Objective-C: Image Management between classes - objective-c

Question

I am trying to create a model with multiple images in a factory model style. I have one class that handles the individuals, one class that handles the group of individuals and a ViewController.
testImage = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(250, 500, 30, 30)];
testImage.image = [UIImage imageNamed:#"myImage.png"];
testImage.animationDuration = 1.5;
testImage.contentMode = UIViewContentModeCenter;
[self.view addSubview:testImage];
http://jcdeveloperworld.blogspot.com/2009/07/iphone-game-tutorial-part-1.html -- Thanks
That code works when it is just in the viewController, and now I am trying to make the individuals keep track of their own image. So i put the
testImage = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(250, 500, 30, 30)];
testImage.image = [UIImage imageNamed:#"myImage.png"];
testImage.animationDuration = 1.5;
testImage.contentMode = UIViewContentModeCenter;
[self.view addSubview:testImage];
in a separate class and then tried to display it from my viewController. It is my understanding that I can't just tell the viewController to display something from a separate class.
flock *newFlock = [[flock alloc] init];
[newFlock makeFlock];
NSMutableArray *tempFlock = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
tempFlock = newFlock.theFlock;
individualsClass *tempIndividual = [[individualsClass alloc] init];
tempIndividual = [tempFlock objectAtIndex:0];
UIImageView *tempImage = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(250, 500, 30, 30)];
tempImage = tempIndividual.individualImage;
[self.view addSubview:tempImage];
I also tried it without all the copying, but the dot notation started to get in the way because I'm accessing properties of objects in an NSMutableArray (which seems absurdly difficult in objective C). I could use some help in figuring that out too
ie.
flock.[theFlock.individualImage.image objectAtIndex:1] //Doesn't work
I am kind of new to objective C, so perhaps I'm attacking this problem wrong. This is being done for an iPad app

Answer 1

It's not clear what you're trying to do, but you're definitely doing a lot of stuff you don't need to. Consider these lines of your code:
NSMutableArray *tempFlock = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
tempFlock = newFlock.theFlock;
The first line declares a variable named tempFlock of type NSMutableArray *. Then it creates and initializes an empty NSMutableArray and assigns it to tempFlock. The second line then assigns newFlock.theFlock to tempFlock, overwriting the only reference to the array you created in the first line. You can just say this:
NSMutableArray *tempFlock = newFlock.theFlock;
Anyway, the correct syntax for your last block is this:
[flock.theFlock objectAtIndex:1].individualImage.image
So maybe this is what you want to do:
[self.view addSubview:[flock.theFlock objectAtIndex:1].individualImage];
Also, flock and individualsClass are not good class names in Objective-C. Flock and Individual might be better names.
And it's confusing that flock instances have a property named theFlock. It looks like theFlock is just an array of individuals, so a better name for the property would probably be individuals.

Answer 2

If all the "dot" syntax is causing problems with understanding just don't use them, they are just an alternate syntax for method invocation.
[myInstance value] is the same as myInstance.value, which can be viewed as a simple substitution.
Also avoiding long compound statements can help understanding, instead use one or more intermediate well named variables. Trust the compiler to optimize them.
So, as #rob writes:
[flock.theFlock objectAtIndex:1].individualImage.image
the equivalent could be:
[[[[flock theFlock] objectAtIndex:1] individualImage] image]
Broken into multiple statements:
tempFlock = [[flock theFlock] objectAtIndex:1];
tempIndividual = [tempFlock individualImage];
image = [tempIndividual image];