Scrooge H. McDuck"
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge H. McDuck"

Example #5: private(set) variable property

/* Duck.swift located in Sources folder */

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

public struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    public private(set) var fullName: String

    public init(fullName: String) {
        self.fullName = fullName
    }

    public mutating func renameWith(fullName: String) {
        self.fullName = fullName
    }
}

/* Playground file */

var scrooge = Duck(fullName: "Scrooge McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge McDuck"

scrooge.renameWith("Scrooge H. McDuck")
print(scrooge.fullName) // returns "Scrooge H. McDuck"

---

Apple also states:

If a protocol requires a property to be gettable and settable, that property requirement cannot be fulfilled by a constant stored property or a read-only computed property.

For this reason, the two following Playground code snippets ARE NOT valid:

Example #1: constant property

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get set }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    let fullName: String
}

let scrooge = Duck(fullName: "Scrooge McDuck")
// Error message: Type 'Duck' does not conform to protocol 'FullyNamed'

Example #2: computed property (get only)

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get set }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    private var name: String
    var fullName: String {
        return name
    }
}

var scrooge = Duck(name: "Scrooge McDuck")
// Error message: Type 'Duck' does not conform to protocol 'FullyNamed'

Example #3: computed property (get only)

protocol FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String { get }
}

struct Duck: FullyNamed {
    var fullName: String {return "Scrooge McDuck"}

    init(fullName: String) {
        self.fullName = fullName 
  // Error Message Cannot assign to Property: "FullName" is get only
    }
}