iphone NSString Array - iphone

I declared
NSString *dayinfield[43];
and fill it in
-(void)DrawDemo {
dayinfield[2] = #"hallo";
dayinfield[3] = #"test";
// also i can read it
NSLog (#"show: %#",dayinfield[2]);
//works fine
}
but when i like to read its content in another function (same class)
-(void)ReadData
{
NSLog (#"show: %#",dayinfield[2]);
// I get random infos or “EXC_BAD_ACCESS
}
How do I initialize the NSString Array correct so I can reach its content in each of my functions??
Thanks
chris

If you only assign literals to the array elements, this should not be a problem. But if you use other strings, you have to retain the instances manually when using a C array.
By the way: Objective-C methods start with a lowercase letter.

This would happen if you never initialized the array (or the parts of it you are accessing) - if you haven't called -DrawDemo before -ReadData or used different indices than the ones posted here, the array would simply contain garbage values.
Try to initialize the array contents to nil or #"" in your initializer method and see if the problem persists.
Alternatively consider using a suitable Cocoa container.

It's memory is probably being released before your second call. Assuming you have declared dayinfield as an ivar (and the fact that you don't get bad access all the time) your string aren't properly retained.
Initialise the strings like this:
dayinfield[2] = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:#"hallo"];
dayinfield[3] = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:#"test"];
and you should release them after you're class is being deallocated (See Memory Management Guide).
Also, obviously it depends on what you want to do, but it might be easier if you use NSArray instead of C arrays.

What you have in the OP should work although it is an exercise in sheer masochism to use old school C arrays with objects.
I ran this code:
#interface TestClass : NSObject {
NSString *a[1];
}
- (void) drawDemo;
- (void) readData;
#end
#implementation TestClass
- (void) drawDemo{
a[0]=#"A Zero";
a[1]=#"A One";
}//------------------------------------- (void) drawDemo------------------------------------
- (void) readData{
NSLog(#"a[0]=%#,a[1]=%#",a[0],a[1]);
}//------------------------------------- (void) readData------------------------------------
#end
TestClass *tc=[[TestClass alloc] init];
[tc drawDemo];
[tc readData];
... and got this output:
a[0]=A Zero,a[1]=A One
Your problem is elsewhere in your code. There is no compelling reason to use C arrays with objects. You gain nothing and you have to watch them like a hawk to prevent errors.

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"];
}

Objective-C method to nullify object

i have some trouble writing a method in Objective-C to make an object nil. Here is some example :
#interface testA : NSObject
{
NSString *a;
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *a;
+(testA*)initWithA:(NSString *)aString;
-(void)displayA;
-(void)nillify;
#end
#implementation testA
#synthesize a;
+(testA*)initWithA:(NSString *)aString{
testA *tst=[[testA alloc] init];
tst.a=aString;
return [tst autorelease];
}
-(void)displayA{
NSLog(#"%#",self.a);
}
-(void)nillify{
self=nil;
}
- (void)dealloc {
[a release];
[super dealloc];
}
#end
int main(int argc, char **argv){
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
testA *test=[testA initWithA:#"some test"];
[test displayA];
test=nil;
//[test nillify];
NSLog(#"after setting to nil");
[test displayA];
[pool release];
return 0;
}
Apparently , when I set test object to nil and then call some method on it nothing happens , but if i call nillify instead of directly setting it to nil , displayA method works normally like test object is still there. Is there a workaround for nillify method to function properly ?
Your help is much appreciated !
You can't actually do something like this, because setting 'self' to nil only has any effect within the scope of that method (in your case, 'nilify'). You don't have any actual way to effect the values of pointers located on other parts of the stack or in random places in the heap, for example.
Basically any code that holds a reference to some object is responsible for maintaining and clearing those references itself. If you have some use case where random sections of code may need references to "live" objects of some kind, but where you'd want those object references to go away in response to some external event (maybe a user tracking system or something), you could do something with notifications, but the various modules tracking those "live" objects would still be responsible for listening for notifications and cleaning up references when they received them.
The 'nilify' thing, however, can't possibly work.
You cannot do what you're trying to do. self is just a local reference to an object that actually exists elsewhere. Setting it to nil doesn't mean anything. An object doesn't, in general, own itself, and it certainly doesn't control other objects' references to it. It's up to the owning objects to manage its lifetime.
There are a few things wrong with your code.
First, by convention, class names start with an uppercase letter. Please stick to these naming conventions as it will make it harder for other developers to work with your code (and even confuse you).
Next, your initWithName:... According to the naming conventions, a method with init in its name should be an instance method, not a class method. So either name it newWithName: or turn it into an instance method like this:
-(testA*)initWithA:(NSString *)aString{
self = [super init];
if (!self) return nil;
tst.a=aString;
return self;
}
If you keep it as class method (and name it newWithName:) you should not return a autoreleased object since according to the naming conventions method that start with init... or new... return a retained object. If you do not follow these conventions, the static analyzer will give you "false" warnings and it will become useless for you.
Now for the reason your nillify doesn't work: the self is in fact an argument to a method. Under the hood, your nillify method actually has two arguments that you do not see: the self pointer and the selector pointer. This means, self is actually a variable on the stack. And if you overwrite it, you only overwrite that stack variable but that doesn't influence your test variable which is somewhere else.
As an example, consider a method - (void)foo:(NSString *)bar;. The compiler turns it into the equivalent of the C function (void) foo(id self, SEL _cmd, NSString *bar).

trying to add dictionary objects to an NSMutableArray - afterward array returns null?

I just did a search for my particular question and although the answers are close, I can't get my head around the answer...so I need some assistance.
I'd like to populate an array (NSMutableArray I suppose) with a group of dictionary objects that are parsed from JSON strings...the dictionary part I got, the JSON parsing I got, but when I try to put these objects into the NSMutableArray and NSLog it I get (null)... here are my steps (in a general way)
edit 1:
-The array I am creating is called NewFinalArray. it is an NSMutableArray, declared at the .h file and synthesized (and now alloc'd and init'd) as noted in the viewDidLoad method of the DetailViewController. It's contents are to be displayed in a UITableView.
-In DetailViewController, I have been successful in creating a plain NSArray/NSMutableArray and populating it with values that display in my UITableView.
-In the new scenario, I am receiving the information to be displayed through JSON strings which are retrievable through dictionary objects. I am using the Stig JSON libraries for iPHone/iPad. I have no problems there.
-All I wanted to do is getting the existing dictionary objects (which I can loop through from the existing array and see) and add them to a new Array to be used for displaying menu items in my UITableview.
I declared my mutableArray in my .h file
#interface blah : ...,...,...{
NSMutableArray *newFinalArray;
// other vars and IBOutlets
}
#property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *newFinalArray;
// other #property and (IBAction) stuff
#end
I then synthesize it in my .m file... I even alloc/inited it at viewDidLoad (it's a DetailViewController)
#synthesize this,that, newFinalArray; // keep track of newFinalArray, that's the one I want
- (void)viewDidLoad {
// other code
[[newFinalArray alloc] init]; // ya returns a warning, about not responding to alloc, but whatever (for now)
// I also tested of course without having to do that.
in my method that uses newFinalArray, the method is a recursive function that calls itself. each time it calls, it should add the dictionary object to the array (or does it?)
-(void)digTree:(NSArray *)array{
for (NSDictionary *dictionary in array){
// looping through the array
[self newFinalArray addObject:[dictionary]];
// more other code, and somewhere along the way I recurse
[self digTree:anotherArray];
}
}
when I try to NSLog (#"my final array is %#", newFinalArray) I get (null).
I am probably missing something here. I tried to add "nil" at the end. I am a little new/green to this , so if someone can lend a hand and let me know how to populate my newFinalArray with these dictionary objects it would be most appreciated.
[[newFinalArray alloc] init];
should be:
newFinalArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
This line is wrong too:
[self newFinalArray addObject:[dictionary]];
it should be:
[newFinalArray addObject:dictionary];
The first thing I notice that is wrong, is it should be:
newFinalArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
in viewDidLoad. See if that fixes it. It looks like there are other things wrong as well, so turn on warnings and see what else the compiler warns you about for hints.
How are the dictionaries stored? An alternative/probably easier way to do this would probably be to use arrayWithObjects:. Also, when using addObject:, there is no need to add nil (in fact, you can't add nil).

I have a Objective C function that takes any type of object by reference. But when i pass a NSMutableArray My function does not recognise It

I have a function That takes by reference any kind of object
-(BOOL)RemoteCall:(id**)DataClass;
in the implementation i use [*DataClass isMemberOfClass:[NSMutableArray class] to find out the type of the object. The problem is it does not work with NSMUtableArrays Does anybody have a solution to this problem ? Here is the relevant code:
Implementation:
-(BOOL)RemoteCall:(id**)DataClass
{
if([*DataClass isMemberOfClass:[NSMutableArray class] ] == YES)
{
NSMutableArray * SW =(NSMutableArray *)*DataClass;
//do something with SW
DataClass= (id**)SW;
return TRUE;
}
}
Any help and I mean anything at all will be appreciated, I'm stuck.
Method Call:
NSMutableArray * channelArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init]
Services * serv = [[Services alloc] init];
return [serv RemoteCall:&channelArray];
Pass by reference in Objective-C is almost never the right way.
There are a number of problems with that code.
(id**) is a pointer to a pointer to a pointer to an object. Probably not at all what you want.
YES and NO are BOOL return types; not TRUE
there is no reason in that code to be returning something by reference.
method names start with lower case letters. Arguments do, too.
There will never be an instance of NSMutableArray in an application; just subclasses
You can't tell the difference between a mutable and immutable array in the first place; check for isKindOfClass: or isMemberOfClass: for an NSMutableArray won't do you much good (it is useful, but misleading).
This is better:
-(BOOL)remoteCall: (id) dataThing
{
if([dataThing isKindOfClass:[NSMutableArray class]] == YES)
{
NSMutableArray *swArray = dataThing; // not strictly necessary, but good defensive practice
//do something with swArray
return YES;
}
return NO;
}
To be called like:
NSMutableArray * channelArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init]; // you'll need to release this somewhere
Services * serv = [[Services alloc] init];
return [serv remoteCall:channelArray];
Since you don't return a different array in remoteCall:, channelArray's contents will be manipulated by the method and the YES/NO return value.
If there is some reason why the above seemingly won't work for you, please explain why.
Note: The code obviously requires an NSMutableArray if you are going to muck with the contents. The isKindOfClass: could be checking for NSMutableArray or NSArray and it wouldn't matter either way. When using arrays in your code and requiring a mutable array, it is up to you to make sure the data flow is correct such that you don't end up w/an immutable array where you need a mutable array.
If you don't need to reassign your variable, then don't use this. id or NSObject * is just fine and works by reference anyway. id * or NSObject ** would be references. id ** doesn't make sense at all here.
Also, learn naming conventions (like upper/lowercase).
NSArray is a class cluster. That means that every NSArray instance is actually an instance of some subclass. Only isKindOfClass: is useful for class-membership testing with class clusters.
Also... thats horrible code - please accept this:
-(BOOL)remoteCall:(id)dataClass {
if([dataClass isKindOfClass:[NSMutableArray class]]) {
NSMutableArray *sw =(NSMutableArray *)dataClass;
return YES;
}
}
that should work.
Constructive critisism of coding: You need to adhere to coding conventions. Although your code will work... its not brilliant to read and theres a lot of unnecessary *s and such.
Function names should be camel coded with a preceeding lower-case letter as should variable names. Passing (id) into a function doesn't require *s at all. Objects you pass into a function only available throughout the scope of the method anyway and that method doesn't own it, I'm not sure what you're trying to do with all the extra *s, but just treat objects you pass into the method as if you don't own them. :)
As Eiko said before, i'd use just id and not double pointers to ID.
I'm also pretty sure that isMemberOfClass is your Problem. isMember does not check for inheritance, so you're only asking for Top level Classes. isKindOfClass is probably the better choice, as there is no guarantee that Apple doesn't use an internal subclass of NSMutableArray internally. Check the Apple Docs.
i'd write it as such:
-(BOOL)RemoteCall:(id)dataClass
{
if([dataClass isKindOfClass:[NSMutableArray class] ] == YES)
{
NSMutableArray * SW =(NSMutableArray *)dataClass;
//do something with SW
return TRUE;
}
}

How To Pass a Dictionary To a Function

Alright, so I think I'm doing this the right way. I'm new to objective-C, so I'm not sure about the syntax... I have a set of code that I need to call multiple times, from different files. So I made a new class that has a method in it that I'll call and pass it the values that it needs.
Because I am passing different values I've put them in a dictionary and decided to just pass the dictionary. Here is that code:
NSNumber *testNum = [NSNumber numberWithInt:varMoney];
NSMutableDictionary *dictionary = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
[dictionary setObject:#"OMG, Object 1!!!!" forKey:#"1"];
[dictionary setObject:#"Number two!" forKey:#"2"];
[dictionary setObject:testNum forKey:#"3"];
This code creates a test variable, and then puts it into the dictionary "dictionary." That all works, I have my nice little dictionary. However, now I need to create the class and it's method that will recieve the dictionary, and do something with it.
This is my class header file:
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#interface EndOfTurnObjC : UIView {
}
#end
And this is the implementation file:
#import "EndOfTurnObjC.h"
#implementation EndOfTurnObjC
- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame {
if (self = [super initWithFrame:frame]) {
// Initialization code
}
return self;
}
- (void)dealloc {
[super dealloc];
}
#end
I haven't created any of the real code, because I'm not sure how to do the passing. I need to create a function (Method?) in the class that will take a Dictionary has a parameter, and then return the dictionary.
I also have no idea how to call such a function because it's in the class. So, the questions are:
1: How do I define the method in the class to accept the dictionary as a parameter (and then perhaps some example code to pull out one of the objects in a dictionary, so I can be sure it works)
2: How do I return the dictionary at the end of the method?
3: How do I call this method, in the class, from another class? (I know it involves making an object of thing class and calling the method of the object... I think, but I'm not sure about the syntax.)
Please include relavent code for the 3 files (header, implementation, and the other class that I call from). Thank you so much, I've been working on this particular problem for a while now.
Apple's The Objective-C Programming Language is a good and pretty concise reference for Objective-C syntax. What you want is just a normal method that takes an NSDictionary as a parameter. So as given in that document:
A message with a single argument affixes a colon (:) to the selector name and puts the argument right after the colon. This construct is called a keyword; a keyword ends with a colon, and an argument follows the colon, as shown in this example:
[myRectangle setWidth:20.0];
So a method call to pass dictionary would look like:
[someObject setAttributes:dictionary];
In the header:
-(NSMutableDictionary *) doSomethingWithDictionary:(NSMutableDictionary *) aDict;
in the implementation:
-(NSMutableDictionary *) doSomethingWithDictionary:(NSMutableDictionary *) aDict{
//do something with the dictionary
return aDict;
}
To call the method:
NSMutableDictionary *returnDict=[EndOfTurnObjC doSomethingWithDictionary:dictionary];
Note that as a matter of good design you wouldn't want to pass a mutable dictionary around like a token. That is asking for trouble. Instead pass static dictionaries and get another dictionary back.
You also shouldn't be passing data to a UIView. Instead, your UIViewController should process the data and then populate the view's UI elements as needed.
if you just want to do stuff to your dictionary u just
-(void) changeMyDictionary:(NSMutableDictionary * ) dictionary_
{
[dictionary_ doStuff];
....
...
}
no need to return the dictionary.