init(describing:)

Use this initializer to convert an instance of any type to its preferred representation as a String instance. The initializer creates the string representation of instance in one of the following ways, depending on its protocol conformance:

• If instance conforms to the TextOutputStreamable protocol, the result is obtained by calling instance.write(to: s) on an empty string s.

• If instance conforms to the CustomStringConvertible protocol, the result is instance.description.

• If instance conforms to the CustomDebugStringConvertible protocol, the result is instance.debugDescription.

• An unspecified result is supplied automatically by the Swift standard library.

For example, this custom Point struct uses the default representation supplied by the standard library.

struct Point {
    let x: Int, y: Int
}

let p = Point(x: 21, y: 30)
print(String(describing: p))
// Prints "Point(x: 21, y: 30)"

After adding CustomStringConvertible conformance by implementing the description property, Point provides its own custom representation.

extension Point: CustomStringConvertible {
    var description: String {
        return "(\(x), \(y))"
    }
}

print(String(describing: p))
// Prints "(21, 30)"