Data delivery with drag and drop
At a glance
| Item | Summary |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Share data between iPad apps during a drag and drop operation using an item provider. |
| App architecture | A Swift sample with the source-visible chain AppDelegate → ContactDetailsViewController → UIKit APIs. |
| Main patterns | View-controller organization, Delegate or data-source callbacks |
| Project style | 4 scanned source file(s) across Swift, organized around ranked entry, type, and file boundaries. |
| Execution model | Source-visible boundaries: DispatchQueue.main.async; none alone proves a background thread. |
| State/event model | No structured observation or publisher-scheduling marker indexed. |
| Key frameworks/packages | UIKit, Contacts, MobileCoreServices; these are source dependencies, not architecture labels. |
Project structure
Source bundle/
├── ClientList/
│ ├── AppDelegate.swift
│ ├── ContactsTableViewController.swift
│ ├── ContactDetailsViewController.swift
│ ├── ContactCard.swift
│ ├── Base.lproj/
│ │ ├── LaunchScreen.storyboard
│ │ └── Main.storyboard
│ └── Info.plist
├── ClientList.xcodeproj/
│ ├── .xcodesamplecode.plist
│ └── project.pbxproj
└── Configuration/
└── SampleCode.xcconfig
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 6 project/configuration file(s) and 6 source declaration(s).
Overall architecture
flowchart LR
N1["AppDelegate"]
N2["ContactDetailsViewController"]
N3["UIKit APIs"]
N1 --> N2
N2 --> N3
Reference code
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:10 — architecture anchor
@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
/*
The app delegate must implement the window property from UIApplicationDelegate
to use the main storyboard file.
*/
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 UIKit.
Ownership and state
classDiagram
AppDelegate o-- UIWindow : window
ClientsDataSource *-- Array : clients
ContactsTableViewController *-- ClientsDataSource : dataSource
ContactDetailsViewController o-- ContactCard : contactCard
Ownership evidence
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:16 — stored dependency or nearest verified ownership anchor
@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
// ...
var window: UIWindow?
}| Owner | Object or state | Relationship | Mutation authority |
|---|---|---|---|
AppDelegate |
UIWindow (window) |
stores or receives | App/module collaborators |
ClientsDataSource |
Array (clients) |
owns value state | App/module collaborators |
ContactsTableViewController |
ClientsDataSource (dataSource) |
creates and retains | Initialized by the owner; the binding is immutable |
ContactDetailsViewController |
ContactCard (contactCard) |
stores or receives | App/module collaborators |
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.main.async |
The source addresses the main dispatch queue. | ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift:135 |
@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
ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift:135 — representative execution boundary
DispatchQueue.main.async {
// ...
insertionIndexPath: destinationIndexPath!,
reuseIdentifier: ClientsDataSource.tableCellIdentifier,
// ...
}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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source import | UIKit |
The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. | ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:8 |
| Source import | Contacts |
The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. | ClientList/ContactCard.swift:10 |
| Source import | MobileCoreServices |
The cited file imports this module; runtime use and architectural role are not inferred. | ClientList/ContactCard.swift:11 |
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
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:11 — representative type boundary
@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
// ...
var window: UIWindow?
}| Type | Responsibility | Depends on or conforms to |
|---|---|---|
AppDelegate |
Receives callback-driven events | UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate |
ClientsDataSource |
Supplies data through a callback contract | NSObject, UITableViewDataSource |
ContactsTableViewController |
View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination | UITableViewController |
ContactDetailsViewController |
View lifecycle, callbacks, and feature coordination | UIViewController |
ContactCardError |
Represents feature failure conditions | Error |
ContactCard |
Owns feature behavior and collaborator lifecycle | NSObject, NSItemProviderReading, NSItemProviderWriting |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
AppDelegate (ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:11) |
implicit internal |
No explicit modifier means the Swift declaration is internal to the module. | Inference: app-target collaboration needs no exported library surface. |
ClientsDataSource (ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift:12) |
implicit internal |
No explicit modifier means the Swift declaration is internal to the module. | Inference: app-target collaboration needs no exported library surface. |
ContactsTableViewController (ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift:55) |
implicit internal |
No explicit modifier means the Swift declaration is internal to the module. | Inference: app-target collaboration needs no exported library surface. |
Reference code
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:11 — representative boundary
@UIApplicationMain
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
// ...
var window: UIWindow?
}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 | ContactDetailsViewController, ContactsTableViewController |
The source’s Controller suffix makes this role explicit. |
| Supplies data through a callback contract | ClientsDataSource |
The source’s DataSource suffix makes this role explicit. |
| Receives callback-driven events | AppDelegate |
The source’s Delegate suffix makes this role explicit. |
Design patterns
| Pattern | Source evidence | Purpose or tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| View-controller organization | ClientList/ContactDetailsViewController.swift:10 |
A controller is the verified coordination boundary; this is MVC-style only where a separate model is present. |
| Delegate or data-source callbacks | ClientList/AppDelegate.swift:11 |
Callback protocols invert event delivery back into the sample’s owner. |
Naming conventions
- Types: Controller: ContactDetailsViewController, ContactsTableViewController; DataSource: ClientsDataSource; Delegate: AppDelegate.
- Protocols: no local protocol declaration in the scanned source.
- Methods:
client,moveClient,tableView,viewDidLoad,prepare,displayError,object,loadData. - Files:
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift,ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift,ClientList/ContactDetailsViewController.swift,ClientList/ContactCard.swift.
Architecture takeaways
AppDelegateis the main source-visible entry or composition anchor for this sample.- Framework work reaches UIKit, Contacts, MobileCoreServices 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 |
|---|---|
ClientList/AppDelegate.swift |
Cited implementation, AppDelegate, UIKit |
ClientList/ContactsTableViewController.swift |
ClientsDataSource, ContactsTableViewController, DispatchQueue.main.async |
ClientList/ContactDetailsViewController.swift |
ContactDetailsViewController |
ClientList/ContactCard.swift |
Contacts, MobileCoreServices, ContactCardError, ContactCard |