Sample CodeiOS, iPadOS, Mac CatalystReviewed 2026-07-21View on Apple Developer

Finding answers to questions in a text document

At a glance

Item Summary
Purpose Locate relevant passages in a document by asking the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model a question.
App architecture A Swift sample with the source-visible chain AppDelegateDetailViewControllerDocumentCoreML APIs.
Main patterns View-controller organization, Delegate or data-source callbacks
Project style 9 scanned source file(s) across Swift, organized around ranked entry, type, and file boundaries.
Execution model Source-visible boundaries: DispatchQueue.global.async, DispatchQueue.main.async; none alone proves a background thread.
State/event model Source-visible mechanisms: NotificationCenter.
Key frameworks/packages CoreML, UIKit, Foundation, NaturalLanguage; these are source dependencies, not architecture labels.

Project structure

Source bundle/
├── FindingAnswers/
│   ├── App/
│   │   └── AppDelegate.swift
│   ├── View/
│   │   ├── DetailViewController.swift
│   │   ├── Document.swift
│   │   └── MainViewController.swift
│   └── Model/
│       ├── BERT.swift
│       ├── BERTInput.swift
│       ├── BERTVocabulary.swift
│       ├── TokenizedString.swift
│       └── BERTOutput.swift
├── Configuration/
│   └── SampleCode.xcconfig
└── FindingAnswers.xcodeproj/
    ├── .xcodesamplecode.plist
    └── project.pbxproj

Structure observations

  • Architecturally prominent files are ranked from entry points and role-named declarations; resource-only paths are omitted.
  • Primary languages: Swift.
  • The verified tree contains 7 project/configuration file(s) and 8 source declaration(s).

Overall architecture

Reference code

FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift:10 — architecture anchor

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, UISplitViewControllerDelegate {
    // ...
    var window: UIWindow?
    // ...
}

Interpretation

The arrows summarize the source-visible entry, role-named types or folders, and framework direction; when nodes come from structural folders, the sequence is a high-level interpretation rather than proof that every adjacent node calls the next. Ownership is claimed only where the next section cites a stored property or assignment. The diagram is intentionally limited to the dominant path into Core ML.

Ownership and state

Ownership evidence

FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift:13 — stored dependency or nearest verified ownership anchor

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, UISplitViewControllerDelegate {
    // ...
    var window: UIWindow?
    // ...
}
Owner Object or state Relationship Mutation authority
AppDelegate UIWindow (window) stores or receives App/module collaborators
DetailViewController UITextField (questionTextField) holds a non-owning reference The referenced object’s lifecycle is owned elsewhere
DetailViewController UITextView (documentTextView) holds a non-owning reference The referenced object’s lifecycle is owned elsewhere
DetailViewController NSLayoutConstraint (questionTextFieldBottomLayoutConstraint) holds a non-owning reference The referenced object’s lifecycle is owned elsewhere

Composition arrows indicate a source-visible construction expression or locally owned value state; aggregation means the owner stores or receives a dependency without proving exclusive lifetime ownership.

Concurrency, scheduling, and thread safety

Evidence limit: actor isolation, async/await, or Task creation does not by itself prove background-thread execution; Sendable conformance alone does not prove thread-safe mutation.

Concern Source mechanism Verified placement or handoff Evidence
Queue scheduling DispatchQueue.global.async The source addresses a global dispatch queue; no stable thread identity is implied. FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift:67
Queue scheduling DispatchQueue.main.async The source addresses the main dispatch queue. FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift:72

@MainActor/MainActor.run, DispatchQueue.main, and RunLoop.main are reported as distinct isolation, queue, and event-loop mechanisms. A plain Task is kept separate from Task.detached; neither is labeled as a background thread.

Reference code

FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift:67 — representative execution boundary

        DispatchQueue.global(qos: .userInitiated).async {
            // ...
            let answer = self.bert.findAnswer(for: searchText, in: detail.body)
            // ...
        }

State propagation, frameworks, and dependencies

Evidence limit: an import proves a source-level compilation dependency at the cited line; it does not prove runtime use, architectural adoption, or whether a Swift package is a direct application dependency.

Category Mechanism or module Verified role Evidence
State propagation NotificationCenter NotificationCenter distributes named process-local events. FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift:114
Source import CoreML The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. FindingAnswers/Model/BERT.swift:8
Source import UIKit The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift:8
Source import Foundation The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. FindingAnswers/Model/BERTVocabulary.swift:8
Source import NaturalLanguage The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. FindingAnswers/Model/TokenizedString.swift:8

receive(on:) describes downstream delivery scheduling, while subscribe(on:) describes upstream subscription/request/cancel scheduling. An import Combine alone establishes neither behavior nor a Store, reducer, Redux, or other application architecture.

Class and protocol design

FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift:11 — representative type boundary

@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, UISplitViewControllerDelegate {
    // ...
    var window: UIWindow?
    // ...
}
Type Responsibility Depends on or conforms to
AppDelegate Receives callback-driven events UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, UISplitViewControllerDelegate
DetailViewController View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination UIViewController, UITextFieldDelegate, UITextViewDelegate
Document Owns document data or lifecycle behavior Codable
MainViewController View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination UITableViewController
BERT Owns feature behavior and collaborator lifecycle Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks
BERTInput Represents a feature value or composable behavior Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks
BERTVocabulary Represents a feature value or composable behavior Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks
TokenizedString Represents a feature value or composable behavior Concrete collaborators/imported frameworks

No local protocol conformance is claimed as protocol-oriented design; external framework conformances are listed only as dependencies.

Access control

Symbol Access Verified effect Likely rationale
documentOffset (FindingAnswers/Model/BERTInput.swift:25) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.
BERTVocabulary (FindingAnswers/Model/BERTVocabulary.swift:36) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: hide an implementation step that is not part of the collaboration surface.
lookupDictionary (FindingAnswers/Model/BERTVocabulary.swift:37) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: keep state mutation or dependency lifetime inside the owning implementation.
loadVocabulary (FindingAnswers/Model/BERTVocabulary.swift:43) private Use is restricted to the lexical declaration and same-file extensions allowed by Swift. Inference: hide an implementation step that is not part of the collaboration surface.

Reference code

FindingAnswers/Model/BERTInput.swift:25 — representative boundary

struct BERTInput {
    // ...
    private let documentOffset: Int
    // ...
}

Swift declarations without a modifier are internal; explicit private, fileprivate, private(set), public, or open entries above are interpreted by language semantics. Objective-C/C samples instead rely on header and implementation boundaries, which are not equivalent to Swift lexical privacy.

Logic ownership and placement

Logic Owning type or file Placement rationale
View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination DetailViewController, MainViewController The source’s Controller suffix makes this role explicit.
Receives callback-driven events AppDelegate The source’s Delegate suffix makes this role explicit.
Owns document data or lifecycle behavior Document The source’s Document suffix makes this role explicit.

Design patterns

Pattern Source evidence Purpose or tradeoff
View-controller organization FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift:11 A controller is the verified coordination boundary; this is MVC-style only where a separate model is present.
Delegate or data-source callbacks FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift:11 Callback protocols invert event delivery back into the sample’s owner.

Naming conventions

  • Types: Controller: DetailViewController, MainViewController; Delegate: AppDelegate; Document: Document.
  • Protocols: no local protocol declaration in the scanned source.
  • Methods: application, splitViewController, configureView, viewDidLoad, textFieldShouldReturn, textFieldShouldClear, textViewDidEndEditing, viewWillAppear.
  • Files: FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift, FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift, FindingAnswers/View/Document.swift, FindingAnswers/View/MainViewController.swift, FindingAnswers/Model/BERT.swift, FindingAnswers/Model/BERTInput.swift.

Architecture takeaways

  • AppDelegate is the main source-visible entry or composition anchor for this sample.
  • Framework work reaches CoreML, UIKit, NaturalLanguage through a deliberately small high-level chain; the detailed API graph remains inside the cited implementation files.
  • Stored-property evidence identifies lifecycle collaboration; it does not by itself prove exclusive object ownership.
  • Access-control conclusions separate verified language visibility from the likely design rationale.
  • The source does not justify labeling the design protocol-oriented.

Source map

Source file Relevant symbols
FindingAnswers/App/AppDelegate.swift Cited implementation, AppDelegate, UIKit
FindingAnswers/Model/BERTInput.swift Cited implementation, BERTInput
FindingAnswers/Model/BERTVocabulary.swift Cited implementation, Foundation, BERTVocabulary
FindingAnswers/View/DetailViewController.swift DetailViewController, DispatchQueue.global.async, DispatchQueue.main.async, NotificationCenter
FindingAnswers/Model/BERT.swift CoreML, BERT
FindingAnswers/Model/TokenizedString.swift NaturalLanguage, TokenizedString
FindingAnswers/View/Document.swift Document
FindingAnswers/View/MainViewController.swift MainViewController
FindingAnswers/Model/BERTOutput.swift Feature implementation