I want to store a 2D array of NSObjects using C pointer arrays. I read another StackOverflow question which said that it's possible to do this as follows:
id myArray [10][10];
However I want to allocate the memory dynamically because I don't know how big the table will be before hand.
I understand how to create a 2D pointer array for standard C variable types but I don't know how to do it for the id type. If I were using an int, I'd do something like this:
int ** myArray = (int**) calloc (10, sizeof(int*));
for(int i = 0; i<10; i++) {
myArray[i] = (int *) calloc(10, sizeof(int));
}
Any ideas how to do this with the id data type?
If you're using ARC (which you probably should be) creating a C array of id type objects is going to be more trouble than it's worth. You need to both calloc and free the array in the usual (non id way) and you also need to annotate the id objects like id __strong myArray = … The other thing that's really counterintuitive but is required to make sure the elements in myArray are deallocated correctly is to explicitly set each element of myArray to nil before you free myArray.
So anyway, it's a lot of trouble and there are several gotchas to work around. You should just use an NSMutableArray of NSMutableArrays. With the latest versions of llvm you can still access the arrays using "C style" syntax, like myArray[x][y] = someObject;.
Related
I was looking around and couldn't find anything, and I'm starting to think it's not possible with objective-c.
I have a NSMutableArray *myMutableArray and the size varies depending on what csv file is loaded. Since I do not set a size of myMutableArray I can't do:
if (c == 5){
myMutableArray[q] = [[NSNumber numberWithFloat:myOtherArray] stringValue];
q = q + 1;
c = 0;
}
Else {
c = c + 1;
}
Since myMutableArray is technically of size nil I guess I can't add objects to it.
In cases, q can be between 1500 and 2500.
My question is, how do I make `myMutableArray' change size on every loop.
If this isn't possible, I guess I will have to make myMutableArray very large - but I need the values in myMutableArray for a graph. If I do myMutableArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:5000]; and don't use the 5000 memory locations, will these locations be nil, or 0? (sorry if the technical words are wrong, by memory locations I mean the memory given to myMutableArray)
Thank you, if there is anything else I can add to this please feel free to let me know.
EDIT: What I'm trying to achieve is adding data to the array, and with that data create a graph
You can't have a sporadically populated array. Creating an array with capacity 5000 is just a hint as to how much data you might be going to store into the array. Consider using an array of dictionaries where the dictionary contains the q value (presumably one coordinate) and the associated value. You can then sort the array based on the q values if you need to (for plotting). Then you can just add the dictionaries to the array as usual (addObject:).
The NSMutableArray class declares the programmatic interface to objects that manage a modifiable array of objects. This class adds insertion and deletion operations to the basic array-handling behavior inherited from NSArray.
If you
arrayWithCapacity:
Creates and returns an NSMutableArray object with enough allocated memory to initially hold a given number of objects.
Mutable arrays expand as needed. When declaring them, we can init them like this:
+ (instancetype)arrayWithCapacity:(NSUInteger)numItems
Here numItems simply establishes the object’s initial capacity.
Later to add more data, i.e. to expand mutable array, use this
addObject:
What it does is, it inserts a given object at the end of the mutable array.
- (void)addObject:(id)anObject
It's important to note that:
The object to add to the end of the array's content. This value must not be nil. It raises an NSInvalidArgumentException if anObject is nil.
I am coming from Java, and I'm very new to Objective C. Anyway, I have this static method which is designed to make a copy of an array (if there's a better way to accomplish this, please let me know, but I'm asking this question more-so to find out why I got this error and how to avoid such an error in the future.) I ran into some problems with it, but just when I thought I had them all sorted out, I got this error that looked like
Here is the method in the interface:
+ (float[]) copyArray: (float[]) array withLength: (int) length;
And here is the method in the implementation:
+ (float[]) copyArray: (float[]) array withLength: (int) length
{
float copiedArray[length];
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++)
{
copiedArray[i] = array[i];
}
return copiedArray;
}
If all you really want is to copy the first n elements from one C array into another already existing array, probably the best way is to simply use memcpy:
memcpy(targetArray, sourceArray, sizeof(sourceArray[0]) * numElements);
The sizeof(sourceArray[0]) calculates the byte-size of the type in your array (in your case, it's equivalent to sizeof(float).
method/function cannot return C array. you should do this
+ (void) copyArrayFrom:(float *)array to:(float *)toArray withLength: (unsigned) length
{
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++)
{
toArray [i] = array[i];
}
}
C arrays are way more tricky than Java arrays. One of the biggest issues is that in a lot of instances, you don't know how large a C array is unless you have saved this information in a different variable, for example. The C FAQ "Arrays and Pointers" lists a lot of traps and they apply to Objective-C as well. You might want to see question 6.5 in particular.
As #lwxted already suggested, try to avoid C arrays unless you really know what you're doing and you have determined that you need them. C arrays are faster than NSArray but unless you have determined that your array really is a performance bottleneck by measuring with a profiler you will most likely not notice any difference.
And I strongly recommend avoiding a C array of Objective-C objects (id objects[]) unless you really, really know very well what you are doing (memory management issues).
In Objective-C, unless for particular needs, a better way to handle this usually is to use the NSArray as opposed to C arrays.
[NSArray arrayWithArray: array];
will copy an array.
Besides, in this case, if you insist on using C arrays, the use of implicitly typed length float[] is advised against. A better way is to use pointers to manipulate arrays.
Also, the stack-allocated array would be invalid after leaving the function, since it's local only in the scope of the copyArray function. You should dynamically allocate memory, if you wish the array to be valid outside the scope.
While I agree with all the points #DarkDust makes, if you're working with a C API such as OpenGL, there may be situations where using NSArray and NSNumber vs. C arrays of type float will have performance impacts. As always, try to use the simpler approach first, and carefully measure performance before deciding to optimize.
In any case, to answer the original question, here's how to correctly return a copy of a C array:
+ (float *)copyOfCArray:(float *)array withLength:(int)length
{
float *copyOfArray = malloc(length * sizeof(float));
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
copyOfArray[i] = array[i];
}
return copyOfArray;
}
Also, there's arguably no need to make the above a method at all. Instead, consider writing it as a C function:
float *CopyArray(float *array, int length)
{
// Implementation would be the same...
}
I'm a newbie in obj c. So I have a simple question.
I have a matrix of NSInteger values. It is called "curBoard". I want to update value at (x,y) coordinates with value "curStep". I have an arror "operand of type void where arithmetic..."
What am I doing wrong ?
[curBoard replaceObjectAtIndex:x withObject:(NSMutableArray *)[[curBoard objectAtIndex:x] replaceObjectAtIndex:y withObject:(NSInteger *)[NSNumber numberWithInt:curStep]]];
Update:
NSMutableArray *board;
board = [NSMutableArray new];
for(NSInteger i = 0; i<boardSize; i++) {
NSMutableArray *row = [NSMutableArray new];
for(NSInteger j = 0; j < boardSize; j++)
[row addObject:(NSInteger *)[NSNumber numberWithInt:0]];
[board addObject:row];
}
This withObject:(NSInteger *)[NSNumber numberWithInt:curStep]] part is what causing an issue. If you are storing as NSNumber objects, you should just use:
... withObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:curStep]]
Edit:
From the code posted above, you should add it as:
[row addObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:0]];
NSInteger is not of pointer type and you should use NSNumber itself to add to array.
Objective-C is basically just a bunch of object syntax strapped to C. The overall effect is something like strapping a jetpack to a horse: sometimes the two parts don't really work together very well. In this case, you're trying to go faster by telling the horse to giddy up, when you should really be opening up the throttle.
NSMutableArray is part of the jetpack—it's an Objective-C object and is only equipped to handle arrays of Objective-C objects. But NSInteger is part of the horse—it's a primitive C integer type, not a real object.*
I know NSInteger is capitalized like a class and has an NS prefix like a class, but it's really a creature of C. You can confirm this yourself—type Cmd-O in Xcode and type "NSInteger" into the Open Quickly dialog that pops up, and you'll be able to jump to its definition. In my current Mac project, that's typedef long NSInteger;; long is one of the primitive C types.
NSNumber exists to bridge the two. It's an object specifically designed to hold the C numeric types inside it. Since NSNumber is an object, NSMutableArray and other Objective-C things can deal with it.
But you can't just cast between NSNumber and NSInteger. NSNumber holds an NSInteger inside it, but that doesn't mean it's actually an NSInteger itself. If you put a sandwich in a plastic bag, you can't eat the bag.
Instead, you have to use NSNumber's +numberWithInteger: method to construct an NSNumber, and -integerValue to get the integer back out of it. (+numberWithInt: and -intValue will usually work, but they may behave differently with very large values, depending on whether your app is running on a 32-bit or 64-bit processor.) Actually, nowadays you can say [NSNumber numberWithInteger:foo] as #(foo) instead, which is a lot shorter.**
So when you add a number, you should be saying:
[row addObject:#(0)];
And when you later want that number back, you'll want to say something like:
n = [[row objectAtIndex:y] integerValue];
The -replaceObjectAtIndex:withObject: error is a different story. -replaceObjectAtIndex:withObject: doesn't return anything at all, so you can't use it as an argument. Luckily, you don't need to in this case. -replaceObjectAtIndex:withObject: doesn't create a new array; it alters the array that's already inside [curBoard objectAtIndex:x], so you don't need to do anything to curBoard. Instead, you can just write:
[[curBoard objectAtIndex:x] replaceObjectAtIndex:y withObject:#(curStep)];
* You actually used NSInteger *, which is slightly different. The * means "pointer to", so NSInteger * is a pointer to a primitive integer. This is sort of like NSNumber *, a pointer to an NSNumber object, so the compiler allows you to cast it.
Note that casting a pointer doesn't convert the data at the other end of the pointer; it just makes the compiler interpret the same data in a different way. If you actually tried to use the NSInteger * pointer to get data, you would either get garbage data or (for reasons too large to fit within this margin) crash.
In this case, though, once you've Jedi mind-tricked the compiler into thinking that value is a pointer to an NSInteger, you try to pass it to to -addObject:. -addObject: expects a pointer to an object, so the compiler balks at passing a pointer to an NSInteger instead.
** This syntax will work as long as you're using the iOS 6 SDK Xcode 4.4 or later, even if you actually run the app on an older iOS. It will also automatically use the right +numberWithWhatever: method for you, so you don't have to worry about picking the best one. When you're using a numeric literal like 0, the parentheses are optional, but they're required when you use a variable or constant. Of course, you can still do it the wordy way if you want, but there's little point nowadays.
I'm sorry if this is a bit of a C-noob question: I know I need to swot up on my pointers. Unfortunately I'm on a deadline so don't have time to work through a whole book chapter, so I'm hoping for a bit more targeted advice.
I want to store some objective-C objects in a C array. I'm using ARC. If I were on the Mac I'd be able to use NSPointerArray instead, but I'm on iOS and that's not available.
I'll be storing a three-dimensional C array: conceptually my dimensions are day, height, and cacheNumber. Each element will either be a pointer to an objective-C object, or NULL.
The number of caches (i.e. the size of the cacheNumber dimension) is known at compile time, but the other two are not known. Also, the array could be very large, so I need to dynamically allocate memory for it.
Regarding ownership semantics, I need strong references to the objects.
I would like the whole three-dimensional array to be an instance variable on an objective-C object.
I plan to have a method that is - tableForCacheNumber:(int)num days:(int*)days height:(int*)height. That method should return a two-dimensional array, that is one specific cache number. (It also passes back by reference the size of the array it is returning.)
My questions:
What order should I put my dimensions so that I can easily return a pointer to the subarray for one specific cache number? (I think it should be first, but I'm not 100%.)
What should the return type of my method be, so that ARC doesn't complain? I don't mind if the returned array has an increased reference count or not, as long as I know which it's doing.
What type should my instance variable that holds the three dimensional array be? I think it should just be a pointer, since that ivar just represents the pointer to the first item that's in my array. Correct? If so, how do I specify that?
When I create the three-dimensional array (for my ivar), I guess I do something like calloc(X * Y * Z, sizeof(id)), and cast the result to the type for my ivar?
When accessing items from the three-dimensional array in the ivar, I believe I have to dereference the pointer each time, with something like (*myArray)[4][7][2]. Correct?
Will the two-dimensional array I return from the method be similarly accessed?
Do I need to tag the returned two-dimensional array with objc_returns_inner_pointer?
I'm sorry once again that this is a bit of a bad Stack Overflow question (it's too long and with too many parts). I hope the SO citizens will forgive me. To improve my interweb karma, maybe I'll write it up as a blog post when this project has shipped.
First off: while you don't have NSPointerArray, you do have CFMutableArrayRef and you can pass any callbacks you want for retain/release/description, including NULL. It may be easier (and performance is something you can measure later) to try that first.
Taking your points in order:
you should define your dimensions as [cacheNumber][days][height], as you expect. Then cache[cacheNumber] is a two-dimensional array of type id *[][]. As you've said performance is important, be aware that the fastest way to iterate this beast is:
for (/* cacheNumber loop */) {
for (/* days loop */) {
for (/* height loop */) {
//...
}
}
}
it should be of type __strong id ***: that's a pointer to a pointer to a pointer to id, which is the same as array of (array of (pointer to id)).
your ivar needs to be __strong id **** (!), because it's an array of the above things.
you guess incorrectly regarding allocating the array.. If you're using a multidimensional array, you need to do this (one dimension elided for brevity):
- (__strong id * * *)someArray {
__strong id * * *cache = (__strong id * * *)malloc(x*y*sizeof(void *));
id hello = #"Hello";
cache[0] = (__strong id * *)malloc(sizeof(void *)); //same for cache[1..x-1]
cache[0][0] = &hello; // for all cache[x][y]
return (__strong id * * *)cache;
}
correct, that is how you use such a pointer.
yeah, the two-D array works in the same way, sans the first dimension.
I don't think so, you're handing out __strong object pointers so you should be grand. That said, we're at about the limit of my ability with this stuff now so I could well be wrong.
Answering my own question because this web page gave me the missing bit of info I needed. I've also upvoted Graham's answer, since he was very helpful in getting my head round some of the syntax.
The trick I was missing is knowing that if I want to refer to items in the array via the array[1][5][2] syntax, and that I don't know the sizes of my array at compile time, I can't just calloc() a single block of data for it.
The easiest to read (although least efficient) method of doing that is just with a loop:
__strong Item ****cacheItems;
cacheItems = (__strong Item ****)calloc(kMaxZooms, sizeof(Item ***));
for (int k = 0; k < kMaxZooms; k++)
{
cacheItems[k] = (__strong Item ***)calloc((size_t)daysOnTimeline, sizeof(Item **));
for (int j = 0; j < daysOnTimeline; j++)
{
cacheItems[k][j] = (__strong Item **)calloc((size_t)kMaxHeight, sizeof(Item *));
}
}
I'm allocating a three dimensional array of Item *s, Item being an objective-C class. (I have of course left out the error handling code in this snippet.)
Once I've done that, I can refer to my array using the square brackets syntax:
cacheItems[zoom][day][heightToUse] = item;
The web page I linked to above also describes a second method for performing the memory allocations, that uses only one call to calloc() per dimension. I haven't tried that method yet, as the one I've just described is working well enough at the moment.
I would think of a different implementation. Unless it is a demonstrable (i.e. you have measured and quantified it) performance issue, trying to store Objective-C objects in plain C arrays is often a code smell.
It seems to me that you need an intermediate container object which we will call a Cache for now. One instance will exist for each cache number, and your object will hold an NS(Mutable)Array of them. Cache objects will have properties for the maximum days and height.
The Cache object would most easily be implemented with an NSArray of the objects in it, using simple arithmetic to simulate two dimensions. Your cache object would have a method -objectAtDay:Height: to access the object by its coordinates.
This way, there is no need at all to worry about memory management, ARC does it for you.
Edit
Given that performance is an issue, I would use a 1D array and roll my own arithmetic to calculate offsets. The type of your instance variable would be:
__strong id* myArray;
You can only use C multilevel subscripts (array[i][j][k]) if you know the range of all the dimensions (except the first one). This is because the actual offset is calculated as
(i * (max_j * max_k) + j * max_k + k) * sizeof(element type)
If the compiler doesn't know max_j and max_k, it can't do it. That's precisely the situation you are in.
Given that you have to use a 1D array and calculate the offsets manually, the Apple example will work fine for you.
Right now I have this setup:
An NSMutableArray which stores two NSMutableArray instances.
A for-loop walks over a set of data and writes values into these arrays. It's for a big diagram / chart which is going to be displayed with OpenGL ES.
The NSMutableArray containing two other NSMutableArray objects is returned by a method, and the caller assigns it to a retaining property.
The pitty is this: There can be up to 2.000 values, and I don't like to create all those NSNumber objects.
Now I hope there's a lightweight way to do this with C.
Before I walk the loop I know the number of data points.
Now I want to refactor this so that I get lightweight C-arrays that hold just plain old float values. I know how to create a C-array of float values, but not really dynamically:
CGFloat values[ ] = {
0, 2.5f,
30.2f, 2.5f,
50.95f, 200.55f,
930.2f, 122.1f,
};
Questions:
1) How can I create an array like this dynamically in a loop?
2) How would I put two of those arrays into one array?
3) What about the memory managament? The method returns that multidimensional C-array, and the receiver needs to assign that to an instance variable (property). It needs to be kept around for a while. How could I create an instance variable to hold such an C-array, without knowing it's exact size in advance?
For your first question, you can dynamically create an array using malloc(), and use a pointer variable to store a reference to the first element of it. For example, this will create an array of 8 CGFloats:
CGFloat *a = malloc(8 * sizeof a[0]);
If a is non-NULL, you can then access a[0] through a[7] in the usual way. You can return this CGFloat * value to another function, and when you are done with the array, you must pass this value to free().
For second question, you can create an array of two pointers to the two dynamic arrays:
CGFloat *a[2] = { NULL, NULL };
a[0] = malloc(8 * sizeof a[0][0]);
a[1] = malloc(16 * sizeof a[1][0]);
You can now access a[0][0] through a[0][7] and a[1][0] through a[1][15] (as long as a[0] and a[1] are not NULL).
However, there is a wrinkle here: You cannot directly return arrays in C, so you cannot return a from a function anymore. You could instead use two levels of dynamic arrays, but it probably makes more sense to store the array of pointers within the retaining object in the first place, and pass a reference to this array to the function that fills it in.
This means that your containing object would include the CGFloat *a[2] field, and your function that allocates the dynamic arrays and fills them would include a CFloat *dest[] parameter. That function would start with something like:
dest[0] = malloc(8 * sizeof dest[0][0]);
dest[1] = malloc(16 * sizeof dest[1][0]);
...and then fill in the values as normal.
For the third question, the array that is created by malloc() will live until that pointer is later passed to free(). As mentioned, you can happily return that value and store it elsewhere, as long as you don't free() it until you're done with it.
This will get you a new array:
CGFLoat* myArray = malloc(numberOfFloat * sizeof(float));
You can do things like myArray[6] = 0;.
When you're done with it, you have to call free(myArray), or you will have a memory leak.
With this in mind, your instance variable will just be a CGFloat*.