Parse, iOS, includeKey query does not retrieve attribute of pointer object

Question

I'm quite new to working with Parse and I'm building a todo list as part of a CRM. Each task in the table view shows the description, due date, and client name. The description and due date are in my Task class, as well as a pointer to the Deal class. Client is a string in the Deal class. I'm able to query the description and due date properly, but I am not able to retrieve the client attribute from within the Deal object by using includeKey. I followed the Parse documentation for includeKey.

The description and due date show up properly in the resulting table view, but not the client. The log shows client label: nil and the printed task details include <Deal: 0x7ff033d1ed40, objectId: HffKOiJrTq>, but nothing about the client attribute. How can I retrieve and assign the pointer object's attribute (client) to my label within the table view? My relevant code is below. Thank you in advance.

Edit: I've updated my code with func fetchClients() based on this SO answer, but I'm still not sure whether my function is complete or where to call it.

class TasksVC: UITableViewController {


var taskObjects:NSMutableArray! = NSMutableArray()

override func viewDidAppear(animated: Bool) {
    super.viewDidAppear(animated)

    println("\(PFUser.currentUser())")

    self.fetchAllObjects()
    self.fetchClients()

}

func fetchAllObjects() {

    var query:PFQuery = PFQuery(className: "Task")

    query.whereKey("username", equalTo: PFUser.currentUser()!)

    query.orderByAscending("dueDate")
    query.addAscendingOrder("desc")

    query.includeKey("deal")

    query.findObjectsInBackgroundWithBlock { (tasks: [AnyObject]!, error:NSError!) -> Void in

        if (error == nil) {

            var temp:NSArray = tasks! as NSArray
            self.taskObjects = temp.mutableCopy() as NSMutableArray

            println(tasks)   

            self.tableView.reloadData()

        } else {

            println(error?.userInfo)

        }
    }
}

func fetchClients() {
    var task:PFObject = PFObject(className: "Task")
    var deal:PFObject = task["deal"] as PFObject

    deal.fetchIfNeededInBackgroundWithBlock {
        (deal: PFObject!, error: NSError!) -> Void in
        let client = deal["client"] as NSString
    }
}

//MARK: - Tasks table view
override func numberOfSectionsInTableView(tableView: UITableView) -> Int {
    return 1
}

override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, numberOfRowsInSection section: Int) -> Int {
    return self.taskObjects.count
}

override func tableView(tableView: UITableView, cellForRowAtIndexPath indexPath: NSIndexPath) -> UITableViewCell {
    let cell = self.tableView.dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier("TaskCell", forIndexPath: indexPath) as TaskCell

    var dateFormatter:NSDateFormatter = NSDateFormatter()
    dateFormatter.dateFormat = "M/dd/yy"

    var task:PFObject = self.taskObjects.objectAtIndex(indexPath.row) as PFObject

    cell.desc_Lbl?.text = task["desc"] as? String
    cell.date_Lbl.text = dateFormatter.stringFromDate(task["dueDate"] as NSDate)
    cell.client_Lbl?.text = task["client"] as? String

    var clientLabel = cell.client_Lbl?.text
    println("client label: \(clientLabel)")

    return cell

}

}

Timothy Walters · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-26 22:03:53Z

3

If the deal column is a pointer then includeKey("deal") will get that object and populate it's properties for you. There is no need to perform a fetch of any type on top of that.

You really should be using Optionals properly though:

if let deal = task["deal"] as? PFObject {
  // deal column has data
  if let client = deal["client"] as? String {
    // client has data
    cell.client_Lbl?.text = client
  }
}

Alternatively you can replace the last if let with a line like this, which handles empty values and uses a default:

cell.client_Lbl?.text = (deal["client"] as? String) ?? ""

In your posted cellForRowAtIndexPath code you are trying to read client from the task instead of from the deal: task["client"] as? String.

answered Mar 26, 2015 at 22:03

Timothy Walters

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2 Comments

blwinters Over a year ago

Thanks so much for your help Timothy. I thought that I needed the extra fetch because of what is written in the iOS Relational Data section of the Parse documentation "By default, when fetching an object, related PFObjects are not fetched..." I guess fetchIfNeededInBackgroundWithBlock is similar to the includeKey function? Thanks for setting me straight.

Timothy Walters Over a year ago

Yes, fetch() would be like doing an includeKey() for everything that is a pointer (big waste if you have multiple pointers and only need to populate one or two!)

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