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Closed 10 years ago.
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What does the # symbol represent in objective-c?
I'm an ANSI C expert, taking my first steps to learn Objective C.
How should I think of/read the "#" that crops up everywhere?
At first, I thought of it as a compiler directive - "this in an instruction to the compiler to generate getter/setter" for "#synthesize someProperty".
But the "#" before strings doesn't seem to fit that model, and seems basically redundant.
Also would be glad of any advice for C experts on "how to quickly learn Objective C". Thanks,
Peter
# is just a character unless you use it with full context
#interface //For declaring a class
#property // For creating a property
#synthesize // For synthesising property
#implementation //For implementing a class
#end //For ending #interface or #implementation
#"Some String" //Represents a string
#try
#catch
and so on.
So simple # is nothing but when combined it becomes the directive
Related
This question already has answers here:
Checking the size of an object in Objective-C
(6 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
I'm new to obj-c . During these day's practices I noticed that every class based on NSObject can't have an entity like : NSObject en; in c++ but NSObject* en instead.
But, sometimes I need to know the Size of an Object.I can't simply write sizeof(en) because en is a pointer var.I can't simply use sizeof(NSObject) neither for the compiler telling me Application of sizeof to interface 'XXXX' is not supported on this architecture and platform.
I want to know if there is a way to get sizeof(NSObject) .If not,what the syntax is designed this for & any other ways to get the size.
From doc
class_getInstanceSize
Returns the size of instances of a class.
size_t class_getInstanceSize(Class cls)
Parameters cls A class object.
Return Value The size in bytes of instances of the class cls, or 0 if
cls is Nil.
But I doubt this is what you really want. Because I never found it useful and can't think a case it may be useful. (other than learning memory layout of objects and low level implementation details)
First, you should import malloc.h
If you use Non-ARC:
malloc_size(myObject);
if you are using ARC:
malloc_size((__bridge const void *) myObject));
This linker is a question similar to yours.
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Good practice for disambiguating argument names versus instance variable names in Objective-C
(3 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
I have been learning and using Objective-C for quite some time now (it also kind of was my first OOP language) and I finally would like to know how to correctly name synthesized properties.
Let's take the following scenario:
I have got a property called someVariable.
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *someVariable;
and synthesize it
#synthesize someVariable;
How would the custom setter look like conventionally ?
1)
I would go ahead and say something like
-(void)setSomeVariable:(NSString *)someVar{
//input parameter MAY sound/look foreign due to the difference to the property
someVariable = someVar;
}
2) (illegal)
But I would like to name the formal parameter just like the property for the sake of readability and convenience. More like in Java like this:
-(void)setSomeVariable:(NSString *)someVariable{
//obviously illegal because this would call the setter over and over again
self.someVariable = someVariable;
}
3) (unconventional)
and according to what I have been reading in the past this
#synthesize someVariable = _someVariable;
is said to be unconventional and not supposed to be used.
So, am I correct in concluding that the way I have been doing it until now, is the only way to create a custom setter ?
3) is not unconventional, it's exactly what the compiler does if you don't provide the #synthesize statement.
This means that, without the #synthesize statement and the ivar declaration, you have an implicit ivar named _someVariable, and a custom setter would usually have a parameter named someVariable
-(void)setSomeVariable:(NSString *)someVariable {
_someVariable = someVariable;
}
Also note that providing custom setter and getter methods for a particular property indicates to the Xcode compiler to not provide the implicit ivar (here _someVariable). In the case of readonly properties, the same if true if you provide just the getter method.
WWDC 2012 session 405 provides a lot of details around Objective-C constructs for modern versions of the compiler.
EDIT
As H2CO3 has suggested in his answer, the code I wrote assumes you're using ARC. If you are using MRC, the setter method would rather be :
-(void)setSomeVariable:(NSString *)someVariable {
[someVariable retain];
[_someVariable release];
_someVariable = someVariable;
}
This question already has answers here:
Caret in objective C
(3 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
There is a piece of code like
typedef void (^SignIn) (NSString *email, NSString *password);
What does the ^ mean before SignIn? Is this Objective-C specific usage?
It's the syntax for blocks.
That typedef declares SignIn to mean a block which takes two NSString* arguments and returns void (i.e. nothing).
It is a block.
For a guide to understanding blocks, see this tutorial
Unless, you already know what a block is, and you just didn't know what the caret was for.
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What does this ' ->' mean in c/objective-c?
(7 answers)
What is the difference between '->' (arrow operator) and '.' (dot operator) in Objective-C?
(3 answers)
Dot (".") operator and arrow ("->") operator use in C vs. Objective-C
(5 answers)
Closed 10 years ago.
I have been looking at some code and come across the symbol -> being used like obj->method(argument); I have done a little bit of research and found it basically is the same as [obj method:argument]; but I am unsure what -> actually is or does.
So my question is, what does the -> symbol mean in objective-c?
It means the same as the struct dereference operator does in C, which is used to access fields within the struct via a pointer:
struct mystruct
{
int field;
};
struct mystruct *mystruct = ...;
printf("field=%d\n", mystruct->field);
In Objective-C it can also be used to access fields within Objective-C objects:
#interface MyObj : NSObject
{
#public
int field;
}
#end
MyObj *myObj = [[MyObj alloc] init];
NSLog(#"field=%d", myObj->field);
Note that you can only access these fields externally if they are declared #public.
I have been looking at some code and come across the symbol -> being
used like obj->method(argument); I have done a little bit of research
and found it basically is the same as [obj method:argument]; but I am
unsure what -> actually is or does.
So my question is, what does the -> symbol mean in objective-c?
Exactly the same thing it means in C; it is for accessing an item in a C structure. Way back in the days of yore, Objective-C was implemented purely as a C preprocessor extension + a runtime. Classes were nothing more than concatenated C structures and the preprocessor turned each ivar access into self->ivar.
I.e. ivar and self->ivar do the same thing (in a method of class).
Now, you can use -> to poke at some other object's (#public) ivars. But don't. That breaks encapsulation exactly because Objective-C's line of encapsulation is drawn at the method interface. Always use the setters/getters such that behavior can be either observed or overridden.
Finally, no, there is nothing like obj->method(argument) anymore. There was, once, in a failed experiment called Modern Syntax, but it was abandoned because it was a pointless waste of time. You can't use -> to invoke methods.
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Closed 11 years ago.
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What does #synthesize window=_window do?
How come when you #synthesize something like buttonPressed , You need to do this:
#synthesize buttonPressed = buttonPressed_;
I've been following some tutorials and this keeps coming up. Why?
You do not have to do it that way.
By default, #synthesize variableName does work, if your synthesized accessors shall have the same name as your instance variable.
In your example, the instance variable is called buttonPressed_ but your accessor methods will omit the _ and thus just be called setButtonPressed and buttonPressed.