Setting values for an array of UILabels which in turn is in NSMutableDictionary - objective-c

Question

I have an array of UILabels as follows:
#interface ClueLabels : NSObject
#property (nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *label1, *label2, *label3, *label4, *label5, *label6, *label7, *label8;
#property (nonatomic, readonly) NSArray *labels;
+ (ClueLabels *)clueLabels;
- (void)labelsDidLoad;
#end
Which is implemented as a singleton:
#implementation ClueLabels
#synthesize label1 = _label1;
#synthesize label2 = _label2;
#synthesize label3 = _label3;
#synthesize label4 = _label4;
#synthesize label5 = _label5;
#synthesize label6 = _label6;
#synthesize label7 = _label7;
#synthesize label8 = _label8;
#synthesize labels = _labels;
+ (ClueLabels *)clueLabels {
static ClueLabels *singleton;
static dispatch_once_t once;
dispatch_once(&once, ^{
singleton = [[ClueLabels alloc] init];
});
return singleton;
}
- (void)labelsDidLoad {
_labels = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:_label1, _label2, _label3, _label4, _label5, _label6, _label7, _label8, nil];
NSLog(#"Clue labels did load");
}
#end
Then stored in an NSMutableDictionary as follows:
NSMutableArray *keyArray;
NSMutableArray *valueArray;
keyArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:#"answerButtons", #"clueLabels", nil];
valueArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects: [AnswerButtons answerButtons], [ClueLabels clueLabels], nil];
NSMutableDictionary *externals = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjects:valueArray
forKeys:keyArray];
Now I want to write to the labels (for instance, to clear them), but they are buried in a singleton and stored as an array inside key-valued dictionary. Conceptually, I need to send a message to one object in the dictionary using key-value syntax, and then loop over the objects in that array, clearing them with setText#"" for instance. Is this a nested message with a loop? I can't quite figure out how to structure this task. Thank you.
EDIT: I got to thinking and decided (maybe incorrectly) that because the labels are in a singleton, I don't need to access them through the dictionary at all, I just need to access the singleton and the dictionary will be updated automatically. So I decided my question/problem is more "how to talk to my singleton". I looked around SO some and then figured out I could do something like this:
NSLog(#"%#", [ClueLabels clueLabels].labels)
Which returns the details of each label. I'd like to be able to get the count of labels so I can loop over them and set their titles to arbitrary strings. Can I build around [ClueLabels clueLabels].labels or do I need a different approach? Thanks.

Answer 1

U can either loop on the UILabels as u said. Or u can use "makeObjectsPerformSelector" method on the array, which will (as its name says) make all the objects in it perform the selector u sent. Thus saves the looping part. But either way u need to get a hold of the array of labels contained in the dictionary

Answer 2

Mission accomplished! Here's how I did it:
// Clear the fields
for (NSInteger idx = 0; idx < 8; idx++) {
UILabel *l = [[ClueLabels clueLabels].labels objectAtIndex:idx];
[l setText:#""];
Obviously, I'm still learning!

Answer 3

You could also do something like this:
for (UILabel *theLabel in clueLabels)
{
[theLabel setText:#"];
}