Filling an NSMutableArray with a Set of Classes and Then Getting them Back - iphone

Hopefully I can make this clear, but I am new to Objective-C and to be honest not great with Arrays in the first place.
So, I have a Singleton class (called SingletonState) that I am using to pass variables around my app (please can we leave the whether I should use Singleton classes out of this - I will fix that later). In this class, I have an NSMutableArray (called arrayMyEvents). I have also created a class that I am going to store a list of events (called EventClass). When the user logs in, I call a web service and get back 3 strings. The 3rd string is a comma separated list of value. I parse the data and populate the custom class EventClass. I then add this class to the SingletonState.arrayMyEvents.
I have all of this working. I can go to another ViewController and access the "count" of items in arrayMyEvents.
PROBLEM: I now want to edit one of the ScheduledEventsClass"es" in my array. How do I get access to it and edit some of the properties and update the one in my SingletonState class?
Here is some of the code, that I've tried:
NSString *sWebServiceEvents = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:#"%#", [result objectAtIndex:2]];
if ( [ sWebServiceEvents isEqualToString:#"NULL" ] != true ) {
NSArray *arrayEvents = [sWebServiceEvents componentsSeparatedByString:#","];
// If the array has not been initialized they initialize it.
if (sharedState.arrayMyEvents == nil) {
sharedState.arrayMyEvents = [[NSMutableArray alloc ] init ];
}
for (NSString * sEvent in arrayEvents) {
// Set equal to the value of the array (the Event Number) at the same
// position as the row that we are being asked to return a cell/row for.
EventClass *eventClass = [[EventClass alloc] retain];
eventClass.sEvent = sEvent;
[ sharedState.arrayEvents addObject:eventClass ];
}
NSLog(#"LoginView - sharedState.arrayMyEvents Count: %d", [sharedState.arrayMyEvents count]);
}
Here is me trying to access it in another ViewController:
EventClass *eventClass =
[sharedState.arrayMyEvents objectAtIndex:row ];
NSLog(#"eventClass.sEventNumber: ", eventClass.sEventNumber);
eventClass.sLocation = #"Jason's Big Location";

You're going to have some memory leaks from the sEvent loop. [[EventClass alloc]retain] leaves you an uninitialized EventClass object with a reference count of 2. You'll need to change that to [[[EventClass alloc] init] autorelease] to keep it from leaking. The arrayEvents NSMutableArray will retain it during the addObject: call. (Shouldn't that be [sharedState.arrayMyEvents addObject: eventClass] in the loop?)
After that, all you have to do to edit the EventClass object in the second block of code is edit it. The eventClass variable is a pointer to an object in the array. Anything done to that object doesn't affect the pointer referencing it, it affects data referenced by it. The code you have in the second block should change the sLocation of the selected object as you intend.
You have a few more memory leaks in there, too. Use Cmd-Shift-A to build with the static analyzer and it'll tell you where.

Maybe the problem is that you put them in sharedState.arrayEvents but try to take them out of sharedState.arrayMyEvents. Different variables.
Also, lots of memory leaks.

Thanks John and St3fan, your answers and time are appreciated!!!
I think that I figured out my issue:
Basically, the class that I created (EventClass) had the properties setup like this:
#property (nonatomic, assign) NSString *sStudyNumber;
#property (nonatomic, assign) NSString *sTheater;
but, they should be (or at least I got it to work like this):
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *sStudyNumber;
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *sTheater;
Then, in my second view I was able to do this:
EventClass *eventClass = [sharedState.arrayMyEvents objectAtIndex:row ];
NSLog(#"MyEvents: %#", eventClass.sEventNumber);
eventClass.sLocation = #"Jason's Big Location";
I then checked it in another method of the view using this and it was still there:
EventClass *eventClass = [sharedState.arrayMyEvents objectAtIndex:row ];
NSLog(#"MyEvents: %#", eventClass.sEventNumber);
NSLog(#"MyEvents: %#", eventClass.sLocation);
I also, checked it in yet another view and the value was maintained in the SharedState.arrayMyEvents without issue. :)
In the end, I believe that I boiled down to the difference between "assign" and "retain".
Now, on to the memory leaks :(
Please, let me know if you see any other issues with this.
Thanks,
Jason

Related

passing values to another method

I am setting the value for the string in the viewdidload method and getting the string value in the button action method the app gets crashed. can I know the reason for crashing and how to pass the values to the method.
in .h file
NSString *test;
in .m file
-(void)viewDidLoad
{
test = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"sample"];
}
-(IBAction) buttonPressed:(id)sender
{
NSLog(#"%#", test);
}
When I pressed the button the app crashes.
Please try using this solution, I think this will help you,
Create Property of test in .h file like this,,
#property(nonatomic,retain) NSString *test;
and synthesize it in .m file like this,
#synthesize test;
now use test as self.test in .m file like this,
-(void)viewDidLoad
{
self.test = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"sample"];
}
-(IBAction) buttonPressed:(id)sender
{
NSLog(#"%#", self.test);
}
Another solution for this is just retain that test string in ViewDidLoad also, I think this will also help you..
Hope this will help you..
Let me try to explain it in more detail:
You have a string variable in .h file. In view did load you are assigning it as:
test = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"sample"];
What actually happning in this code is your test is a autoreleased object. When you use this and object without alloc and init this is autoreleased object and will release memory after the method you occupied it.
For avoiding this situation you can use #Mehul's solution by creating property. This is against encapsulation concept. Sometimes you have objects you don't want to access outside of the class or don't want to show with objects. Use following in those conditions:
test = [[NSString stringWithFormat:#"sample"] retain]; // or
test = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:#"sample"];
this will keep your string alive till you release it.
There is another way that is not good to use but want to tell you so you can understand it better. Using
test = #"sample";
If you don't want to append string or use it with format you can assign simple string to you NSString object.
using this will have a infinite retainCount of your test variable. You can use this to avoid crash but this is not preferable because as I told this have a infinite retaiCount you can't release it and free your memory after use. So earlier methods are more correct.
This is true with all of your autorelease objects which are created with class methods and not with init.
Hope this will clear you more.
I think simple allocation will solve the problem. Just replace this code in the viewDidLoad method
-(void)viewDidLoad {
test=[[NSString alloc]initWithString:#"Sample"];
}

How to store NSTimeInterval values into a NSMutableArray?

I have a requirement where i have a Video that is played using MPMediaPlayerController. Along with the video i have two buttons where i need to capture the current playback time when the button are clicked and store all the relevant clicks individually. I am able to get the current playback time of the video using "currentPlaybackTime" property which returns NSTimeInterval. But can someone help me in how to store all the NSTimeInterval values into an NSMutableDictionary. I have tried the following ways:
-(void)onClickOfGood {
NSLog(#"The current playback time in good:%g",moviePlayerController.currentPlaybackTime);
currentPlaybackTime = moviePlayerController.currentPlaybackTime;
//NSArray *arrayContainsGoodClicks = [[NSArray alloc]initWithObjects:currentPlaybackTime, nil ];
NSNumber *goodTimeIntervals = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:currentPlaybackTime];
NSMutableArray *arrayContainsGoodClicks = [[NSMutableArray alloc]initWithObjects:goodTimeIntervals,nil ];
NSLog(#"The total count of Array is: %i",[arrayContainsGoodClicks count]);}
But everytime after the click of good button i am getting the Array count as only 1. Can someone please throw a light on where i am going wrong?
But everytime after the click of good button i am getting the Array count as only 1.
This is not surprising, considering that you are creating a brand-new NSMutableArray on the previous line.
To fix this, you need to make NSMutableArray *arrayContainsGoodClicks an instance variable (AKA ivar), initialize it to [NSMutableArray array] in your designated initializer, and then use
[arrayContainsGoodClicks addObject:goodTimeIntervals];
to add objects to the array.
If you are looking to use NSMutableDictionary instead, the strategy would be identical, except you would need to decide on an object that you would like to use as unique keys to your NSDictionary. Also remember that NSMutableDictionary is not ordered, so you might need to take care of sorting each time you display your dictionary items to users.
You need to create arrayContainsGoodClicks only once (in init method for example) and then add value to this array in your button handler:
//.h
NSMutableArray *arrayContainsGoodClicks;
//.m - init
arrayContainsGoodClicks = [NSMutableArray array];
//.m - button handler
[arrayContainsGoodClicks addObject:goodTimeIntervals];
You need to create your array and store it as a ivar.
#property (retain, nonatomic) NSMutableArray *clicksArray;
...
#synthesize clicksArray;
Now in your -init method create the array like..
self.clicksArray = [NSMutableArray array];
And add the object to the array each time so your -onClickOfGood would become something like...
...
[self.clicksArray addObject: goodTimeIntervals];
NSLog(#"The total count of Array is: %i",[self.clicksArray count]);

Pulling an NSArray out of a NSMutableArray

I have an NSMutableArray which is storing a list of other arrays. And when i run the code.
NSLog(#"%#",[[appDelegate teamRoster]objectAtIndex:[indexPath.row]class])
It returns and tells me that i am looking at an Array,
however when i try to do the following
[selectedRowerView tempArray] = [[appDelegate teamRoster]objectAtIndex:[indexPath.row]];
The program errors out. Anyone have any ideas why this might be happening?
You have to understand that [selectedRowerView tempArray] is actually a command / message that is being sent. In C++ equivalent, you are calling selectedRowerView->tempArray() = .... Which doesn't make logical sense because you cannot make an assignment to a function.
What you're trying to do is set the tempArray. If you have the proper setters/getters set-up, you can just run: selectedRowerView.tempArray = ...;
Just make sure that tempArray has a #property and is #synthesize'd.
How about this?
selectedRowerView.tempArray = [[appDelegate teamRoster]objectAtIndex:[indexPath.row]];
…assuming that tempArray is a synthesized property à la
#property (nonatomic, readwrite, retain) NSArray *tempArray;
#synthesize tempArray;
Clarification:
selectedRowerView.tempArray = …;
gets internally processed to
[selectedRowerView setTempArray:…];
which is a setter method.
While
selectedRowerView.tempArray;
gets internally processed to
[selectedRowerView tempArray];
which is a getter method.
Subtle but important difference.
The meaning of foo.bar depends on the very context (enclosing expression) it is used in.

creating a Mutable array that can be added to in later clicks of the same button?

General noob questions:
(1) How can I create an NSMutable array in a buttonClicked action that I can add more entries to during subsequent clicks of the same button? I always seem to start over with a new array at every click (the array prints with only 1 entry which is the most recent button's tag in an NSLog statement).
I have about 100 buttons (one for each character in my string called "list") generated by a for-loop earlier in my code, and each has been assigned a tag. They are in a scrollview within the view of my ViewController.
I wish to keep track of how many (and which ones) of the buttons have been clicked with the option of removing those entries if they are clicked a second time.
This is what I have so far:
-(void) buttonClicked:(UIButton *)sender
NSMutableArray * theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithCapacity: list.length];
NSNumber *sendNum = [NSNumber numberWithInt:sender.tag];
[theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked addObject:sendNum at index:sender.tag];
NSLog(#"%#",theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked);
}
(2) I have read that I may be able to use a plist dictionary but I don't really understand how I would accomplish that in code since I cant type out the items in the dictionary manually (since I don't know which buttons the user will click). Would this be easier if I somehow loaded and replaced the dictionary in a plist file? And how would I do that?
(3) I also have no idea how I should memory manage this since I need to keep updating the array. autorelease?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Okay, firstly you are creating a locally scoped array that is being re-initialised on every call to buttonClicked:. The variable should be part of the class init cycle.
You will also be better off with an NSMutableDictionary instead of an NSMutableArray. With a dictionary we don't have to specify capacity and we can use the button's tags as dictionary keys.
Here's what you need to do, these three steps always go together: property/synthesize/release. A good one to remember.
//Add property declaration to .h file
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableDictionary * theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked;
//Add the synthesize directive to the top of .m file
#synthesize theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked;
// Add release call to the dealloc method at the bottom of .m file
- (void) dealloc {
self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked = nil; // syntactically equiv to [theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked release] but also nulls the pointer
[super dealloc];
}
Next we create a storage object when the class instance is initialised. Add this to your class's init or viewDidLoad method.
self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] dictionary]; // convenience method for creating a dictionary
And your updated buttonClicked: method should look more like this.
-(void) buttonClicked:(UIButton *)sender {
NSNumber *senderTagAsNum = [NSNumber numberWithInt:sender.tag];
NSString *senderTagAsString = [[NSString alloc] initWithFormat:#"%#",senderTagAsNum];
// this block adds to dict on first click, removes if already in dict
if(![self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked objectForKey:senderTagAsString]) {
[self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked setValue:senderTagAsNum forKey:senderTagAsString];
} else {
[self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked removeObjectForKey:senderTagAsString]; }
[senderTagAsString release];
NSLog(#"%#", self.theseButtonsHaveBeenClicked);
}

Do I have a leak with this statement?

The statement is:
//Pass the copy onto the child controller
self.childController.theFoodFacilityCopy = [self.theFoodFacility copy];
My property is set to:
#property (nonatomic, retain) FoodFacility *theFoodFacilityCopy;
The reason I think I have a leak is because copy retains the value and then my dot syntax property also retains the value. Doubly retained.
What is the correct way of writing the above statement?
yes, you do have a leak there.
SomeClass *someObj = [self.theFoodFacility copy];
self.childController.theFoodFacilityCopy = someObj;
[someObj release];
This mirrors the recommended approach for initializing an object too:
SomeClass *someObj = [[SomeClass alloc] init];
self.someProperty = someObj;
[someObj release];
In both cases the first line returns an objects with a retain count of 1, and you treat it identically after that.
As mentioned by others, that is indeed a leak. If you expect to be using copies in this way, it’s likely your property should be declared copy instead and the synthesized accessor will do the work for you.
You are right. The cleanest way is something like
id temp = [self.theFoodFacitlity copy];
self.childController.theFoodFacilityCopy = temp;
[temp release]
You want to read the apple site on memory management a lot until these rules become second nature.
What is the advantage of doing this vs just setting the property to copy?
#property (nonatomic, copy) FoodFacility *theFoodFacilityCopy;