I'm wondering if someone can explain the difference between the functions below. They are both static, but require different signature syntaxes. I'm wondering how these are handled at runtime, and why you would use one over the other?
+ (int) returnInt:(NSString *)myString1 withString2:(NSString *)myString2
{
if ([myString1 isEqualToString:myString2])
return 1;
else
return 0;
}
vs.
static int returnInt(NSString *myString1, NSString *myString2)
{
if ([myString1 isEqualToString:myString2])
return 1;
else
return 0;
}
Thanks!
Unlike in (say) C++, where static member functions are just ordinary functions in the class' namespace, Objective-C has proper class methods.
Since classes are objects, calling a class method is really like calling an instance method on the class. The main consequences of this are:
1) Calling a class method incurs a slight (although generally inconsequential) overhead, since method calls are resolved at runtime.
2) Class methods have an implicit 'self' argument, just like instance methods. In their case, 'self' is a pointer to the class object.
3) Class methods are inherited by subclasses.
together, 2 and 3 mean that you can do stuff like this with a class method:
+ (id) instance
{
return [[[self alloc] init] autorelease];
}
then create a new class that inherits the method and returns a new instance of itself, rather than the superclass.
I believe that marking an ordinary c function static will just make it unavailable to files other than the one it's defined in. You'd generally do this if you wanted to make a helper function that is only relevant to one class and you wanted to avoid polluting the global namespace.
Related
I'm currently testing some simple AngelScript stuff, and noticed something I find a bit strange when it comes to how objects are initialized from classes.
Let's say I define a class like this:
class MyClass {
int i;
MyClass(int i) {
this.i = i;
}
}
I can create an object of this class by doing this:
MyClass obj = MyClass(5);
However it seems I can also create an object by doing this:
MyClass obj;
The problem here is that obj.i becomes a default value as it is undefined.
Additionally, adding a default constructor to my class and a print function call in each one reveals that when I do MyClass obj = MyClass(5); BOTH constructors are called, not just the one with the matching parameter. This seems risky to me, as it could initialize a lot of properties unnecessarily for this "ghost" instance.
I can avoid this double-initialization by using a handle, but this seems more like a work-around rather than a solution:
MyClass# obj = MyClass(5);
So my question sums up to:
Can I require a specific constructor to be called?
Can I prevent a default constructor from running?
What's the proper way to deal with required parameters when creating objects?
Mind that this is purely in the AngelScript script language, completely separate from the C++ code of the host application. The host is from 2010 and is not open-source, and my knowledge of their implementation is very limited, so if the issue lies there, I can't change it.
In order to declare class and send the value you choose to constructor try:
MyClass obj(5);
To prevent using default constructor create it and use:
.
MyClass()
{
abort("Trying to create uninitialized object of type that require init parameters");
}
or
{
exit(1);
}
or
{
assert(1>2,"Trying to create uninitialized object of type that require init parameters");
}
or
{
engine.Exit();
}
in case that any of those is working in you environment.
declaring the constructor as private seems not to work in AS, unlike other languages.
Is there any way for a static property in a Powershell class to contain a generic dictionary? Without the initialisation syntax that exists in C#, I haven't found a way to do it.
enum Environment
{
Production
QA
Dev
}
class Config
{
# How to get this populated?
static [System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary[Environment, hashtable]] $EnvData
}
Potential workarounds:
Add-Type and a C# class
A GetEnvData() method
Is there a better way I haven't thought of?
Just like in C#, you can use the static constructor (which is what initializers are syntactic sugar for, anyway):
class Config
{
static [System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary[Environment, hashtable]] $EnvData
static Config() {
$d = New-Object ([System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary[Environment, hashtable]])
$d["Production"] = #{Setting="Foo"}
[Config]::EnvData = $d
}
}
The use of a local is not strictly required, but I sleep better knowing the initialization is atomic.
You can also use an initializer ($EnvData = ...) but that's a little tricky in this case, since creating a generic Dictionary in one statement is, well, awkward, and the class syntax doesn't like it if you get complicated (pipes, nested function calls). You could still, if you so wanted, split off initialization into a separate hidden static function and call that for initialization (... $EnvData = [Config]::initialEnvData()), which may be more readable than one big constructor if you've got many conceptually independent properties.
In the Objective-C Runtime Reference, I see class_addMethod but not class_removeMethod. How do I dynamically remove a method?
Also, does class_addMethod add an instance method or a class method?
As Inerdial mentioned in his comment, the main question (How can a method be removed from a class at runtime?) is somewhat exhaustively answered here.
MattDiPasquale asks as well:
Also, does class_addMethod add an instance method or a class method?
Inerdial is correct again:
class_addMethod adds an instance method, and that to add a class method, you need to add an instance method to the class' class.
Given a Class c, we can get our hands on the class of which it is an instance (known as its "metaclass") as simply as
Class metac = object_getClass(c);
To then "add a class method" to c, we add a method to metac using class_addMethod.
If, for example, elsewhere we have already defined
id myClassMethodImplementation(id self, SEL _cmd) {
//implementation
}
We can then add a class method to c as follows:
BOOL success = class_addMethod(metac, #selector(myClassMethod), (IMP)myClassMethodImplementation, "##:");
or equivalently
BOOL success = class_addMethod(object_getClass(c), #selector(myClassMethod), (IMP)myClassMethodImplementation, "##:");
To simply add this same method as an instance method on c, we simply write
BOOL success = class_addMethod(c, #selector(myClassMethod), (IMP)myClassMethodImplementation, "##:");
References:
1. Objective-C Runtime Reference 2. Objective-C Runtime Programming Guide - Type Encodings 3. Cocoa with Love - What is a meta-class in Objective-C?
What is the difference between class and instance methods in Objective-C and when should I use each of them?
Using the tired old Car analogy...
Think of a Class like it is a factory that makes Instances of the class. For example, you might have a Car class and you might declare a method like:
+ carWithColor: (NSColor *) aColor;
And that method would then create a new Car instance, set the color, and return it:
+ carWithColor: (NSColor *) aColor
{
Car *aCar = [[[self alloc] init] autorelease];
[aCar paintWithColor: aColor];
return aCar;
}
Now, that Car class would then declare an instance method that allows the car to be painted. Why an instance method? Because every car can have a different color (and the color of the car would likely be stored in an instance variable).
- (void) paintWithColor: (NSColor *) aColor
{
... do your paint stuff here ...
}
This is explained in the Objects, Classes, and Messaging section of the Objective-C documentation.
This is an old post, but since it comes up first in a Google search I thought I'd add to it.
I'm not going to talk about class methods used as factory methods. I'd like to talk about their use in utility methods. You can/should use class methods for utility methods that are independent of state. What does this mean? Well, for instance, if you're formatting a date the same way for all instances, that's a utility method that should be a class method. Think of the utility method like a screw driver. You don't need to make a new instance of the screw driver every time you want to do something with it. The screw driver remains constant. So, for instance, I have a class that includes a private method that generates a string of emDashes used for displaying to the view. This method is not dependent on state and hence will not vary by instance. Think of class utility methods like constants.
+ (NSString *)emDashString {
return #" \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014";
}
You can call this method generically within the class (it's private in my example) like this:
NSString *string = [[self class] emDashString ];
I've deliberately chosen a bit of a trivial example to drive the point home. You would only bother making this a class utility method if you're going to need this string more than once in your class. Notice that instead of referring to the class by name I call it generically with [self class] since this is called internally. If it's exposed and you want to call it from another class then refer to it by the class name as usual.
Instance methods do things with instances of a class:
NSString *myString;
myString = [[[NSString alloc] initWithString:#"Hello, world."] autorelease];
NSLog (#"myString's length: %u", [myString length]); // instance method
Class methods can do class-specific things without relying on an object instance, often returning an instance of the class, or some other class-specific result:
NSLog (#"%#", [NSString stringWithString:#"Hello, world."]); // class method
I think it may be rare to see class methods that do not return something.
You don't need to implement both. Either option is available to you as you design your class.
An instance method can operate on an instance of the class. This can get or set a property, or cause behavior you only want that instance to perform. You need to actually have an instance to use it. These can either use or change the state of the instance.
// Notional instance methods
myHouse.color = blueColor;
[myCar accelerate];
speed = myCar.speed;
A class method operates on the notion that the class exists. It can be used to create an instance, or perform a calculation that doesn't depend on having an instance. You might have a class for custom math helper, that essentially contains functions.
// Notional class method uses
myString = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"&f", floatToConvert];
myResult = [MyMathHelper MyFunctionWithInput:myInput];
Class method signatures are prefixed with +, instance methods with - so in your header file declarations would look something like this:
-(void)setAllThings:(NSArray*)things; //instance method
+(void)setAllClassThings:(NSArray*)things; //class method
And of course the same rules apply when you define the methods in the .m file.
This is an objective-c question.
I would like to call a method in an object, but there is no instantiation of the object. Is this possible?
The method I want to call is not a class method.
You can't call a method on an object that doesn't exist. But you can call a method on a class even if you have no instantiated objects of that class. (That's what alloc is in #fbrereton's answer -- a class method).
Class methods are declared and defined with a + instead of a -, are called on the class rather than the instance, and cannot access self or any instance variables in the class (for reasons that should be obvious).
Unless the method is static you will not be able to do this. static routines in Objective-C will be prepended with a +. For example NSObject provides these two routines (among many):
+ (id)alloc; // static - an NSObject instance is not required
- (NSString*)description; // nonstatic - an NSObject instance is required
One would make the respective calls like so:
NSObject* result = [NSObject alloc];
NSString* desc = [result description];
Sorry to nit-pick Chris' terminology, but we don't call a method on an object in Objective-C, we send a message to an object. When you send a message, the runtime will look up the appropriate method and call it. The distinction matters.
Perhaps you just want a plain-old C function. If you don't want a class method, and you don't want an instance method, that appears to be your only option. Don't be afraid of using C functions in Objective-C. Every technique has its place.
You can indeed invoke an instance method without an instance, provided it is functionally a class method (that is, it accesses no instance variables). Here's an example:
/*
Compile with:
gcc -framework Foundation inst_method_without_inst.m -o inst_method_without_inst
*/
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import <objc/runtime.h>
#interface Foo : NSObject {
}
- (BOOL)doSomethingWithThis:(NSString *)this;
#end
#implementation Foo
- (BOOL)doSomethingWithThis:(NSString *)this {
NSLog(#"Look, it's this: %#", this);
return YES;
}
#end
typedef BOOL (*my_sel_t)(id, SEL, NSString *);
int
main(void) {
Class cls = [Foo class];
SEL my_sel = #selector(doSomethingWithThis:);
Method m = class_getInstanceMethod(cls, my_sel);
// You could also use +[NSObject instanceMethodForSelector:] to get |m|,
// since |cls| is a kind of NSObject.
my_sel_t f = (my_sel_t)method_getImplementation(m);
BOOL result = f(nil, my_sel, #"Hello from an instanceless instance method invocation!");
NSLog(#"result: %d", (int)result);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
You could get it to work even if the instance method accesses instance variables by allocating memory for it to work with (using either +alloc or class_getInstanceSize() plus malloc()) and passing a pointer to that memory as the first id argument to the implementation instead of nil.
While this is entertaining as an exercise, I can't think of a good reason to not just instantiate the class and use the standard messaging syntax and compiler support. In fact, the only reason we couldn't just do [(Foo *)nil doSomethingWithThis:#"BOO!"] here is that objc_msgSend() special-cases messages to nil with the result that NO is returned and nothing happens.