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The Discover feature allows users to search for content, explore trending videos, and discover new creators.

​
Current Implementation

The DiscoverViewController provides the foundation for the search and discovery interface:
DiscoverViewController.swift
import UIKit

class DiscoverViewController: UIViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
    }
}
The Discover feature is currently a placeholder. The basic view controller structure is in place, ready for implementation of search and trending content features.

​
Planned Features

Based on the TikTok Clone architecture, the Discover page should include:

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Search Interface

  • Search bar: For querying videos, users, hashtags, and sounds
  • Search suggestions: Auto-complete and trending suggestions
  • Recent searches: History of user’s previous searches
  • Filter options: Filter by content type (videos, users, hashtags)

​
Trending Content

2
Display a grid of trending videos similar to the profile page layout:
3
let collectionViewLayout = UICollectionViewFlowLayout()
collectionViewLayout.minimumLineSpacing = 1
collectionViewLayout.minimumInteritemSpacing = 1

let itemWidth = (ScreenSize.Width - 2) / 3.0
let itemHeight = itemWidth * 1.5
collectionViewLayout.itemSize = CGSize(width: itemWidth, height: itemHeight)
4
Step 2: Hashtag Challenges
5
Show popular hashtag challenges with:
6
  • Hashtag name and description
  • Number of views/participants
  • Featured videos
  • Join button
    • 8
    Display trending audio tracks:
    9
  • Sound name and artist
  • Number of videos using the sound
  • Preview playback
  • Use sound button

    • ​
    View Controller Structure

    class DiscoverViewController: UIViewController {
    
    // MARK: - UI Components
    var searchBar: UISearchBar!
    var segmentedControl: UISegmentedControl!
    var collectionView: UICollectionView!
    
    // MARK: - Variables
    let viewModel = DiscoverViewModel()
    var searchResults: [SearchResult] = []
    var trendingContent: [TrendingItem] = []
    
    // MARK: - Lifecycle
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        setupView()
        setupBindings()
        loadTrendingContent()
    }
}

    ​
    Search Implementation

    Implement search with debouncing for better performance: 
    extension DiscoverViewController: UISearchBarDelegate {
    func searchBar(_ searchBar: UISearchBar, textDidChange searchText: String) {
        // Debounce search requests
        NSObject.cancelPreviousPerformRequests(
            withTarget: self,
            selector: #selector(performSearch),
            object: nil
        )
        
        perform(
            #selector(performSearch),
            with: searchText,
            afterDelay: 0.5
        )
    }
    
    @objc func performSearch(_ query: String) {
        viewModel.search(query: query)
    }
}

    ​
    Collection View Layout

    Use a compositional layout for different content types: 
    func createLayout() -> UICollectionViewCompositionalLayout {
    return UICollectionViewCompositionalLayout { sectionIndex, environment in
        switch sectionIndex {
        case 0: // Trending videos grid
            let itemSize = NSCollectionLayoutSize(
                widthDimension: .fractionalWidth(1/3),
                heightDimension: .fractionalHeight(1.0)
            )
            let item = NSCollectionLayoutItem(layoutSize: itemSize)
            
            let groupSize = NSCollectionLayoutSize(
                widthDimension: .fractionalWidth(1.0),
                heightDimension: .absolute(200)
            )
            let group = NSCollectionLayoutGroup.horizontal(
                layoutSize: groupSize,
                subitems: [item]
            )
            group.interItemSpacing = .fixed(1)
            
            let section = NSCollectionLayoutSection(group: group)
            section.interGroupSpacing = 1
            return section
            
        case 1: // Hashtag challenges
            // ... horizontal scrolling layout
            
        default:
            // ... other sections
        }
    }
}

    ​
    Integration with Existing Features

    ​
    Video Cache

    Reuse the VideoCacheManager for discovered content: 
    VideoCacheManager.shared.queryDataFromCache(
    key: video.url,
    fileExtension: "mp4"
) { data in
    if let cachedData = data {
        // Display cached video
    } else {
        // Download and cache
    }
}
    Navigate to video playback using the existing HomeViewController pattern: 
    func collectionView(_ collectionView: UICollectionView, didSelectItemAt indexPath: IndexPath) {
    let video = trendingVideos[indexPath.item]
    
    // Navigate to full-screen video player
    let homeVC = HomeViewController()
    homeVC.startWithVideo(video)
    navigationController?.pushViewController(homeVC, animated: true)
}

    ​
    Data Models

    ​
    Search Result Model

    enum SearchResultType {
    case video
    case user
    case hashtag
    case sound
}

struct SearchResult {
    let id: String
    let type: SearchResultType
    let title: String
    let subtitle: String?
    let thumbnailURL: String?
    let metadata: [String: Any]
}

    struct TrendingItem {
    let id: String
    let type: ContentType
    let title: String
    let viewCount: Int
    let thumbnailURL: String
    let createdAt: Date
}

enum ContentType {
    case video
    case hashtag
    case sound
    case effect
}

    ​
    Firebase Integration

    Query trending content from Firebase: 
    func loadTrendingVideos(completion: @escaping ([Video]) -> Void) {
    let db = Firestore.firestore()
    
    db.collection("videos")
        .order(by: "viewCount", descending: true)
        .limit(to: 20)
        .getDocuments { snapshot, error in
            guard let documents = snapshot?.documents else {
                completion([])
                return
            }
            
            let videos = documents.compactMap { Video(document: $0) }
            completion(videos)
        }
}

    ​
    UI Components

    ​
    Search Bar Configuration

    func setupSearchBar() {
    searchBar = UISearchBar()
    searchBar.placeholder = "Search videos, users, hashtags"
    searchBar.delegate = self
    searchBar.searchBarStyle = .minimal
    searchBar.tintColor = .systemPink
    
    navigationItem.titleView = searchBar
}

    ​
    Segmented Control

    func setupSegmentedControl() {
    let items = ["Top", "Users", "Videos", "Sounds", "Hashtags"]
    segmentedControl = UISegmentedControl(items: items)
    segmentedControl.selectedSegmentIndex = 0
    segmentedControl.addTarget(
        self,
        action: #selector(segmentChanged),
        for: .valueChanged
    )
}

@objc func segmentChanged(_ sender: UISegmentedControl) {
    // Filter and reload content based on selected segment
    filterContent(by: sender.selectedSegmentIndex)
}
    When implementing search, always sanitize user input and implement rate limiting to prevent abuse:
    func sanitizeSearchQuery(_ query: String) -> String {
    return query.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
        .lowercased()
        .filter { $0.isLetter || $0.isNumber || $0.isWhitespace }
}

    ​
    Next Steps

    1. Implement Search UI: Add search bar and results collection view
    2. Create ViewModel: Implement DiscoverViewModel with RxSwift
    3. Add Firebase Queries: Query trending content and search results
    4. Implement Caching: Cache search results and trending content
    5. Add Analytics: Track search queries and content discovery
    6. Optimize Performance: Implement pagination and lazy loading

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