---
title: Swift + JavaScriptCore
pagination_prev: demos/bigdata/index
pagination_next: solutions/input
---

import current from '/version.js';
import CodeBlock from '@theme/CodeBlock';

iOS and MacOS ship with the JavaScriptCore framework for running JS code from
Swift and Objective-C.  Hybrid function invocation is tricky, but explicit data
passing is straightforward. The demo shows a standalone Swift sample for MacOS.

The [SheetJS Standalone scripts](/docs/getting-started/installation/standalone)
can be parsed and evaluated in a JSC context.

:::warning Platform Limitations

JavaScriptCore is primarily deployed in MacOS and iOS applications.  There is
some experimental support through the Bun runtime, but apps intending to support
Windows / Linux / Android should try to embed [V8](/docs/demos/engines/v8).

:::

## Integration Details

Binary strings can be passed back and forth using `String.Encoding.isoLatin1`.

_Initialize JavaScriptCore_

JSC does not provide a `global` variable. It can be created in one line:

```swift
var context: JSContext!
do {
  context = JSContext();
  context.exceptionHandler = { _, X in if let e = X { print(e.toString()!); }; };
  // highlight-next-line
  context.evaluateScript("var global = (function(){ return this; }).call(null);");
} catch { print(error.localizedDescription); }
```

_Load SheetJS Scripts_

The main library can be loaded by reading the scripts from the file system and
evaluating in the JSC context:

```swift
let src = try String(contentsOfFile: "xlsx.full.min.js");
context.evaluateScript(src);
```

To confirm the library is loaded, `XLSX.version` can be inspected:

```swift
let XLSX: JSValue! = context.objectForKeyedSubscript("XLSX");
if let ver = XLSX.objectForKeyedSubscript("version") { print(ver.toString()); }
```

### Reading Files

`String(contentsOf:encoding:)` reads from a path and returns an encoded string:

```swift
/* read sheetjs.xls as Base64 string */
let file_path = shared_dir.appendingPathComponent("sheetjs.xls");
let data: String! = try String(contentsOf: file_path, encoding: String.Encoding.isoLatin1);
```

This string can be loaded into the JS engine and processed:

```swift
/* load data in JSC */
context.setObject(data, forKeyedSubscript: "payload" as (NSCopying & NSObjectProtocol));

/* `payload` (the "forKeyedSubscript" parameter) is a binary string */
context.evaluateScript("var wb = XLSX.read(payload, {type:'binary'});");
```

<details>
  <summary><b>Direct Read</b> (click to show)</summary>

`Uint8Array` data can be passed directly, skipping string encoding and decoding:

```swift
let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: file)
var data: Data! = try Data(contentsOf: url);
let count = data.count;
/* Note: the operations must be performed in the closure! */
let wb: JSValue! = data.withUnsafeMutableBytes { (dataPtr: UnsafeMutableRawBufferPointer) in
// highlight-next-line
  let ab: JSValue! = JSValue(jsValueRef: JSObjectMakeTypedArrayWithBytesNoCopy(context.jsGlobalContextRef, kJSTypedArrayTypeUint8Array, dataPtr.baseAddress, count, nil, nil, nil), in: context)
  /* prepare options argument */
  context.evaluateScript(String(format: "var readopts = {type:'array', dense:true}"));
  let readopts: JSValue = context.objectForKeyedSubscript("readopts");
  /* call XLSX.read */
  let XLSX: JSValue! = context.objectForKeyedSubscript("XLSX");
  let readfunc: JSValue = XLSX.objectForKeyedSubscript("read");
  return readfunc.call(withArguments: [ab, readopts]);
}
```

For broad compatibility with Swift versions, the demo uses the String method.

</details>

### Writing Files

When writing to binary string in JavaScriptCore, the result should be stored in
a variable and converted to string in Swift:

```swift
/* write to binary string */
context.evaluateScript("var out = XLSX.write(wb, {type:'binary', bookType:'xlsx'})");

/* `out` from the script is a binary string that can be stringified in Swift */
let outvalue: JSValue! = context.objectForKeyedSubscript("out");
var out: String! = outvalue.toString();
```

`String#write(to:atomically:encoding)` writes the string to the specified path:

```swift
/* write to sheetjsw.xlsx */
let out_path = shared_dir.appendingPathComponent("sheetjsw.xlsx");
try? out.write(to: out_path, atomically: false, encoding: String.Encoding.isoLatin1);
```

## Complete Example

:::note pass

This demo was tested in the following environments:

| Architecture | Swift   | Date       |
|:-------------|:--------|:-----------|
| `darwin-x64` | `5.10`  | 2024-04-04 |
| `darwin-arm` | `5.9.2` | 2024-02-21 |

:::

The demo includes a sample `SheetJSCore` Wrapper class to simplify operations.

:::caution This demo only runs on MacOS

This example requires MacOS + Swift and will not work on Windows or Linux!

:::

0) Ensure Swift is installed by running the following command in the terminal:

```bash
swiftc --version
```

If the command is not found, install Xcode.

1) Create a folder for the project:

```bash
mkdir sheetjswift
cd sheetjswift
```

2) Download the SheetJS Standalone script and the test file. Save both files in
the project directory:

<ul>
<li><a href={`https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/dist/xlsx.full.min.js`}>xlsx.full.min.js</a></li>
<li><a href="https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers">pres.numbers</a></li>
</ul>

<CodeBlock language="bash">{`\
curl -LO https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/dist/xlsx.full.min.js
curl -LO https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers`}
</CodeBlock>

3) Download the Swift scripts for the demo

- [`SheetJSCore.swift`](pathname:///swift/SheetJSCore.swift) Wrapper library
- [`main.swift`](pathname:///swift/main.swift) Command-line script

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/swift/SheetJSCore.swift
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/swift/main.swift
```


4) Build the `SheetJSwift` program:

```bash
swiftc SheetJSCore.swift main.swift -o SheetJSwift
```

5) Test the program:

```bash
./SheetJSwift pres.numbers
```

If successful, a CSV will be printed to console. The script also tries to write
to `SheetJSwift.xlsx`. That file can be verified by opening in Excel / Numbers.