IBOutlet Private

ID

swift.iboutlet_private

Severity

info

Remediation Complexity

medium

Remediation Risk

low

Remediation Effort

medium

Resource

Code Smell

Language

Swift

Tags

code-smell, encapsulation

Description

Reports an @IBOutlet property that isn’t declared private or fileprivate. Outlets are wiring between the storyboard and the view controller — external callers should not touch them.

@IBOutlet var label: UILabel!              // FLAW
@IBOutlet private var label: UILabel!      // OK
@IBOutlet fileprivate var label: UILabel!  // OK

Rationale

A public outlet leaks internal layout structure into the view controller’s public API and tempts callers to mutate it directly, defeating the controller’s encapsulation.

Remediation

@IBOutlet private var label: UILabel!
@IBOutlet private weak var image: UIImageView?

References