**Course Title:** Swift Programming: From Basics to Advanced Development **Section Title:** Networking and Data Persistence **Topic:** Create an application that fetches data from an API and displays it in the UI.(Lab topic) **Introduction** In this lab topic, we'll explore how to create a Swift application that fetches data from an API and displays it in the user interface. We'll cover the essential steps, from setting up the API request to parsing the response and displaying the data in a SwiftUI view. **Step 1: Choose an API** For this lab, we'll use the JSONPlaceholder API, a free online REST service that provides a simple API for testing and prototyping. You can choose any other API that provides a JSON response. * API Endpoint: `https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos` * API Documentation: [JSONPlaceholder API Documentation](https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/guide) **Step 2: Set up the API Request** To make an API request in Swift, we'll use the `URLSession` class. First, create a new Swift file called `APIService.swift` and add the following code: ```swift import Foundation class APIService { let url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos" func fetchTodos(completion: @escaping ([Todo]) -> Void) { guard let url = URL(string: url) else { return } URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { data, response, error in if let error = error { print("Error fetching todos: \(error.localizedDescription)") return } if let data = data { do { let todos = try JSONDecoder().decode([Todo].self, from: data) completion(todos) } catch { print("Error parsing todos: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } }.resume() } } struct Todo: Codable { let id: Int let title: String let completed: Bool } ``` This code defines a `APIService` class that has a single method `fetchTodos`, which makes a GET request to the API endpoint and parses the response into an array of `Todo` structs. **Step 3: Create a SwiftUI View** Create a new SwiftUI file called `TodosView.swift` and add the following code: ```swift import SwiftUI struct TodosView: View { @State private var todos: [Todo] = [] @State private var errorMessage: String = "" var body: some View { List(todos) { todo in VStack(alignment: .leading) { Text(todo.title) Text("Completed: \(todo.completed ? "Yes" : "No")") } } .onAppear { APIService().fetchTodos { todos in self.todos = todos } } } } ``` This code defines a `TodosView` struct that displays a list of `Todo` items. The `onAppear` modifier is used to call the `fetchTodos` method when the view appears. **Step 4: Display the View** Create a new SwiftUI scene called `ContentView.swift` and add the following code: ```swift import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { TodosView() } } ``` This code defines a `ContentView` struct that simply displays the `TodosView`. **Run the App** Run the app on a simulator or physical device. You should see a list of to-do items fetched from the API. **Conclusion** In this lab topic, we've learned how to create a Swift application that fetches data from an API and displays it in the user interface. We've covered the essential steps, from setting up the API request to parsing the response and displaying the data in a SwiftUI view. If you have any questions or need help with this lab topic, please leave a comment below. Let's review what we've covered before moving on to the next topic, "Importance of testing in Swift development."