I am trying to get an array full of my data, I keep getting an BAD_ACCESS error when I run this though at the calling the array which I have not included here but I even commented that code out and tried just calling it to the log and still get the BAD_ACCESS error. The array is stored in a dictionary that contains a one key that is a number. I am not sure what I am doing wrong here.
ISData *is = [[ISData alloc] init];
NSDictionary *dic = [is getData:#"right" : isNumber];
NSArray *array = [[NSArray alloc] initWithArray:[dic valueForKey:#"2"]];
NSString *out = [array objectAtIndex:0];
How the dictionary is created:
NSNumber* key = [NSNumber numberWithInt:isNumber];
NSArray *values = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:[NSString stringWithUTF8String:name], [NSString stringWithUTF8String:desc], [NSString stringWithUTF8String:intent], nil];
[dic setObject:values forKey:key];
You don't say exactly where it crashes, and you don't have an obvious crashing bug here, so it's hard to diagnose your actual issue. This could be a memory management thing that's outside the code you've presented. But a couple things are going on here that are suspicious:
You should never have a bare [MyClass alloc] without the -init call. Your init should call super's init, which is responsible for setting up the new object.
Your -valueForKey: should be -objectForKey:. The difference is probably unimportant in this case, but the former is used for "KVC" coding, which you're not using. If you set it as object, get it as object.
Your #"2" as the key into the dictionary doesn't match your input, which is an NSNumber. NSNumbers are not string versions of numbers, so you're unlikely to find any value there. Instead, use the same [NSNumber numberWithInt:2] pattern.
It is most likely that your array is empty. You can try print NSLog(#"count = %d", array.count); to see if that's the case.
If your dic is set up in the second block of code, then what's that NSDictionary *dic = [is getData:...] thing in the first block?
And is there a reason you cannot set up your array directly? Is there a reason for you to use a dictionary when it has only one key?
Related
Consider the code below. In essence, we get 2 strings, then we add these values to the NSDictionary.
However, i hit a weird bug. When fbAccessTokenKey is 0x0 (or nil), then twitterToken would not be added as well.
NSString *fbAccessTokenKey=[[UserStockInfo sharedUserStockInfo] getFBAccessTokenKey];
NSString *twitterToken=[[UserStockInfo sharedUserStockInfo] getTwitterAccessTokenKey];
NSDictionary *params= [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithObjectsAndKeys:
fbAccessTokenKey, #"fb_access_token",
twitterToken, #"twitter_access_token",
nil
];
Why is this happening, and what is a good way of resolving this?
nil is used as a 'sentinel' for marking the "end of arguments" list. If twitterToken was nil, the runtime would go through your arguments, and once it got to twitterToken, it would think that it was up to the end of your list of objects and keys. This is due to the way that C/Obj-C is implemented when it comes to list arguments.
The alternative safe way to do it is to use an NSMutableDictionary, and check to see if your values are non-nil, then add them to the mutable dictionary like this:
NSString *fbAccessTokenKey = [[UserStockInfo sharedUserStockInfo] getFBAccessTokenKey];
NSString *twitterToken = [[UserStockInfo sharedUserStockInfo] getTwitterAccessTokenKey];
NSMutableDictionary *params = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
if (fbAccessTokenKey) [params setObject:fbAccessTokenKey forKey:#"fb_access_token"];
if (twitterToken) [params setObject:twitterToken forKey:#"twitter_access_token"];
For more technical info, there's a good article on Cocoa with Love: http://cocoawithlove.com/2009/05/variable-argument-lists-in-cocoa.html
You can use the NSNull object.
Documentation here:
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSNull_Class/Reference/Reference.html
Rather than initializing with initWithObjectAndKeys. Why not instantiate an NSMutableDictionary and then add the key value pairs (or not if the key is null)?
NSMutableDictionary * params = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
if (fbAccessTokenKey)
[params setObject:fbAccessTokenKey forKey:#"fb_access_token];
// ... etc
You could cast it back to an NSDictionary later if you want to keep it immutable from that point.
Update
Just a note in response to Josh's comment, I should clarify that of course the cast will not magically convert the params NSMutableDictionary to an NSDictionary. But if you are passing it to code which requires an NSDictionary, the cast will let you treat it as such.
Josh's comment includes this code:
NSMutableDictionary * md = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
NSDictionary * d = (NSDictionary *)md;
[d setObject:#"Yes I am" forKey:#"Still mutable?"];
NSLog(#"%#", d); // Prints { "Still mutable?" = Yes I am; }
This will generate the following compiler warning (and for me, with warnings generating errors, a compile error):
file:blah.m: error: Semantic Issue: 'NSDictionary' may not respond to 'setObject:forKey:'
I am trying to create a simple mutable array with a single key ("dayCounter") that I intend to use for sorting. I've read loads of examples on line, but no joy.
So I create this array. Note the first entry is a NSDictionary object. (The other objects are text)
cumArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:[NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:
[NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%i", dayCounter] forKey:#"dayCounter"],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:0],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:1],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:2], nil],nil];
I save the array in a plist and everything looks great after the load.
However, when I come to sort the array, the program crashes. I have tried every combination of the following:
NSSortDescriptor *aSortDescriptor = [[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:#"dayCounter" ascending:YES];
[cumArray sortUsingDescriptors:[NSArray arrayWithObject:aSortDescriptor]];
Do I need a dictionary item to act as a key? Can I sort on the first object any easier? Any help is much appreciated.
Sometimes using too many nested expressions can obscure what's really going on. For example, the 'simple' mutable array you created actually contains a nested mutable array, rather than directly containing the dictionaries you're trying to sort.
So instead of this:
cumArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:[NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:
[NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%i", dayCounter] forKey:#"dayCounter"],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:0],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:1],[[dailyArray objectAtIndex:x]objectAtIndex:2], nil],nil];
try doing this
NSDictionary *dict1 = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%i", dayCounter]
forKey:#"dayCounter"]
NSArray *objs = [dailyArray objectAtIndex:x];
NSDictionary *dict2 = [objs objectAtIndex:0];
NSDictionary *dict3 = [objs objectAtIndex:1];
NSDictionary *dict4 = [objs objectAtIndex:2];
// Note: You might want to temporarily log the values of dict2 - 4 here to make sure they're
// really dictionaries, and that they all actually contain the key 'dayCounter'.
cumArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:dict1, dict2, dict3, dict4, nil];
Assuming that you really have a mutable array of dictionaries, each of which contains the key dayCounter, the sort descriptor you showed in your example should work just fine.
Your setup makes no sense. You are saying yourself that only the first object in the array is a dictionary that contains the key `#"dayCounter" ("The other objects are text"). How is it supposed to be sorted if only one object contains the sort criteria?
You need to sort the array with a method, like - (NSComparisunResult)compareDict
If you have to compare 2 dictionaries and determine which one should be ordered above the other ( NSOrderedAscending ) then you need to "extend" NSDictionary:
#interface NSDictionary (SortingAdditions) {}
- (NSComparisonResult)compareTo:(NSDictionary *)other;
#end
#implementation NSDictionary (SortingAddictions)
- (NSComparisonResult)compareTo:(NSDictionary *)other
{
if( [self count] > [other count] )
{ return NSOrderedAscending; }
}
#end
This method will sort NSDictionaries according to the amount of objects that they contain.
Other values you can return here are: NSOrderedDescending and NSOrderedSame.
Then you can sort the mutable array with:
[SomeMutableArray sortUsingSelector:#selector(compareTo:)];
Keep in mind that every object in the array will need to be an NSDictionary, otherwise you will get an exception: unrecognized selector sent to instance blabla
You can do the same thing for any type of object, if the array contains both NSStrings, NSNumbers and NSDictionaries you should take a different approach
I'm trying to made a cocoa app that read-write to a .plist file.
I can retrieve informations from the .plist, write into, but when a key (only with strings) is empty, the app don't write to the plist.
here a sample:
-
(IBAction)saveBoot:(id)sender {
NSString *errorDesc;
NSString *bootPath = #"/myplist.plist";
NSMutableDictionary *plistBootDict =
[NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjects:
[NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:
Rescan,
RescanPrompt,
GUI,
InstantMenu,
DefaultPartition,
EHCIacquire,
nil]
forKeys:[NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:
#"Rescan",
#"Rescan Prompt",
#"GUI",
#"Instant Menu",
#"Default Partition",
#"EHCIacquire",
nil]];
NSData *plistBootData = [NSPropertyListSerialization
dataFromPropertyList:plistBootDict
format:NSPropertyListXMLFormat_v1_0
errorDescription:&errorDesc];
if (bootPath) {
[plistBootData writeToFile:bootPath atomically:NO];
}
else {
NSLog(errorDesc);
[errorDesc release];
}
}
#end
I think i need a loop to check if each key is empty or not (and remove it if empty),
but i've tried different (objectEnumerator, objectForKey:..etc) method whitout success.
If someone can help a beginner like me,
thanks in advance.
Ronan.
The problem is probably that because nil is the terminator for variable argument lists, so if, say, RescanPrompt is nil, the object array will only contain up until that part (so you can't "remove if empty" since it won't exist in the dictionary in the first place). You should probably construct your dictionary piece by piece; something like:
NSMutableDictionary *plistBootDict = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
if (Rescan)
[plistBootDisc setObject:Rescan forKey:#"Rescan"];
if (GUI)
[plistBootDisc setObject:GUI forKey:#"GUI"];
// etc
(Also, there's no reason to be using NSMutableArray or NSMutableDictionary if you're never going to be mutating them later.)
When adding items to NSMutableDictionary using the setValue:forKey: method (I suppose this generalizes to any NSObject) does the dictionary retain the second parameter, the NSString?
For example:
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
NSMutableDictionary *dict = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
NSString *theString = #"hello";
int i;
for (i=0; i<[theString length]; i++){
NSNumber *myInt = [NSNumber numberWithInt:i];
NSString *character = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%C",[theString characterAtIndex:i]];
[dict setValue: myInt forKey:character];
}
[dict release];
[pool release];
Clearly, there is no reason to release myInt in the loop, it is retained by dict so it can't be released until the end of the code. But is the same true of character? My thinking is that if NSMutableDictionary stores the string in some other way, then one could create a temporary pool around the loop and release those strings instead of waiting until the release of the dictionary.
I am also curious as to why retainCount of character is 7fffffff as if it is an NSConstantString, I would expect stringWithFormat to return an NSString object which would need retaining, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
It's very common in Cocoa for NSString parameters to be copied instead of retained. That's because you could have just as easily given the dictionary an instance of NSMutableString. Because the string's value could change, NSDictionary makes a copy.
But, regardless of how NSMutableDictionary really operates, you don't have to worry whether character needs to be retained. Once you've passed it to NSMutableDictionary as a parameter, it's really that class's problem to decide how to store the data, unless the documentation specifically tells you that retaining the objects are your responsibility.
I also wouldn't worry too much about the retainCount of any object. Following the retain count of an object too closely can lead you down rabbit holes that just make you spin your wheels.
Finally, I really don't think you need to create your own autorelease pool here. Unless you know with absolute certainty that theString is going to be very long, or you've already observed high memory utilization in Instruments, adding the autorelease pool is an unnecessary optimization.
You don't need to retain character there, the dictionary retains it when you set it as a key and your own code has no need to retain it.
You also don't need to worry about why the retain count isn't what you expect. Maybe the Foundation framework has Flyweight-like instances of a load of single-character NSString instances. In any case if you've got the memory management correct following the guidelines, you'll be OK regardless of what the framework's doing behind the scenes. http://iamleeg.blogspot.com/2008/12/cocoa-memory-management.html
The function I'm looking at:
-(void)viewDidLoad {
NSBundle *bundle = [NSBundle mainBundle];
NSString *plistPath = [bundle pathForResource:#"statedictionary" ofType:#"plist"];
NSDictionary *dictionary = [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:plistPath];
self.statesZips = dictionary;
[dictionary release];
NSArray *components = [self.stateZips allKeys];
NSArray *sorted = [components sortedArrayUsingSelector:#selector(compare:)];
self.States = sorted;
NSString *selectedState = [self.states objectAtIndex:0];
NSArray *array = [stateZips objectForKey: selectedState];
self.zips = array;
}
Why is an NSDictionary allocated, then assigned to a pointer called *dictionary, and then assigned to the instance variable stateZips? Why not allocate it and assign it directly to the instance variable and save memory of creating and releasing another NSDictionary? The same methodology is always followed, including later in this function with the NSArray...
NSDictionary *dictionary = [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:plistPath];
self.statesZips = dictionary;
[dictionary release];
Also, this sorting puts the keys from a hash table (dictionary) in alphabetical order. I'm not sure I understand this line:
NSArray *sorted = [components sortedArrayUsingSelector:#selector(compare:)];
No one seems to have addressed the fact that the line
self.statesZips = dictionary;
is not directly an instance variable assignment. stateZips is a property, and so that line of code calls the setStateZips: method. That method retains or copies the dictionary, so unless the viewDidLoad method intends to use it again for some purpose, it's not needed any longer. That makes it OK to release it.
The previous line:
[[NSDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:plistPath];
allocates an object. That makes it your responsibility to release it once you don't need it any more. After assigning it to the statesZips property, it's no longer needed, so it's released and you shouldn't use dictionary any more. You'll notice that later code only refers to self.stateZips, not dictionary.
In the case of the NSArray later in the method, viewDidLoad does not allocate the object, so that method is not responsible for calling release on it. The rule of thumb is that if you alloc it, you're responsible for making sure it gets released. Otherwise, it's not your problem.
Sorting the array uses the sortedArrayUsingSelector: method. A selector identifies a method in Objective-C. And the #selector is the literal syntax for selectors (kind of like how #"" is the literal syntax for NSString objects). So, what that code says, is "give me an array where the objects in components are sorted, and use the compare: method to compare each object when you do the sort. When it sorts the array, it will call compare: on the objects in the array to determine how to put them in order.
The statesZips property is probably retained, that's the reasoning.
When the NSDictionary is first allocated, its retain count is 1. When it's assigned to statesZips, the retain count becomes 2. When it's released, the retain count drops to 1, which is usually the desired outcome.
Note that the code below would have produced (almost) the same result:
self.statesZips = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:plistPath];
because dictionaryWithContentsOfFile returns an autoreleased object.
As a convention, class methods like [NSDictionary dictionary] return autoreleased objects (which automatically get released after some time), while the usual alloc-init method (as in [[NSDictionary alloc] init]) return retained objects.
I suggest you read the Memory Management Programming Guide for Cocoa for further information.
EDIT: I must have missed the last part of your question when I first read it, but Barry has already answered that part.
This code uses reference-counted memory management (not the automatic garbage collection memory management available in Objective-C 2.0 on OS X). When any object (in this case, the NSDictionary and the NSArray) are alloc'd, the caller is responsible for calling -release on that instance. Failing to call release causes a memory leak. The code could have been written as
self.statesZips = [[[NSDictionary alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:plistPath] autorelease];
but at the expense of less explicit memory management (relying on NSAutoreleasePool to release the alloc'd instance at the end of the event loop iteration.
the call
[components sortedArrayUsingSelector:#selector(compare:)];
returns an array of whose elements come from components but according to the return value of calling [elem1 compare:elem2] to compare two array elements.