Fun Facts app. Why use structs?

Question

Hi all, I'm new to OOP and really trying to understand it correctly so appreciate any input on this. I kind of get the statements made in the videos, but am not seeing the benefits in the examples and exercises. For example in the fun facts app we use a Struct:
struct FactModel {
    let facts = [
        "Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.",
        "Ostriches can run faster than horses.",
        "Olympic gold medals are actually made mostly of silver."
]
func getRandomFact() ->String {
          let randomNumber =
            GKRandomSource.sharedRandom().nextIntWithUpperBound(facts.count)
                return facts[randomNumber]
    }
which contains an array of facts along with a method. So why not just use an array and function (which would mean you wouldn't have to go through the struct to get to the information in the array)? Or is the concept basically just to keep data encapsulated together with its related functions (methods)?

Fernando Boza · Answer

Hi Carson, the reason we create a Struct is to store both the array and method(function) inside a single object, the Struct.
That way we can call the method(get random) and return it's values(the array of facts).
swift
funFactLabel.text = factModel.getRandomFact()

It makes the process a bit easier to read, and understand as well.

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Carson Carbery

Carson Carbery

Fun Facts app. Why use structs?

1 Answer

Fernando Boza

Fernando Boza