metatypes in Swift

Instance	Type
”Hello World”	String
String.self or type(of:"Hello")	String.Type

• A metatype is simply a type with .Type appended to it, e.g. String.Type
• A metatype instance can be specified by appending .self to a type, e.g. String.self
• To get a metatype instance at runtime, simply pass an instance to type(of:)
• Metatypes allow access to properties, methods, and initializers belonging to the type.

Deep Dives

• What’s .self, .Type and .Protocol? Understanding Swift Metatypes

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Sources

• Introduction to Swift Metatypes| by Eman Harout | Medium