I have three different classes, one of them is parsing xml from a certain website and the two other will be recieving the information from the class that is running the NSXMLParserDelegate protocol methods. My question is, how do i tell the class to run the protocol methods from another class? Or run every instance method or the whole class or something like that.
Any suggestions?
Edit: I'm going to parse xml information from a website when some certain view is active. To do this, i'm going to have a class that i'm going to send a message to, and tell it to run its methods from the xml parser protocol and send the value it recieves to the view that is present.
There are two ways of seeing it.
An object (A) having a pointer to the delegate (B) (the delegate is the object that implements the methods of a protocol) can call the methods of the protocol by just invoking them.
Form the delegate's (B) point of view, you don't call the protocol's methods, you IMPLEMENT them, and some other object (A) will call them whenever it needs to inform you of some event, or to request some information. That's what protocols are designed for.
Object (A) somewhere it declares the delegate
id <someKindOfDelegate> delegate;
and whenever it want's, it calls the protocol's methods
if (self.delegate)
[self.delegate someMethod]
(B) must declare itself as an implementor of the protocol
#interface ObjectB <someKindOfDelegate>
then (B) sets itself as the delegate of an instance of (A)
ObjectA *object = [[ObjectA alloc] init];
object.delegate = self;
and finally (B) implements the protocol's methods
- (void)someMethod {
// do something... I've been called!
}
Related
Question is in title. Code example:
UIViewController <MyProtocol> *viewcontroller = ...;
[viewcontroller methodFromProtocol]; // I expect to be able to call all methods that the protocol defines
//UIViewControllerSubclass implements MyProtocol
UIViewControllerSubclass *viewControllerSubclassWithoutMyProtocol = [[UIViewControllerSubclass alloc] init];
[viewControllerSubclassWithoutMyProtocol methodThatIsNotInTheInterfaceIsDisplayedHere]; // I only expect to be able to call the methods that are defined in this class' interface even though this class implements MyProtocol
Your question isn't completely clear, but I think you are asking if you can "privately" conform to a protocol?
This can be done by declaring that you conform to the protocol inside the implementation file, rather than the interface file. With view controllers, you can do this in the class continuation that is generated for you automatically in the .m file, otherwise you'll need to add the class continuation in yourself:
#interface MyVCSubclass () <MyProtocol>
Now, any class that imports only the header file will not know your controller conforms to the protocol.
[viewControllerSubclassWithoutMyProtocol methodThatIsNotInTheInterfaceIsDisplayedHere];
I only expect to be able to call the methods that are defined in this class' interface even though this class implements MyProtocol
That's a bad expectation. Objective-C lets you call any method that an object implements. If you try to call a method that an object doesn't implement, two things should happen:
You get a compiler warning (not an error though)
When the code runs, it crashes, unless you've taken steps to handle such an event.
If a class implements a protocol but doesn't declare that it does so in a public header, then you can still call the method (since Objective C doesn't have private methods). I'd have thought you'd get a compiler warning, but if you're calling this from a file within the same Xcode project as your object (that is, you're not building a static library) then it's possible that Xcode is getting smart and deciding that since the method exists, it must be OK to call.
It wasn't clear from your question what you expected to happen and what actually happened. If you supply that information, we'll be able to give better answers.
I know that I can extend a class (for example a framework class) using categories, but is it possible to have a class for which you do not control the source code implement one of your custom protocols? I not only want to have it respond to certain messages if sent to an instance, but also, ideally, want objects of that class to return true on runtime type checks when querying for the protocol.
You can define a category that conforms to the protocol, so you'd do something like:
#interface UIWebView (MyGreatExtensions) <UITableViewDelegate>
#end
#implementation UIWebView (MyGreatExtensions)
- (CGFloat)tableView: (UITableView *)tableView heightForRowAtIndexPath: (NSIndexPath *)indexPath {
return 42.0;
}
// ...
#end
A small edge case to consider is that if someone else tries to do the same thing (e.g. a third-party framework also adds the protocol via a category) then you can't guarantee that your version will be used (and of course neither can they).
More on this approach from Mark Dalrymple.
I think this is possible. You can easily create dynamic proxies in Objective-C (this is how NSUndoManager does its magic) by overwriting NSObject's forwardInvocation: method, intercepting all non-recognized messages that an implementor of the protocol would respond to. I have never done this myself, so there might be a more elegant way to do this.
In addition, to fool the runtime checks into agreeing that your object does implement the protocol, you could override NSObject's class method conformsToProtocol: like so:
+ (BOOL)conformsToProtocol:(Protocol *)aProtocol {
if (aProtocol == #protocol(MyDynamicallyImplementedProtocol))
return YES;
return [super conformsToProtocol:aProtocol];
}
There might be more methods that you need to override, one example would be NSObject's instancesRespondToSelector: and the resolve*: methods. Examine the NSObject class reference to find out more.
I have a questions about the iPhone application. I am the green of the iPhone application. When I read the document(PDF) download from the apple developer website (online version). I found that the document always mentions different methods of the library.
There are
1) Class method
2) Instance method
3) Delegate method
I understand the use and meaning of the instance method, which is called by a instance.
let's say the delegate methods is the connection:didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge and the class method sendSynchronousRequest:retruningResponse:error:.
However, I don't understand about the different between the class method and the delegate method. Is the class method for the whole class? or whole project? What it means of the delegate? and where should I put the code after I modify the content of the delegate? How can I call the method?
Can anyone help me. Thank you very much.
It is another question about the delegate method. And I don't how to solve the problems. Please help me. Thank you.
HTTP status code = 0 (iPhone) (objective c)
Suppose you have a class Foo and an instance of that, Foo* foo.
Then, the class method is a method which is sent to the class:
[Foo classMethod];
while the instance method is a method sent to the instance:
[foo instanceMethod];
The delegate method is a method which the instance of the class calls. So, you typically implement another class Delegate with an instance Delegate* delegate, and do
[foo setDelegate:delegate];
Then, the object foo calls the delegate method of delegate at appropriate times:
[delegate delegateMethod];
This is a way to receive an event from the system API.
Apple provides extensive documentation on the fundamentals for Objective-C and Cocoa - if in doubt, this should be your first stop.
The Objective-C Programming Language - Class Objects:
[...] a class definition can include methods intended specifically for the class object—class methods as opposed to instance methods. A class object inherits class methods from the classes above it in the hierarchy, just as instances inherit instance methods.
Cocoa Fundamentals Guide - Delegates and Data Sources:
A delegate is an object that acts on behalf of, or in coordination with, another object when that object encounters an event in a program.
The delegating object is often a responder object—that is, an object inheriting from NSResponder in Application Kit or UIResponder in UIKit — that is responding to a user event. The delegate is an object that is delegated control of the user interface for that event, or is at least asked to interpret the event in an application-specific manner.
And some related background in The Objective-C Programming Language - Protocols:
Class and category interfaces declare methods that are associated with a particular class — mainly methods that the class implements. Informal and formal protocols, on the other hand, declare methods that are independent of any specific class, but which any class, and perhaps many classes, might implement.
A delegate method is a method that is defined in a classes delegate protocol. They are added to your class but your class must have the objects delegate protocol. They are usually used by the object but is something that you must define for the object. NSTableView and UITableView use delegate methods to populate their data. A class method is just one that you define in your interface.
I've created my own Delegate for a ObjC class. The class itself deals with Core Data operations. Delegate methods are used to inform other classes about changes that happened to the datastore. The class that deals with the datastore is called Datastore and it's delegate is called DatastoreDelegate. A UIViewController of mine (ContactsViewController) implements the delegate.
My DatastoreDelegate is declared as followed:
#class Datastore;
#protocol DatastoreDelegate <NSObject>;
#optional
- (void)didAddMessage:(Message *)message;
- (void)didUpdateContact:(Contact *)contact;
- (void)didAddContact:(Contact *)contact;
- (void)didUpdateContact:(Contact *)contact;
- (void)didDeleteContacts;
#end
The weird thing is, my code all worked fine with these methods except for the [didAddMessage:] method. Whenever I try to call this delegate from within the Datastore class I get an error from the ContactsViewController. The error tells me the [didAddMessage:] selector is missing in the ContactsViewController instance (Unrecognized selector sent to instance). How can the selector be missing if it's optional?
I should note that my Datastore class is a Singleton. I'm not sure if this is somehow related to this issue I'm having.
"Optional" means the caller is responsible for checking that a target responds to a given selector. E.g.:
if ([_myDelegate respondsToSelector:#selector(didAddMessage:)])
{
[_myDelegate didAddMessage:theMessage];
}
Did you implement didAddMessage: in your ContactsViewController? It's optional so you aren't forced to implement it, but if you send the didAddMessage: message to ContactsViewController but haven't actually implemented it in ContactsViewController, you'll still get a compiler warning. In other words, #optional just means you don't have to implement it, but the compiler may still give a warning if you haven't implemented it but try to use it.
What you might want to do in Datastore is this:
if ([delegate respondsToSelector:#selector(didAddMessage:)]) {
[delegate didAddMessage:theMessage];
}
rather than just:
[delegate didAddMessage:theMessage];
(You'll still get a compiler warning in the first example, but it's safe to ignore since you're checking at runtime to see if the appropriate method is implemented in the delegate.)
Can I intercept a method call in Objective-C? How?
Edit:
Mark Powell's answer gave me a partial solution, the -forwardInvocation method.
But the documentation states that -forwardInvocation is only called when an object is sent a message for which it has no corresponding method. I'd like a method to be called under all circumstances, even if the receiver does have that selector.
You do it by swizzling the method call. Assuming you want to grab all releases to NSTableView:
static IMP gOriginalRelease = nil;
static void newNSTableViewRelease(id self, SEL releaseSelector, ...) {
NSLog(#"Release called on an NSTableView");
gOriginalRelease(self, releaseSelector);
}
//Then somewhere do this:
gOriginalRelease = class_replaceMethod([NSTableView class], #selector(release), newNSTableViewRelease, "v#:");
You can get more details in the Objective C runtime documentation.
Intercepting method calls in Objective-C (asuming it is an Objective-C, not a C call) is done with a technique called method swizzling.
You can find an introduction on how to implement that here. For an example how method swizzling is implemented in a real project check out OCMock (an Isolation Framework for Objective-C).
Sending a message in Objective-C is translated into a call of the function objc_msgSend(receiver, selector, arguments) or one of its variants objc_msgSendSuper, objc_msgSend_stret, objc_msgSendSuper_stret.
If it was possible to change the implementation of these functions, we could intercept any message. Unfortunately, objc_msgSend is part of the Objective-C runtime and cannot be overridden.
By googling I found a paper on Google Books: A Reflective Architecture for Process Control Applications by Charlotte Pii Lunau. The paper introduces a hack by redirecting an object's isa class pointer to an instance of a custom MetaObject class. Messages that were intended for the modified object are thus sent to the MetaObject instance. Since the MetaObject class has no methods of its own, it can then respond to the forward invocation by forwarding the message to the modified object.
The paper does not include the interesting bits of the source code and I have no idea if such an approach would have side effects in Cocoa. But it might be interesting to try.
If you want to log message sends from your application code, the -forwardingTargetForSelector: tip is part of the solution.
Wrap your object:
#interface Interceptor : NSObject
#property (nonatomic, retain) id interceptedTarget;
#end
#implementation Interceptor
#synthesize interceptedTarget=_interceptedTarget;
- (void)dealloc {
[_interceptedTarget release];
[super dealloc];
}
- (id)forwardingTargetForSelector:(SEL)aSelector {
NSLog(#"Intercepting %#", NSStringFromSelector(aSelector));
return self.interceptedTarget;
}
#end
Now do something like this:
Interceptor *i = [[[Interceptor alloc] init] autorelease];
NSFetchedResultsController *controller = [self setupFetchedResultsController];
i.interceptedTarget = controller;
controller = (NSFetchedResultsController *)i;
and you will have a log of message sends. Note, sends sent from within the intercepted object won't be intercepted, as they will be sent using the original object 'self' pointer.
If you only want to log messages called from the outside (usually called from delegates; to see which kind of messages, when, etc.), you can override respondsToSelector like this:
- (BOOL)respondsToSelector:(SEL)aSelector {
NSLog(#"respondsToSelector called for '%#'", NSStringFromSelector(aSelector));
// look up, if a method is implemented
if([[self class] instancesRespondToSelector:aSelector]) return YES;
return NO;
}
Create a subclass of NSProxy and implement -forwardInvocation: and -methodSignatureForSelector: (or -forwardingTargetForSelector:, if you're simply directing it on to a second object instead of fiddling with the method yourself).
NSProxy is a class designed for implementing -forwardInvocation: on. It has a few methods, but mostly you don't want them to be caught. For example, catching the reference counting methods would prevent the proxy from being deallocated except under garbage collection. But if there are specific methods on NSProxy that you absolutely need to forward, you can override that method specifically and call -forwardInvocation: manually. Do note that simply because a method is listed under the NSProxy documentation does not mean that NSProxy implements it, merely that it is expected that all proxied objects have it.
If this won't work for you, provide additional details about your situation.
Perhaps you want NSObject's -forwardInvocation method. This allows you to capture a message, retarget it and then resend it.
You can swizzle the method call with one of your own, which does whatever you want to do on "interception" and calls through to the original implementation. Swizzling is done with class_replaceMethod().
A method call, no. A message send, yes, but you're going to have to be a lot more descriptive if you want a good answer as to how.
To do something when a method is called, you could try an events based approach. So when the method is called, it broadcasts an event, which is picked up by any listeners. I'm not great with objective C, but I just figured out something similar using NSNotificationCenter in Cocoa.
But if by "intercept" you mean "stop", then maybe you need more logic to decide wether the method should be called at all.