Apple's NSCopying docs state that copyWithZone: returns an object that's implicitly retained by the sender. So when that object is added to an NSMutableArray it seems like the object should be sent an autorelease message to keep the retain count balanced (since the array will retain the object).
So to deep copy the contents of one array to another I'd expect something like:
NSMutableArray *destination = [NSMutableArray array];
// assume MyObject adopts NSCopying
for (MyObject *obj in myArray)
[destination addObject:[[obj copy] autorelease]];
However I noticed a different approach in this answer. It seems like [ret addObject:[val copy]] is a memory leak. However I'm brand new to NSCopying so I thought I'd ask: When adding a copied object to an array should the object be sent an autorelease message to keep the retain count balanced?
Edit - more info: Clang reports a potential memory leak after removing the autorelease. Perhaps the linked answer assumes copy returns an object that's not implicitly retained by the sender.
Yes it does need to be released but I wouldn't use autorelease in a loop like that, do it manually with each iteration
for (MyObject *obj in myArray)
{
MyObject *copy = [obj copy];
[destination addObject:copy];
[copy release];
}
Related
How I must remove objects?
For example, I have NSDictionary and some NSStrings from it:
NSDictionary *dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects....];
NSString *str = [dict objectForKey:#"key"];
[str release]; or [str dealloc]; or str = nil or it's autorelease object?
If I will remove not autorelease dict, will all child removed too?
Memory management in objective c is based on object ownership. If you own the object you must release that object.
Cocoa sets the following policy:
You own any object you create
You create an object using a method whose name begins with “alloc”, “new”, “copy”, or “mutableCopy” (for example, alloc, newObject, or mutableCopy).
You can take ownership of an object using retain.
When you no longer need it, you must relinquish ownership of an object you own
You relinquish ownership of an object by sending it a release message or an autorelease message.
You must not relinquish ownership of an object you do not own
This is just corollary of the previous policy rules, stated explicitly.
In your case
NSDictionary *dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects....];
NSString *str = [dict objectForKey:#"key"];
you are not owner of str, so you should not release that object.
to remove specific objects you will have to make a mutable Object.
Most of the objective-c dat types are mutable such as
NSMutableDictionary,NSMutableArray..etc
then just call ..[yourObject removeObjectatIndex:someInteger] or [yourObject RemoveAllObjects] to remove objects.
Releasing or auto releasing an object is totally different thing..it will free up the memory that whole object(Dict..array..etc) is taking..
If the call does not end in retain, copy or mutableCopy, alloc or new you must not use release or autorelease. The object is already autoreleased.
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:#"123"]; <- needs release
NSString *str = [aString copy]; <- release
NSString *str = [aString mutableCopy]; <- release
NSString *str = [aString retain]; <- release
NSString *str = [NSString new]; <- release
everything else <- don't release.
there is exactly one valid use of dealloc. That is in [super dealloc]; in your - (void)dealloc method.
If the dictionary gets deallocated all the objects and keys it contains get released. If they are not retained somewhere else they get deallocated too.
There is plenty of documentation about memory management available. For example Apples Advanced Memory Management Programming Guide
what do you mean "remove"? assume you mean dealloc or free
str is retained by dict and if you didn't call retain on it than you should not call release on it.
and you should never call dealloc to any object
NSDictionary *dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects....];
dict is an autoreleased object with means it will be deallocated on next run loop if you did not retain it anywhere
everything in dict is retained by it so they will not be deallocated until dict is deallocated
If an inited object comes to me retained, so I own it, and I store it in an NSArray, which retains that which gets stored in it, can I count on NSArray to see that it's already retained and not increase the count, or do I need to run through the array and decrement the retain count to insure no memory leak?
Sounds like you need to read the Memory Management Programming Guide. Your case is extremely simple. You own the object. You pass it to the array, which now also owns it. You need to release your ownership of it. Otherwise you'll leak it.
To make sure that the ownership of the object which was added into the NSArray is relinquished, send the -release message to the object right after you add it to the NSArray. If you do not do this, then you will indeed have a memory leak.
This is what happens:
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:#"%#", #"Blah"]; //retain count is 1, you own this object
[array addObject:str]; //retain count gets bumped to 2
[str release]; //retain count is 1 - relinquishing ownership here.
//There is no leak because when the NSArray is
//deallocated, the object will be sent the release message.
But if you don't send the owned inserted object the -release message, then even when the NSArray is deallocated, the object will only have a retain count of 1 and the memory obtained by the object will never be reclaimed, thereby resulting in a leak.
Whenever you release the NSArray, it'll release everything it retains.
As such, as long as you release the inited object once you've added it to the NSArray (so it's the only thing that retains it) or release it once you've finished with it outside of the array all should be fine.
Incidentally, there's a good blog post called "objective-c memory management for lazy people" that explains such things pretty well and is a handy reference if you're just starting out with such things.
You don't need to do that. NSArray takes ownership of any object that it stores. It will release its objects when it's deallocated. If you retain an object yourself, you take ownership too, and you are responsible for releasing it too.
NSArray will retain your object when you add it, and then release it when you remove it from the array. This is by design. This means that to ensure there's no memory leak, if you already retained the object before adding it to the array, you should release it after removing it from the array:
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:10];
NSObject *object = [[NSObject alloc] init]; // retain count of 1 (because of alloc)
[object retain]; // useless, just for example, retain count of 2 (because of retain)
[array addObject:object]; // array is mutable, retain count of 3 (because of addObject:)
[array removeObject:object]; // retain count of 2
[object release]; // retain count of 1
[object release]; // retain count of 0, the object is dealloc'd afterwards
[array release]; // to be sure that we are not leaking an array, too
I have a newbie question regarding when to release the elements of a NSArray. See following pseudo code:
NSMutalbeArray *2DArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:10];
for (int i=0;i<10;i++) {
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity:5];
for (int j=0;j<5;j++) {
MyObject *obj = [[MyObject alloc] init];
[array addObject:obj];
[obj release];
}
[2DArray addObject:array];
[array release];
}
// use 2DArray to do something
[2DArray release]
My question here is, when I release 2DArray, do I need to explicitly release each of its element (array) first? Also, before I release the "array" object, do I need to release each of its element (MyObject) first?
I am new to Objective C. Please help. thanks.
No, you don't need to tell each object to be released. When you send a release method to an NSArray, it automatically sends a release method to each item inside first.
So in your case, you send [2DArray release]. This automatically sends [array release] to every other array, which sends [obj release] to each object inside each array.
You don't need to release the kept objects. NSArray retains them when you add, and releases them when released. So if you allocate, add to the array, then release, the object in the array will have the retain count of 1. Once the array is freed, the object is released, therefore freed.
When an object is created, it has a retain count of 1. Whenever a object is added to an array, its retain count is increased (in this case to 2). After adding to the array, your code release its hold of the object, dropping its retain count by 1 (to 1 in this case). Then when you release the array, it calls release on everything in it dropping their retain counts by 1 (to 0 in this case). When retain count hits 0 the object is deallocated.
Your code looks correct from a memory management stand point.
Here is code I am referring to.
// Person.h
#interface Person : NSObject {
NSString *firstName;
NSString *lastName;
}
#end
// Person.m
#implementation Person
- (id)init {
if (![super init]) return nil;
firstName = #"John";
lastName = #"Doe";
}
#end
// MyClass.m
#implementation MyClass
.....
- (NSArray *)getPeople {
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
Person *p = [[Person alloc] init];
[array addObject:p];
}
return array;
}
.....
#end
Now, I know there is no memory-management going on in this sample code. What would be required?
In the getPeople loop, I am alloc'ing a Person (retainCount 1), then adding it to array. The retain count is now 2, right? If it is two, should I be [p release]'ing after adding it to the array, bringing the retainCount back down to 1?
Am I right in that it is the caller's responsibility to release the array returned by the method? (Which would also free the memory of the Person's, and their instance variables, assuming their counts are at 1).
I have read Apple's memory management document, but I guess what I am most unclear about, is what increases an objects retain count? I think I grasp the idea of who's responsibility it is to release, though. This is the fundamental rule, according to Apple:
You take ownership of an object if you create it using a method whose name begins with “alloc” or “new” or contains “copy” (for example, alloc, newObject, or mutableCopy), or if you send it a retain message. You are responsible for relinquishing ownership of objects you own using release or autorelease. Any other time you receive an object, you must not release it.
bobDevil's sentence "only worry about the retain counts you add to the item explicitly" made it click for me. After reading the Ownership policy at Apple, essentially, the object/method that created the new object, is the one responsible for releasing /it's/ interest in it. Is this correct?
Now, let's say I a method, that receives an object, and assigns it to a instance variable. I need to retain the received object correct, as I still have an interest in it?
If any of this is incorrect, let me know.
You are correct that the retain count is 2 after adding it to an array. However, you should only worry about the retain counts you add to the item explicitly.
Retaining an object is a contract that says "I'm not done with you, don't go away." A basic rule of thumb (there are exceptions, but they are usually documented) is that you own the object when you alloc an object, or create a copy. This means you're given the object with a retain count of 1(not autoreleased). In those two cases, you should release it when you are done. Additionally, if you ever explicitly retain an object, you must release it.
So, to be specific to your example, when you create the Person, you have one retain count on it. You add it to an array (which does whatever with it, you don't care) and then you're done with the Person, so you release it:
Person *p = [[Person alloc] init]; //retain 1, for you
[array addObject:p]; //array deals with p however it wants
[p release]; //you're done, so release it
Also, as I said above, you only own the object during alloc or copy generally, so to be consistent with that on the other side of things, you should return the array autoreleased, so that the caller of the getPeople method does not own it.
return [array autorelease];
Edit:
Correct, if you create it, you must release it. If you invest interest in it (through retain) you must release it.
Retain counts are increased when you call alloc specifically, so you'll need to release that explicitly.
factory methods usually give you an autoreleased object (such as [NSMutableArray array] -- you would have to specifically retain this to keep it around for any length of time.).
As far as NSArray and NSMutableArray addObject:, someone else will have to comment. I believe that you treat a classes as black boxes in terms of how they handle their own memory management as a design pattern, so you would never explicitly release something that you have passed into NSArray. When it gets destroyed, its supposed to handle decrementing the retain count itself.
You can also get a somewhat implicit retain if you declare your ivars as properties like #property (retain) suchAndSuchIvar, and use #synthesize in your implementation. Synthesize basically creates setters and getters for you, and if you call out (retain) specifically, the setter is going to retain the object passed in to it. Its not always immediately obvious, because the setters can be structured like this:
Person fart = [[Person alloc] init];
fart.firstName = #"Josh"; // this is actually a setter, not accessing the ivar
// equivalent to [fart setFirstName: #"Josh"], such that
// retainCount++
Edit:
And as far as the memory management, as soon as you add the object to the array, you're done with it... so:
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
Person *p = [[Person alloc] init];
[array addObject:p];
[p release];
}
Josh
You should generally /not/ be worried about the retain count. That's internally implemented. You should only care about whether you want to "own" an object by retaining it. In the code above, the array should own the object, not you (outside of the loop you don't even have reference to it except through the array). Because you own [[Person alloc] init], you then have to release it.
Thus
Person *p = [[Person alloc] init];
[array addObject:p];
[p release];
Also, the caller of "getPeople" should not own the array. This is the convention. You should autorelease it first.
NSMutableArray *array = [[[NSMutableArray alloc] init] autorelease];
You'll want to read Apple's documentation on memory management: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/MemoryMgmt/MemoryMgmt.html
In Objective-C, if array1 is copied onto array2 using mutableCopy, and suppose the code is done in main(), who is responsible for releasing the objects contained in the array? Is it main() or array2?
I think the previous answers have missed the point, or else the asker was pretty unclear. The actual question isn't talking about either array, but rather the array contents:
who is responsible for releasing the objects contained in the array? Is it main() or array2?
Both array1 and array2 are responsible for releasing the objects.
From the NSArray documentation:
"Arrays maintain strong references to their contents—in a managed memory environment, each object receives a retain message before its id is added to the array and a release message when it is removed from the array or when the array is deallocated."
To begin with, each of the objects are retained by the NSArray array1. When you create array2 via -mutableCopy, you get an NSMutableArray which points to the same objects, and retains each of them again. If you were to release array1 at this point, when its dealloc method were called it would release each of the objects it contains. However, array2 has retained them, so the objects won't be destroyed — only when their retain count reaches 0, which would happen if array2 were destroyed and nobody else has retained any of the objects (or when they are removed from array2).
Since collection classes (arrays, sets, dictionaries, etc.) handle retaining and releasing their contents, all you have to worry about is retaining or releasing the collection itself. Since you used -mutableCopy, remember that you have implicitly retained array2, so you should release it when you're done with it.
I reference this guide for Memory Management in Obj-C. He has a section on Arrays and Dictionaries, here's an excerpt:
Arrays, dictionaries etc. generally retain any objects added to them. (When dealing with 3rd party collection type objects, always check the documentation to see if they retain or not). This means that these collections will take ownership of the object, and you do not need to retain before adding.
The comments for the posting are also useful
The ownership responsibilities are not changed by storing objects in an array. Here's an example:
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
// ...
NSObject *obj1 = [[NSObject alloc] init]; // owned
NSObject *obj2 = [[NSObject alloc] init]; // owned
NSObject *obj3 = [[[NSObject alloc] init] autorelease]; // not owned
NSMutableArray *array1 = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects: obj1, obj2, obj3, nil]; // not owned
NSMutableArray *array2 = [array1 mutableCopy]; // owned
// ...
[array2 release];
[obj2 release];
[obj1 release];
// ...
}
This code directly allocates obj1 and obj2, so it owns them and must release them, but it autoreleases obj3, so it doesn't have to release that. In the same way, it doesn't own the result of arrayWithObjects:, so it doesn't release that, but it does own the result of mutableCopy, so it must release that. The objects being stored in an array is irrelevant—all you need to care about is ownership.
Both arrays keep strong references to their content, so obj1, obj2, and obj3 won't be deallocated as long as the arrays exist—but that's a detail of the NSArray contract, it doesn't affect how you manage the ownership of the objects or the arrays.
These are all details of Cocoa's memory management conventions, not arrays.
It wouldn't make sense for a mutable array to be tied to an immutable array. main() would be responsible for releasing array1.
In my experience however, releasing objects only causes applications to crash. ObjC is fairly good at automatically managing memory. My Cocoa apps don't seem to ever need more memory than they started with, even after running several hours.