Infinite loop when redefining the setter of a property - objective-c

In Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (Hillegass), there is a class in chapter 19:
#interface BigLetterView : NSView {
NSColor *bgColor;
}
#property (strong) NSColor *bgColor;
#end
The accessor is defined like this:
- (void)setBgColor:(NSColor *)c {
bgColor = c;
[self setNeedsDisplay:YES]; }
This looked correct to me, but it creates an infinite loop: bgColor = c calls setBgColor:c
Is this code correct ?
How to redefine a setter? What do I need to compile this code ?

In modern Xcode/llvm you can clean up your code a bit.
Namely you dont need to declare neither a member variable as backing variable, nor a synthesize statement.
If you dont declase synthesize your self, a property foo will have the backing variable _foo
So this code should work
#interface BigLetterView : NSView
#property (nonatomic, strong) NSColor *bgColor;
#end
#implementation BigLetterView
#synthesize bgColor = _bgColor;
- (void)setBgColor:(NSColor *)c
{
_bgColor = c;
[self setNeedsDisplay:YES];
}
#end

Do it this way which looks cleaner and better to understand.
#interface BigLetterView : NSView
#property (strong) NSColor *bgColor;
#end
#implementation BigLetterView
- (void)setBgColor:(NSColor *)c {
_bgColor = c;
[self setNeedsDisplay:YES];
}
Also, make a simple rule to always use the property with self in any other places you use it. It is just a better rule for making you understand things clearly.

Related

How to change a property class in sub class in Objective-C

I am trying to re-write some code of old project, and ideally I want to achieve below code style, but I got a lot of compile error saying dataModel don't have getLineColor method.
The abstract question is, can I change an inherited object A's class in sub view controller to a sub class A2, while the object A in parent view controller is class A1 that is the super class of A2, and how can I do it correctly? Thank in advance.
Update: I compile it, but I have met another run time error, I tried to overwrite the setter of dataModel in sub view controller. How to correctly write the setDataModel in sub class?
#implementation SubViewController
#pragma mark - setter of dataModel
- (void)setDataModel:(ChartModel *)dataModel { // it stucks at this func name
#end
error trace is
[SubChartViewController setDataModel:](self=0x00000000, _cmd=0x00000000, dataModel=0x00000031) + 12 at BDPAxisChartViewController.m:295, queue = 'com.apple.main-thread', stop reason = EXC_BAD_ACCESS (code=2, address=0xbf774ffc)
EDIT:
#interface ChartModel : NSObject
-(BOOL)chartModelhasData;
#end
#interface LineChartModel : chartModel
-(void)getLineColor;
#property (nonatomic, strong) NSArray* seriesNameArray;
#end
#interface ChartViewController: UIViewController
#property (nonatomic, strong) ChartModel *dataModel;
-(void)layoutChartCanvas;
#end
#implementation ChartViewController
-(void)layoutChartCanvas {
if ([self.dataModel chartModelhasData]) {
self.view.hidden = NO;
}
}
#end
#interface LineChartViewController : ChartViewController
// pay attension here, same name but a sub class of chartModel
#property (nonatomic, strong) LineChartModel *dataModel;
-(void)drawLine;
#end
#implementation LineChartViewController
-(void)drawLine {
UIColor *color = [self.dataModel getLineColor];
[self drawLine];
NSArray *tempArray = [self.dataModel.seriesNameArray copy];
}
#end
Probably you want to say:
Can I change the class C of a property already declared in a base class in a subclass to a subclass of C?
This is the set-up
#interface PropertyClass : NSObject
#end
#interface PropertySubclass : PropertyClass
- (void)method; // Additional method
#end
#interface HolderClass : NSObject
#property PropertyClass *property; // Property is of base class
#end
#implementation HolderClass
#end
#interface HolderSubclass : HolderClass
#property PropertySubclass *property; // Property is of subclass
#end
I have no problem to access the property subclass' method in the holder's subclass:
#implementation HolderSubclass
- (void)useIt
{
[self.property method]; // No error or warning
}
#end
In addition to my comment below, I suspect that something like this happens:
// Create a subclass' object
HolderSubclass *object1 = [HolderSubclass new];
…
// Refer this object from a reference that is typed to HolderClass
// **This applies to all usages of self inside #implementation HolderClass**
HolderClass *object2 = object1; // Of course more complex
id value = [object2 method]; // Error
This error is correct. If this is the error, it is solvable. But first we have to clarify that.
BTW: This has nothing to do with better OOP. First of all this is a problem of class based programming languages, not of object orientated programming languages. Second I cannot see that this set-up will break a rule of class based or object orientated programming, esp. it fulfills Liskov's rule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liskov_substitution_principle
One thing you could do is declare a LineChartModel variable and not property and #synthesize dataModel to that ivar:
#interface LineChartViewController: ChartViewController {
LineChartModel *_lineChartModel;
}
-(void)drawLine;
#end
#implementation LineChartViewController
synthesize dataModel = _lineChartModel;
....
So from the outside it looks like you have a ChartModel, but inside the class you have LineChartModel. You will have to apply changes to _lineCharModel directly inside your class.
HOWEVER this is NOT my definition of better OOP!!! There's clearly a fault with the design if you need to cast your variables in subclass.
Another option I discovered after pasting this code into the editor is just use self.variable (which by the way, you should've already been doing).
#interface ChartModel : NSObject
- (BOOL)chartModelhasData;
#end
#interface LineChartModel : ChartModel
- (UIColor *)getLineColor;
#end
#interface ChartViewController: UIViewController
#property (nonatomic, strong) ChartModel *dataModel;
- (void)layoutChartCanvas;
#end
#implementation ChartViewController
- (void)layoutChartCanvas {
if ([self.dataModel chartModelhasData]) {
self.view.hidden = NO;
}
}
#end
#interface LineChartViewController : ChartViewController
// pay attension here, same name but a sub class of chartModel
#property (nonatomic, strong) LineChartModel *dataModel;
- (void)drawLine;
#end
#implementation LineChartViewController
- (void)drawLine {
UIColor *color = [self.dataModel getLineColor];
[self drawLine];
}
#end

Can't assign value to instance variable

Here is a case where I am passing some parameters to a method, and then assigning the parameter values to local ivars and properties:
- (void) assignOwnerView:(UIView*)oView andPosition:(menuPosition)position withTopView:(UIView*)topView {
self.topView = topView;
self.ownerView = oView;
self.position = position;
<< --- other code --- >>
}
The interface for these properties is this (UPDATED with SYNTHESIS)
#interface MenuVC (){
UIView *ownerView_;
UIView *topView_;
menuPosition position_;
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) UIView *ownerView;
#property (nonatomic, retain) UIView *topView;
#property (assign) menuPosition position;
#end
#implementation MenuVC
#synthesize list, menuDelegate;
#synthesize ownerView = ownerView_;
#synthesize topView = topView_;
#synthesize position = position_;
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame style:(UITableViewStyle)style
{...
The enum is defined here:
typedef enum {
above,
below,
centered
} menuPosition;
After executing the three assignments, at a breakpoint in the debugger, the values are as shown below:
The received parameter values look okay, but the assigned values of the ivars ownerView_ and position_ are not right. On the other hand, topView is okay.
The same thing happened when I assigned directly to ivars rather than properties.
I started seeing this problem when I upgraded to Lion (10.7.3) and XCode 4.3.1. It was working okay before then. I see this at other spots in my app, and I don't see any pattern to it yet.
ARC is not being used.
I reported this problem before, but didn't get an answer. In this case, the problem description is a simpler. That might make it easier to see what the problem is.
UPDATE -- header file added
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#class MenuVC;
#protocol menuDelegateProtocol
typedef enum {
above,
below,
centered
} menuPosition;
- (void) didSelectItemFromMenu:(MenuVC *)menu atIndex:(NSUInteger) index;
#end
#interface MenuVC : UITableViewController {
NSArray *list;
float extendedHeight;
id<menuDelegateProtocol> menuDelegate;
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSArray *list;
#property (nonatomic, assign) id<menuDelegateProtocol> menuDelegate;
- (id) initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame style:(UITableViewStyle)style;
- (void) hide;
- (void) unhide;
- (void) assignOwnerView:(UIView*)oView andPosition:(menuPosition)position withTopView:(UIView*)topView;
#end
You didn't synthesized the properties.
Put:
#synthetize ownerView = ownerView_;
#synthetize topView = topView_;
#synthetize position = position_;
After "#implementation MenuVC".
I changed the debugger to GDB from LLDB. This seems to be a problem with LLDB. I'm not seeing this now.

In Objective-C, how do I pass a property as an argument for a function and then call the setter/getter methods?

The code is probably the best way to see what I am trying to do:
AcInfo.h:
#interface AcInfo : NSManagedObject {
#private
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *registrationNumber;
#end
AcInfo.m:
#implementation AcInfo
#dynamic registrationNumber;
#end
AnotherClass.h:
#interface AnotherClass : NSObject {
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) AcInfo *detailItem;
#property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITextField *registrationNumberTextField;
- (void)setDetailItemValueFromUIElement:(id *)uiElement forAcInfoTarget:(id *)acInfoTarget;
#end
AnotherClass.m:
#import "AcInfo.h"
#implementation AnotherClass
#synthesize detailItem, registrationNumberTextField;
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
registrationNumberTextField.text = #"Test";
// I expect this to set detailItem.registrationNumber to the value of
// registrationNumberTextField.text (Test) but it doesn't change anything!
setDetailItemValueFromUIElement:registrationNumberTextField forAcInfoTarget:detailItem.registrationNumber;
}
- (void)setDetailItemValueFromUIElement:(id *)uiElement forAcInfoTarget:(id *)acInfoTarget
{
if ([(id)uiElement isKindOfClass:[UITextField class]]) {
// This doesn't do anything when it returns!
(NSString *)acInfoTarget = (UITextField *)uiElement.text
return;
}
}
#end
In short, I want acInfoTarget to call the getter [detailObject registrationNumber] and the setter [detailObject setRegistrationNumber] in the setDetailItemValueFromUIElement: function...
You can set or read properties by name using
// setter
NSString *propertyName = #"myProperty";
[object setValue:newValue forKey:propertyName];
// getter
id value = [object valueForKey:propertyName];
This is slower than using the normal dot notation, though, and it's frequently (though not always) a sign of poorly-designed code.
Also note that id is a pointer type, so you probably don't actually mean "(id*)".
Your code wants to look something like this, I think:
- (void)setDetailItemValueFromUIElement:(id)uiElement forAcInfoTarget:(NSString*)acInfoTarget {
if ([(id)uiElement isKindOfClass:[UITextField class]]) {
NSString *newValue = ((UITextField*)uiElement).text;
[self.detailItem setValue:newValue forKey:acInfoTarget];
}
}
Properties are just syntax sugar for a couple of accessor methods. They are not, in essence, variables so you shouldn't treat them as such. If you want to affect a property, then what you wanting to do is call a method. So you should pass a id and selector parameter and not pointer to a variable type.

Can't subclass UIColor?

I'm trying to subclass UIColor, and I can't seem to figure out what's wrong.
In my PColor.h
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#interface PColor : UIColor {
BOOL isAvailable;
int colorId;
}
#property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL isAvailable;
#property (nonatomic, assign) int colorId;
#end
...and in my PColor.m
#import "PColor.h"
#implementation PColor
#synthesize isAvailable;
#synthesize colorId;
#end
Upon instantiating a PColor object, I get:
//warning: incompatible Objective-C types initializing 'struct UIColor *', expected 'struct PColor *'
PColor *pcolor = [[PColor alloc] initWithHue:1 saturation:0 brightness:0 alpha:1];
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance.
UIColor is a class cluster use associative references in a category to add properties! All of the custom init methods on UIColor return a UIColor* not an id so you can not easily subclass UIColor nor should you try.
UIColor+PCOLOR.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#import <objc/runtime.h>
#interface UIColor(PCOLOR)
//Properties prefixed to try and avoid future conflicts
#property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL pIsAvailable;
#property (nonatomic, assign) int pColorId;
#end
UIColor+PCOLOR.h
#import "UIColor+PCOLOR.h"
#implementation UIColor(PCOLOR)
static char PCOLOR_ISAVAILABLE_KEY;
static char PCOLOR_COLORID_KEY;
#dynamic pIsAvailable, pColorId;
-(void)setPIsAvailable:(BOOL)pIsAvailable
{
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &PCOLOR_ISAVAILABLE_KEY, [NSNumber numberWithBool:pIsAvailable], OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC);
}
-(BOOL)pIsAvailable
{
return [(NSNumber*)objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &PCOLOR_ISAVAILABLE_KEY) boolValue];
}
-(void)setPColorId:(int)pColorId
{
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &PCOLOR_COLORID_KEY, [NSNumber numberWithInt:pColorId], OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC);
}
-(int)pColorId
{
return [(NSNumber*)objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &PCOLOR_COLORID_KEY) intValue];
}
#end
USAGE
UIColor *pcolor = [[UIColor alloc] initWithHue:1 saturation:0 brightness:0 alpha:1];
pcolor.pColorId = 2352;
pcolor.pIsAvailable = YES;
NSLog(#"\nClass: %#\nColor ID: %d\nIs Availabled: %#",
NSStringFromClass([pcolor class]),
pcolor.pColorId,
pcolor.pIsAvailable ? #"YES" : #"NO");
[pcolor release];
From UIColor Class Reference:
Most developers should have no need to subclass UIColor. The only time doing so might be necessary is if you require support for additional colorspaces or color models.
You should use Category. For example:
#interface UIColor (PColor)
- (BOOL) isAvailable;
- (int) colorId;
#end
In the implementation file:
#implementation UIColor (PColor)
- (BOOL)isAvailable {
// do what you want to do
// return your BOOL
}
- (int)colorId {
// do what you want to do
// return id of color
}
#end
Because UIColor alloc might not do what you expect it to do: allocating an instance of UIColor. It may be kind of a factory method, which looks first what colors have already been used or belong to a standard set of colors and give it back instead of creating a new instance. In which case you will be getting UIColor instead of PColors and what means that inheriting UIColor was not a good idea.
Prefer composition over inheritance - embed UIColor within a PColor. Or use a category on UIColor (you can't have new instance variables in this case).
The init methods of UIColor return a UIColor* rather than id as with most classes, so you would have to assign it to a UIColor rather than your subclass to avoid the warning.

setting new properties in category interface/implementation

Ok, so I have this, but it wont work:
#interface UILabel (touches)
#property (nonatomic) BOOL isMethodStep;
#end
#implementation UILabel (touches)
-(BOOL)isMethodStep {
return self.isMethodStep;
}
-(void)setIsMethodStep:(BOOL)boolean {
self.isMethodStep = boolean;
}
-(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
if(self.isMethodStep){
// set all labels to normal font:
UIFont *toSet = (self.font == [UIFont fontWithName:#"Helvetica" size:16]) ? [UIFont fontWithName:#"Helvetica-Bold" size:16] : [UIFont fontWithName:#"Helvetica" size:16];
id superView = self.superview;
for(id theView in [(UIView *)superView subviews])
if([theView isKindOfClass:[UILabel class]])
[(UILabel *)theView setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:#"Helvetica" size:16]];
self.font = toSet;
}
}
#end
If I take out the getter and setter methods then it doesn't work it tells me I need to create some getter and setter methods (or use #synthesize - but putting #synthesize in the #implementation throws an error too). But with the getter and setter methods I get an EXC_BAD_ACCESS and a crash. Any ideas? Thanks
Tom
It is not possible to add members and properties to an existing class via a category — only methods.
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Conceptual/DevPedia-CocoaCore/Category.html
One possible workaround is to write "setter/getter-like" methods, that uses a singleton to save the variables, that would had been the member.
-(void)setMember:(MyObject *)someObject
{
NSMutableDictionary *dict = [MySingleton sharedRegistry];
[dict setObject:someObject forKey:self];
}
-(MyObject *)member
{
NSMutableDictionary *dict = [MySingleton sharedRegistry];
return [dict objectforKey:self];
}
or — of course — write a custom class, that inherits from UILabel
Note that nowadays an associated object can be injected during runtime. The Objective C Programming Language: Associative References
Checked all answers and did not find the most common solution:
#import <objc/runtime.h>
static void const *key;
#interface ClassName (CategoryName)
#property (nonatomic) BOOL myProperty;
#end
#implementation ClassName (CategoryName)
- (BOOL)myProperty {
return [objc_getAssociatedObject(self, key) boolValue];
}
- (void)setMyProperty:(BOOL)value {
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, key, #(value), OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN);
}
#end
swift:
private struct AssociatedKeys {
static var keyName = "keyName"
}
extension Foo {
var bar: Any! {
get {
return objc_getAssociatedObject(self, &AssociatedKeys.keyName)
}
set {
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, &AssociatedKeys.keyName , newValue, .OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC)
}
}
}
There is actually a way, which may not be ideal, but does work.
For it to work, you will need to create a category for a class X and can only be used on subclasses of the same X (e.g. category UIView (Background) can be used with class MyView : UIView, but not directly with UIView)
// UIView+Background.h
#interface UIView (Background)
#property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *hexColor;
- (void)someMethodThatUsesHexColor;
#end
// UIView+Background.h
#implementation UIView (Background)
#dynamic hexColor; // Must be declared as dynamic
- (void)someMethodThatUsesHexColor {
NSLog(#"Color %#", self.hexColor);
}
#end
Then
// MyView.m
#import "UIView+Background.h"
#interface MyView : UIView
#property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *hexColor;
#end
#implementation MyView ()
- (void)viewDidLoad {
[super viewDidLoad];
[self setHexColor:#"#BABACA"];
[self someMethodThatUsesHexColor];
}
#end
Using this method, you will need to "redeclare" your properties, but after that, you can do all of its manipulation inside your category.
You could inject an associated object during runtime.
#import <objc/runtime.h>
#interface UIView (Private)
#property (nonatomic, assign) CGPoint initialTouchPoint;
#property (nonatomic, strong) UIWindow *alertWindow;
#end
#implementation UIView (Private)
#dynamic initialTouchPoint, alertWindow;
- (CGPoint)initialTouchPoint {
return CGPointFromString(objc_getAssociatedObject(self, #selector(initialTouchPoint)));
}
- (void)setInitialTouchPoint:(CGPoint)initialTouchPoint {
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, #selector(initialTouchPoint), NSStringFromCGPoint(initialTouchPoint), OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN);
}
- (void)setAlertWindow:(UIWindow *)alertWindow {
objc_setAssociatedObject(self, #selector(alertWindow), alertWindow, OBJC_ASSOCIATION_RETAIN_NONATOMIC);
}
- (UIWindow *)alertWindow {
return objc_getAssociatedObject(self, #selector(alertWindow));
}
#end
EDIT: Warning: This property would have a unique value for all the instances of the class.
This worked for me, but only because I had only one instance of this class in my app.
#import <AVFoundation/AVFoundation.h>
#interface AVAudioPlayer (AstroAVAudioPlayer)
#property (nonatomic) BOOL redPilot;
#end
#import "AVAudioPlayer+AstroAVAudioPlayer.h"
#implementation AVAudioPlayer (AstroAVAudioPlayer)
BOOL _redPilot;
-(void) setRedPilot:(BOOL)redPilot
{
_redPilot = redPilot;
}
-(BOOL) redPilot
{
return _redPilot;
}
#end
A solution that I found to this was to just give each object that you want flagged a unique tag.
I made a UILabel category to add custom fonts to all my labels but on some i wanted them to be bold so i did this ->
- (void) layoutSubviews {
[super layoutSubviews];
[self addCustomFont];
}
- (void) addCustomFont {
if (self.tag == 22) {
[self setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:SEGOE_BOLD size:self.font.pointSize]];
}else{
[self setFont:[UIFont fontWithName:SEGOE_LIGHT size:self.font.pointSize]];
}
}
It seems as if since Xcode 7 (7.0.1, 7A1001), properties are supported in categories. I noticed that Xcode generates categories now for Core Data subclasses.
For example, I got the files:
Location+CoreDataProperties.h
#import "Location.h"
NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
#interface Location (CoreDataProperties)
#property (nullable, nonatomic, retain) NSNumber *altitude;
#property (nullable, nonatomic, retain) NSNumber *latitude;
#property (nullable, nonatomic, retain) NSNumber *longitude;
#end
NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_END
Location+CoreDataProperties.m
#import "Location+CoreDataProperties.h"
#implementation Location (CoreDataProperties)
#dynamic altitude;
#dynamic latitude;
#dynamic longitude;
#end
So looks like properties in categories might work now. I haven't tested on non-Core Data classes.
What I've noticed is that they do include the category file back into the original class:
Location.h
#interface Location : NSManagedObject
#end
#import "Location+CoreDataProperties.h"
This allows the original class to edit the properties specified by the category.