Does the NSNotification retain the object? - iphone

Question

My question is in regards the object that gets added to a -postNotificationName:object: userInfo: method.
Does the NSNotification retain the object ?
(in a similar fashion to NSMutableDictionary or Array) ... meaning I can release the object after posting the notification
Below is a code snippet to help describe my question ... is it valid to release the object. A link to Apple documentation could be really helpful.
NSMutableDictionary *teamDictCopy = [self.teamDict mutableCopy];
[teamDictCopy setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:self.scrollViewIndex] forKey:#"imageIndex"];
if([self.statusButton.title isEqualToString:#"Completed"]){
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:#"UnComplete" object:teamDictCopy userInfo:nil];
}
[teamDictCopy release];

Answer 1

"Does the NSNotification retain the
object ? (in a similar fashion to
NSMutableDictionary or Array) ...
meaning I can release the object after
posting the notification"
I'm not sure if the object and userInfo parameters are retained by that method or not, but in practice, it shouldn't really matter.
I think you may be envisioning that NSNotificationCenter is creating these notifications and broadcasting them in an asynchronous manner, but that isn't the case. As stated in the documentation for NSNotificationCenter (see NSNotificationCenter Class Reference), notifications are posted synchronously:
A notification center delivers
notifications to observers
synchronously. In other words, the
postNotification: methods do not
return until all observers have
received and processed the
notification. To send notifications
asynchronously use
NSNotificationQueue. In a
multithreaded application,
notifications are always delivered in
the thread in which the notification
was posted, which may not be the same
thread in which an observer registered
itself.
So, in your code, the notification center creates the notification and then broadcasts it through the default center. Any objects which have registered for this combination of notification name and object will receive the notification and then perform the selector they specified when they registered for that notification. Afterwards, the control returns to the class that posted the notification.
In other words, by the time your code gets to the [teamDictCopy release] line, the teamDictCopy will already have been "used" by all of the interested parties. So, there shouldn't be any danger in releasing it.
Just a note on conventions. Generally, the object: parameter is meant to be the object that is posting the notification, and the userInfo: parameter is meant for an NSDictionary of extra information. So, normally, you would handle the notification like follows:
NSMutableDictionary *teamDictCopy = [self.teamDict mutableCopy];
[teamDictCopy setObject:
[NSNumber numberWithInt:self.scrollViewIndex] forKey:#"imageIndex"];
if([self.statusButton.title isEqualToString:#"Completed"]){
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:#"UnComplete"
object:self userInfo:teamDictCopy];
}
[teamDictCopy release];

Answer 2

yes - you can release the object once it's been set as the notification's object.
you can also subclass.
as far as a specific document/statement: i don't remember one, specifically.
this is however the basis of objects, their instance variables, and distributed communications and signaling when types are identified as being an object.
i've written a test for you, so you can be assured of this. the use cases of notifications would be few if the object were not retained. just add a breakpoint where instructed, then run with breakpoints enabled. enjoy!
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#interface MONObject : NSObject
#end
#implementation MONObject
- (id)retain {
return self; /* << add breakpoint here */
}
/* needed to counter retain override
(although all MONObjects will leak in this example)
*/
- (void)release {
}
#end
int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) {
NSAutoreleasePool * pool = [NSAutoreleasePool new];
NSString * name = #"UnComplete";
MONObject * obj = [MONObject new];
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:name object:obj userInfo:nil];
[obj release], obj = 0;
[pool drain];
return 0;
}