I'm reading through Mark Dalrymple's Learn Objective-C on the Mac (only at the chapter on Protocols, so still relatively newbish) and trying to figure something out:
Why would you ever reference a class by its own name? If I had a class called Foo, why would I ever want to write, say,
[[Foo alloc] init]
and not
[[[self class] alloc] init]
If I had a subclass Bar, wouldn't the first option invalidate me from writing
[[Bar alloc] init]
whereas the second option would allow it? When would the first option be better?
Generally, within a class method, you do use [[self alloc] init]. For example, the canonical way to write a convenience method for a class is:
+ (id)fooWithBar:(Bar *)aBar
{
return [[[self alloc] initWithBar:aBar] autorelease];
}
(Note that in a class method, self refers to the class object.)
However, you would use [[Foo alloc] init] (that is, an explicit class name) if you actually want an instance of the Foo class (and not a subclass).
You refer to a class by it's name whenever you want exactly that class. If a subclass was derived from that class, a self in the same method would represent that derived class instead. Hence, if you want to explicitly instantiate a superclass, this could be done.
There are occasions where this might make sense. Either to force the subclass to override the method in order to return an instance of it's class. Or to return a different class, like a placeholder object used in the creation of an NSArray etc.
I found a condition under which [ ClassName alloc ] and [ self alloc ] were not equivalent. I am listing it in case others are faced with a similar situation.
//Option 1
+ (NSInputStream *)streamWBlockWithArray:(NSArray *)dataArray
{ return [[[self alloc] initWithArray:dataArray] autorelease]; }
// Option 2
+ (NSInputStream *)streamBlockWithArray:(NSArray *)dataArray
{ return [[[Block alloc] initWithArray:dataArray] autorelease]; }
If I use option 1, the compiler was giving a compiler error of duplicate definitions the definition of initWithArray was being flagged as conflicting with the definition from + [ NSArray initWithArray ]. The compiler error went away after I replaced [ self alloc ] by [ Block alloc ]. This is probably just a compiler unable to disambiguate even though the context seems clear enough.
Related
I have two pices of code:
for(Class<ContactV2Storage> tmpClass in config->ctxStorageClasses){
id<ContactV2Storage> stor = [[[tmpClass alloc] init] autorelease];
}
and
for(Class tmpClass in config->ctxStorageClasses){
id<ContactV2Storage> stor = [[[tmpClass alloc] init] autorelease];
}
Both works this same, but while using first version (which I believe is better) compiler gives me a warning:
Class method '+alloc' not found (return type defaults to 'id')
I'm curious why this is happening?
The Class type represents an Objective-C class (which is a C struct). See the runtime docs here.
Only definitions of a Class can conform to a protocol (you can check with class_conformsToProtocol or NSObject's conformsToProtocol:). So your first piece of code is incorrect to use Class<ContactV2Storage>.
The second piece is mostly correct, but a safer way to do it would be:
for(Class tmpClass in config->ctxStorageClasses) {
if([tmpClass conformsToProtocol:#protocol(ContactV2Storage)]) {
id<ContactV2Storage> stor = [[[tmpClass alloc] init] autorelease];
// do stuffs
}
}
This way you are sure that the class you are instantiating adheres to the protocol and can safely receive any messages you send. If any methods in the protocol are optional, you should also check that the instantiated object (in this case, stor) responds to them before calling them, otherwise the application will crash.
When I'm creating custom classes, I'd like to be able to skip the alloc init part of the code once I go to construct an instance of the class. Similar to how it's done with:
NSString * ex = [NSString stringWithFormat...];
Basically I already have the class set up with a custom initializer method to set up my basic variables. However, when I'm on the front end and actually making these critters I have to say:
[[Monster alloc] initWithAttack:50 andDefense:45];
and I'd rather be able to say
[Monster monsterWithAttack:50 andDefense:45];
I know it's a simple stupid thing to just get rid of the alloc part but it makes the code more readable so I'd prefer to do it that way. I originally tried just changing my method from
-(id)initWithAttack:(int) a andDefense:(int) d
to
-(id)monsterWithAttack:(int) a andDefense:(int) d
and then changing my self = [super init] to self = [[super alloc] init]; but that clearly doesn't work! Any ideas?
You have to make a class method
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int) a andDefense:(int) d
in which you create, initialize, and return an instance (and don't forget your memory management):
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int) a andDefense:(int) d {
// Drop the autorelease IF you're using ARC
return [[[Monster alloc] initWithAttack:a andDefense:d] autorelease];
}
What you want is a convenience constructor. It's a class method that returns a useable instance of a class and allocates memory for it at the same time.
-(id)initWithAttack:(int)a andDefense:(int)d;
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int)a andDefense:(int)d;
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int)a andDefense:(int)d {
//-autorelease under MRC
return [[[self class] alloc] initWithAttack:a andDefense:d];
}
-(id)initWithAttack:(int)a andDefense:(int)d {
self = [super init];
if (self){
//custom initialization
}
return self;
}
You should use a class factory method in the header of monster class.
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int) attackValue andDefense:(int) defenseValue
in the implementetation of monster class
+(id)monsterWithAttack:(int) attackValue andDefense:(int) defenseValue {
return [[[[self class] alloc] initWithAttack:attackValue andDefense:defenseValue] autorelease];
}
The use of [self class] guarantees the correct dispatch during subclassing. If you are using ARC you can avoid the autorelease method
Class methods of this type use autorelease.
So for instance, you might say:
+ (id)
monsterWithAttack:(int) a
defense:(int) d
{
return [[Monster alloc] initWithAttack:a defense:d]
autorelease];
}
UILabel *testLbl = [[self alloc] init];
This is where the confusion started:
It’s usually better to use a variable other than self to refer to an instance inside a class
method:
+ (id)rectangleOfColor:(NSColor *)color {
id newInstance = [[Rectangle alloc] init]; // GOOD [newInstance setColor:color]; return [newInstance autorelease];
}
In fact, rather than sending the alloc message to the class in a class method, it’s often better to send alloc to self. This way, if the class is subclassed, and the rectangleOfColor: message is received by a subclass, the instance returned will be the same type as the subclass (for example, the array method of NSArray is inherited by NSMutableArray).
+ (id)rectangleOfColor:(NSColor *)color {
id newInstance = [[self alloc] init]; // EXCELLENT [newInstance setColor:color]; return [newInstance autorelease];
}
No, It'll cause a "UILable undeclared (first use in this function)" error.
No, it won't work. In your first line, you are sending the alloc message to an instance of a class. In the examples you copied out of Apple's documentation, they are sending alloc messages to the Class Rectangle. The difference is that your line is (apparently) inside an instance method, Apple's examples are inside class methods. There is a difference.
Like #Denis mentioned, you can do what you're trying to do by saying [[[self class] alloc] init], but in practice, don't do this. You'll almost never need the flexibility this offers and it will only muddy the intent of the new object.
I want to initialize an instance of one of the subclasses of a superclass depending on the arguments to init:
[[Vehicle alloc] initWithItinerary: shortWay]; // returns a bicycle
[[Vehicle alloc] initWithItinerary: longWay]; // returns a car
I can't find examples of code like this. I wonder if this is not idiomatic in Objective C, or I simply am not looking in the right places.
You could do this via a custom init method, but it'd be kind of tedious (you'd have to invoke [super init], but then call [self release], etc...). It'd be much simpler to create a class method on Vehicle and use that as your factory method. For example:
+ (id) vehicleWithItinerary:(id)someItinerary {
if ([someItinerary isAShortWay]) {
return [[[Bicycle alloc] initWithItinerary:someItinerary] autorelease];
} else if ([someItinerary isAMediumWay]) {
return [[[RocketPack alloc] initWithItinerary:someItinerary] autorelease];
} else if ([someItinerary isALongWay]) {
return [[[Car alloc] initWithItinerary:someItinerary] autorelease];
}
return nil;
}
Look at [UIButton buttonWithType:] for an example of how Apple does this. Instead of init, they use a static method of the base class to allocate an instance of the appropriate derived class.
You can also pass around Class objects. Maybe the itinerary knows the Class or class name to allocate. You can do something like this:
[[[itinerary classToAllocate] alloc] initWithItinerary:itinerary];
or
[[NSClassFromString( [itinerary classNameToAllocate] ) alloc] initWithItinerary:itinerary];
You are allowed to release self and create a new object in init, although this is rarely used. Just watch out for recursion.
-(id) initWithItinerary:(Itinerary *)inItinerary {
[self release]; // super init never called - safe if you wrote super classes
self = [[[inItinerary classToAllocate] alloc] init];
self.itinerary = inItinerary;
return self;
}
This is called a class cluster. Several Cocoa classes work this way, including NSArray and NSString. The object returned from NSArray's init methods is never the same object that received the message. It's not that common outside of Cocoa, though, just because it's usually more complicated than people want to bother with. Basically, you figure out what actual class you want to use in your initializer, create an instance of that class, release yourself and return the other instance.
You might want to add an enum to the header file:
typedef enum {Bike, Car, JetPack
} vehicleType
That way your initWithItinerary: method can simply be:
if(VehicleType == Bike)
{
//do bike stuff
}
else if(VehicleType == Car)
{
//do car stuff
}
Why not have a method as part of the "way" that gives you a vehicle of the appropriate type for the way. e.g.
e.g.
// Somwhere before you use them. Car and Bicycle are subclasses of Vehicle
[shortWay setAppropriateVehicleType: [Bicycle class]];
[longWay setAppropriateVehicleType: [Car class]];
// when you need a vehicle
Vehicle* vehicle = [[[shortWay appropriateVehicleType] alloc] init];
I have seen a lot of talk about dynamic typing in objective-c. But i haven't seen any examples of what i think it is supposed to be.
lets say I have a generic function that is supposed to juggle two objects (one gets allocated and the other gets freed) and the calling object attaches it self to the newly alloced object. Both are inherited from class0
Please feel free to interpret this however you want if you think it will explain something!!
If the class is picked at runtime, how do i deal with the arguments list (? is a placeholder for now)
How do i alloc a object who's class is not defined until runtime?
-(void) juggle:(?*)objclass1:(?*)objclass2{
? temp = [? alloc] init];
objclass1 = temp;
[temp release];
[objclass2.view removefromsuperview];
[self.handle insertsubview:objclass1.view];
}
I have no idea what the code you have there is trying to do, it is not syntactically valid, and manipulating views has nothing to do with your questions. Anyway, if you really don't know the type you generally use "id" which is type cast to a "void *" for codegen. It has the special property that it is assumed to receive any message, so it does not trigger compiler warnings for unknown messages.
In order to instantiate a class you just need to be holding the "Class" object for it. In Objective C all instances of a class refer to a Class object (the isa pointer in the legacy runtime), which also responds to methods. So in other words, in the following code:
NSArray *myObject = [[NSArray alloc] init];
NSArray is actually an object. So this will generate equivalent code results:
Class myClass = [NSArray class];
NSArray *myObject = [[myClass alloc] init];
or even
Class myClass = NSClassFromString(#"NSArray");
NSArray *myObject = [[myClass alloc] init];
Which uses the function NSClassFromString which walks into the runtime and finds a class with the name you pass in.
All objects return their class if use the class getter, so to instantiate an object that is the same class as an existing object like this:
- (void) leakObjectWithSameClassAs:(id)object {
[[[object class] alloc] init];
}
This is what i have now
- (void)flipfromv1tov2:(UIViewController*)v1:(NSString*)nib1:(UIViewController*)v2{
if(v1 == nil)
{
UIViewController *newview = [[[v1 class] alloc] initWithNibName:nib1 bundle:nil];
v1 = newview;
[newview release];
}
[v2.view removeFromSuperview];
[self.view insertSubview:v1.view atIndex:0];
}
I cannot verify it yet because I have a linking problem...I added this func to my root controller but for some reason I get a warning that the function is implicitly declared. And the build fails because the function call never get linked to anything