Persistence of array of custom objects - json

Question

I'm developing an application that will search through a database of recipes in json format (see eg. of one entry below) and return valid recipes that a user can make based on what ingredients they have at their disposal. I represent a recipe in the following struct:
struct Recipe: Codable, Identifiable, Hashable {
// required because Recipe conforms to Identifiable
var id = UUID()
var isFavorite: Bool = false
var isTracked: Bool = false
var isComplete: Bool = false
// properties
var title: String
// detailed ingredients (eg. 1/2 tbs of sugar)
var ingredients: [String]
var directions: [String]
var link: String
var source: String
// raw ingredients (eg. sugar)
var NER: [String]
// all properties that are in the json file everything else will be ignored i.e decoder will work even though id is not a property in the json file
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case title, ingredients, directions, link, source, NER } }
Where I use the variables isTracked, isComplete and isFavorite in order to display certain recipes in certain lists (eg. view to display the favorite recipes of a user). I'm following the MVVM design pattern and my view model RecipeData is as follows:
class RecipeData: ObservableObject {
#Published var recipes = [Recipe]()
#Published var usersRecipes = [Recipe]()
.
.
.
.
private var documentDirectory: URL {
try! FileManager.default.url(for: .documentDirectory, in: .userDomainMask, appropriateFor: nil, create: true)
}
// CODE TO SAVE AND LOAD USERS TRACKED RECIPES
private var usersRecipesFile: URL {
documentDirectory
.appendingPathComponent("usersRecipes")
.appendingPathExtension(for: .json)
}
func saveUsersRecipes() throws {
let data = try JSONEncoder().encode(usersRecipes)
try data.write(to: usersRecipesFile)
}
func loadUsersRecipes() throws {
guard FileManager.default.isReadableFile(atPath: usersRecipesFile.path) else { return }
let data = try Data(contentsOf: usersRecipesFile)
usersRecipes = try JSONDecoder().decode([Recipe].self, from: data)
}
The first view that gets displayed when the app is loaded is MainTabView which is:
struct MainTabView: View {
// view model that allows us to interact between views and the models
#StateObject var recipeData: RecipeData = RecipeData()
var body: some View {
// View that will allow the user to choose between a HomePageView and a FavoritesViews
TabView {
HomeScreenView()
.tabItem { Label("Home", systemImage: "house") }
// FAVORITES VIEW CONTENT
NavigationView {
FavoritesView()
.navigationTitle("Favorites")
}
.tabItem { Label("Favorites", systemImage: "heart.fill") }
}
.environmentObject(recipeData)
// when the main tab view is shown load the users recipes
.onAppear {
// try! means if an error occurs crash the entire app
try! recipeData.loadUsersRecipes()
}
// when the users recipes changes save the recipes
.onChange(of: recipeData.usersRecipes) { _ in
try! recipeData.saveUsersRecipes()
}
}
}
So when the view is displayed the users recipes will be loaded and when the usersRecipes array is changed all changes will be saved. The problem I have is that when I append an element to the usersRecipes array through the recipeData object like this for eg.
Button(action: {
recipeData.usersRecipes.append(Recipe(isFavorite: false, isTracked: true, isComplete: false, title: recipe.title, ingredients: recipe.ingredients, directions: recipe.directions, link: recipe.link, source: recipe.source, NER: recipe.NER))
}) {
Text("Track Recipe")
.font(.system(.body))
}
(Where recipe is one of the valid recipes and the user wants to track is i.e isTracked = true) I get the recipe displayed in the list that only displays tracked recipes (as expected), however when I close the app and reopen, the tracked recipes list is empty. When I try to debug I see that the recipe itself is still persistent however its isTracked variable (along with isComplete and isFavorite) are all set to false which is how I defined them in the struct, rather than the value I gave them when I appended the object to the usersRecipes array. The weird thing is that all other fields like the title, link, ingredients, etc. are all still persistent which leads me to think that the way I defined the 3 booleans in the struct is whats causing the issue. I cannot not initialize them to a boolean since I'll get an error saying that Recipe does not conform to Decodable and I cannot place them in the CodingKeys enum since the json file doesn't include the fields so I get a Decoding error. I also tried to use optional booleans and not initializing them to anything but I get a similar behavior where they get reset to nil once the app is closed and opened.
JSON ENTRY EG.
{
"": 0,
"title": "No-Bake Nut Cookies",
"ingredients": [
"1 c. firmly packed brown sugar",
"1/2 c. evaporated milk",
"1/2 tsp. vanilla",
"1/2 c. broken nuts (pecans)",
"2 Tbsp. butter or margarine",
"3 1/2 c. bite size shredded rice biscuits"
],
"directions": [
"In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, mix brown sugar, nuts, evaporated milk and butter or margarine.",
"Stir over medium heat until mixture bubbles all over top.",
"Boil and stir 5 minutes more. Take off heat.",
"Stir in vanilla and cereal; mix well.",
"Using 2 teaspoons, drop and shape into 30 clusters on wax paper.",
"Let stand until firm, about 30 minutes."
],
"link": "www.cookbooks.com/Recipe-Details.aspx?id=44874",
"source": "Gathered",
"NER": [
"brown sugar",
"milk",
"vanilla",
"nuts",
"butter",
"bite size shredded rice biscuits"
] }
Thank you so much in advance I've really been struggling on this for a while and would appreciate any help. Sorry if the question is too long I couldn't think of another way to explain it without showing the different files.