Using this framework you can read property lists embedded inside of a running executable as well as those of executables stored on disk. These types of executables are often Command Line Tools. Built-in support is provided for reading both embedded info and launchd property lists. Custom property list types can also be specified.

To see a runnable sample app using this framework, check out SwiftAuthorizationSample.

Usage

Property lists are returned as Data instances. Usually you’ll want to deserialize using one of:

• ProperyListDecoder‘s decode(_:from:) to deserialize the Data into a Decodable
• PropertyListSerialization‘s propertyList(from:options:format:) to deserialize the Data into an NSDictionary

Example — Read Internal, Create Decodable

When running inside an executable, decode a launchd property list into a custom Decodable struct:

struct LaunchdPropertyList: Decodable {
    let machServices: [String : Bool]
    let label: String
    
    private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
        case machServices = "MachServices"
        case label = "Label"
    }
}

let data = try EmbeddedPropertyListReader.launchd.readInternal()
let plist = try PropertyListDecoder().decode(LaunchdPropertyList.self, from: data)

Example — Read External, Create NSDictionary

For an external executable, deserialize an info property list as an NSDictionary:

let executableURL = URL(fileUrlWithPath: <# path here #>)
let data = try EmbeddedPropertyListReader.info.readExternal(from: executableURL)
let plist = try PropertyListSerialization.propertyList(from: data,
                                                       options: .mutableContainersAndLeaves,
                                                       format: nil) as? NSDictionary

Example — Create Decodable Using BundleVersion

Decode an info property list, using BundleVersion to decode the CFBundleVersion entry:

struct InfoPropertyList: Decodable {
    let bundleVersion: BundleVersion
    let bundleIdentifier: String
    
    private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
        case bundleVersion = "CFBundleVersion"
        case bundleIdentifier = "CFBundleIdentifier"
    }
}

let data = try EmbeddedPropertyListReader.info.readInternal()
let plist = try PropertyListDecoder().decode(InfoPropertyList.self, from: data)