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Analytics-Swift Plugin Architecture

Plugin Architecture

Segment's plugin architecture enables you to modify and augment how the analytics client works. From modifying event payloads to changing analytics functionality, plugins help to speed up the process of getting things done.

Plugins are run through a timeline, which executes in order of insertion based on their types. Segment has these 5 types:

Type	Details
`before`	Executes before event processing begins.
`enrichment`	Executes as the first level of event processing.
`destination`	Executes as events begin to pass off to destinations.
`after`	Executes after all event processing completes. You can use this to perform cleanup operations.
`utility`	Executes only with manual calls such as Logging.

Fundamentals

There are 3 basic types of plugins that you can use as a foundation for modifying functionality. They are: Plugin, EventPlugin, and DestinationPlugin.

Plugin

Plugin acts on any event payload going through the timeline.

For example, if you want to add something to the context object of any event payload as an enrichment:

1class SomePlugin: Plugin {
2        let type: PluginType = .enrichment
3        let name: String
4        let analytics: Analytics
5
6        init(name: String) {
7                self.name = name
8        }
9
10        override func execute(event: BaseEvent): BaseEvent? {
11                var workingEvent = event
12                if var context = workingEvent?.context?.dictionaryValue {
13                        context[keyPath: "foo.bar"] = 12
14                        workingEvent?.context = try? JSON(context)
15                }
16                return workingEvent
17        }
18}

EventPlugin

EventPlugin is a plugin interface that acts on specific event types. You can choose the event types by only overriding the event functions you want.

For example, if you only want to act on Track and Identify events:

1class SomePlugin: EventPlugin {
2        let type: PluginType = .enrichment
3        let name: String
4        let analytics: Analytics
5
6        init(name: String) {
7                self.name = name
8        }
9
10        func identify(event: IdentifyEvent) -> IdentifyEvent? {
11                // code to modify identify event
12                return event
13        }
14
15        func track(event: TrackEvent) -> TrackEvent? {
16                // code to modify track event
17                return event
18        }
19}

DestinationPlugin

The DestinationPlugin interface is commonly used for device-mode destinations. This plugin contains an internal timeline that follows the same process as the analytics timeline, enabling you to modify and augment how events reach a particular destination.

For example, if you want to implement a device-mode destination plugin for AppsFlyer, you can use this:

1internal struct AppsFlyerSettings: Codable {
2    let appsFlyerDevKey: String
3    let appleAppID: String
4    let trackAttributionData: Bool?
5}
6
7@objc
8class AppsFlyerDestination: UIResponder, DestinationPlugin, UserActivities, RemoteNotifications {
9
10    let timeline: Timeline = Timeline()
11    let type: PluginType = .destination
12    let name: String
13    var analytics: Analytics?
14
15    internal var settings: AppsFlyerSettings? = nil
16
17     required init(name: String) {
18        self.name = name
19        analytics?.track(name: "AppsFlyer Loaded")
20    }
21
22    public func update(settings: Settings) {
23
24        guard let settings: AppsFlyerSettings = settings.integrationSettings(name: "AppsFlyer") else {return}
25        self.settings = settings
26
27
28        AppsFlyerLib.shared().appsFlyerDevKey = settings.appsFlyerDevKey
29        AppsFlyerLib.shared().appleAppID = settings.appleAppID
30        AppsFlyerLib.shared().isDebug = true
31        AppsFlyerLib.shared().deepLinkDelegate = self
32
33        // additional update logic
34  }
35
36// ...
37
38analytics.add(plugin: AppsFlyerPlugin(name: "AppsFlyer"))
39analytics.track("AppsFlyer Event")

Advanced concepts

update(settings:) Use this function to react to any settings updates. This implicitly calls when settings update.
OS Lifecycle hooks Plugins can also hook into lifecycle events by conforming to the platform appropriate protocol. These functions call implicitly as the lifecycle events process, like: iOSLifecycleEvents , macOSLifecycleEvents, watchOSLifecycleEvents, and LinuxLifecycleEvents.

Adding a plugin

Adding plugins enable you to modify your analytics implementation to best fit your needs. You can add a plugin using this line of code:

analytics.add(plugin: yourIntegration)

Though you can add plugins anywhere in your code, it's best to implement your plugin when you configure the client.