Archive-name: computer-lang/Objective-C/faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Frequently Asked Questions - comp.lang.objective-c compiled by David Stes (stes@pandora.be) January 12 2008 Contents * Contents * 1. About this FAQ + 1.1 Where can I find the latest version of the FAQ ? * 2. Objective-C Compiler Commands + 2.1 What's the file suffix for Objective-C source ? + 2.2 How do I compile .m files with the Stepstone compiler ? + 2.3 How do I compile .m files with the Apple compiler ? + 2.4 How do I compile .m files with the GNU C compiler ? + 2.5 How do I compile .m files with the POC ? * 3. Objective-C preprocessor issues + 3.1 What's the syntax for comments ? + 3.2 How do I include the root class ? + 3.3 What is #import ? + 3.4 Why am I lectured about using #import ? * 4. Object datatype (id) + 4.1 What is id ? + 4.2 What is the difference between self and super ? + 4.3 What is @defs() ? * 5. Message selectors (SEL) + 5.1 What is a SEL ? + 5.2 What is perform: doing ? + 5.3 How do I know the SEL of a given method ? * 6. Implementation pointers (IMP) + 6.1 What is an IMP ? + 6.2 How do I get an IMP given a SEL ? + 6.3 How do I send a message given an IMP ? + 6.4 How can I use IMP for methods returning double ? + 6.5 Can I use perform: for a message returning double ? * 7. Copying objects + 7.1 What's the difference between copy and deepCopy ? * 8. Objective-C and C++ + 8.1 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? * 9. Messages + 9.1 How do I make a static method ? + 9.2 How do I prevent an object from sending a given message ? + 9.3 Do I have to recompile everything if I change the implementation of a method ? * 10. Instance and Class Variables + 10.1 Do I have to recompile everything if I change instance variables of a class ? * 11. Objective-C and X-Windows + 11.1 How do I include X Intrinsics headers into an Objective-C file ? * 12. Stepstone Specific Questions + 12.1 How do I allocate an object on the stack ? * 13. GNU Objective-C Specific Questions + 13.1 Why do I get a 'floating point exception' ? * 14. Apple Objective-C Specific Questions + 14.1 What's the class of a constant string ? + 14.2 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? * 15. Portable Object Compiler Objective-C Specific Questions + 15.1 What's the syntax for class variables ? + 15.2 How do I forward messages ? + 15.3 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? * 16. Books and further reading + 16.1 Object-Oriented Programming : An Evolutionary Approach, 2nd Ed. + 16.2 An Introduction To Object-Oriented Programming, 2nd Ed. + 16.3 Objective-C : Object-Oriented Programming Techniques + 16.4 Applications of Object-Oriented Programming; C++ SmallTalk Actor Objective-C Object PASCAL 1. About this FAQ 1.1 Where can I find the latest version of the FAQ ? It's posted once a month to comp.lang.objective-c, comp.answers and news.answers. It is archived at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/faqs/computer-lang/Objective-C/faq. 2. Objective-C Compiler Commands 2.1 What's the file suffix for Objective-C source ? It's .m for implementation files, and .h for header files. Objective-C compilers usually also accept .c as a suffix, but compile those files in plain C mode. 2.2 How do I compile .m files with the Stepstone compiler ? objcc -c class.m objcc -o class class.o 2.3 How do I compile .m files with the Apple compiler ? cc -c class.m cc -o class class.o See http://www.apple.com for more information. 2.4 How do I compile .m files with the GNU C compiler ? gcc -c class.m gcc -o class class.o -lobjc -lpthread See http://www.gnu.org for more information. 2.5 How do I compile .m files with the POC ? objc -c class.m objc -o class class.o See http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/devel/lang/objc/ for more information. 3. Objective-C preprocessor issues 3.1 What's the syntax for comments ? The Objective-C preprocessor usually supports two styles of comments : // this is a BCPL-style comment (extends to end of line) and /* this is a C-style comment */ 3.2 How do I include the root class ? On Stepstone and the POC, the header file to include is : <Object.h> On GNU cc and Apple cc, it's : <objc/Object.h> The root class is located in a directory called runtime for the Stepstone compiler, and in a directory called objcrt for the POC, but because of implicit -I options passed on to the preprocessor, these locations are automatically searched. 3.3 What is #import ? It's a C preprocessor construct to avoid multiple inclusions of the same file. #import <Object.h> is an alternative to #include <Object.h> where the .h file is protected itself against multiple inclusions : #ifndef _OBJECT_H_ ... #define _OBJECT_H_ #endif 3.4 Why am I lectured about using #import ? The GNU Objective-C compiler emits a warning when you use #import because some people find using #import poor style. You can turn off the warning by using the -Wno-import option, you could modify the compiler source code and set the variable warn_import (in the file cccp.c) or you could convert your code to use pairs of #ifndef and #endif, as shown above, which makes your code work with all compilers. 4. Object datatype (id) 4.1 What is id ? It's a generic C type that Objective-C uses for an arbitrary object. For example, a static function that takes one object as argument and returns an object, could be declared as : static id myfunction(id argument) { ... } 4.2 What is the difference between self and super ? self is a variable that refers to the object that received a message in a method implementation. super refers to the same variable, but directs the compiler to use a method implementation from the superclass. Using pseudo-code, where copy (from super) is the syntax for the copy implementation of the superclass, the following are equivalent : myObject = [super copy]; and, myObject = [self copy (from super)]; // pseudo-code 4.3 What is @defs() ? It's a compiler directive to get access to the internal memory layout of instances of a particular class. typedef struct { @defs(MyClass) } *TMyClass; defines a C-type TMyClass with a memory layout that is the same as that of MyClass instances. 5. Message selectors (SEL) 5.1 What is a SEL ? It's the C type of a message selector; it's often defined as a (uniqued) string of characters (the name of the method, including colons), but not all compilers define the type as such. 5.2 What is perform: doing ? perform: is a message to send a message, identified by its message selector (SEL), to an object. 5.3 How do I know the SEL of a given method ? If the name of the method is known at compile time, use @selector : [myObject perform:@selector(close)]; At runtime, you can lookup the selector by a runtime function that takes the name of the message as argument, as in : SEL mySel = selUid(name); // for Stepstone SEL mySel = sel_getUid(name); // for Apple SEL mySel = sel_get_any_uid(name); // for GNU Objective C SEL mySel = selUid(name); // for POC 6. Implementation pointers (IMP) 6.1 What is an IMP ? It's the C type of a method implementation pointer, a function pointer to the function that implements an Objective-C method. It is defined to return id and takes two hidden arguments, self and _cmd : typedef id (*IMP)(id self,SEL _cmd,...); 6.2 How do I get an IMP given a SEL ? This can be done by sending a methodFor: message : IMP myImp = [myObject methodFor:mySel]; 6.3 How do I send a message given an IMP ? By dereferencing the function pointer. The following are all equivalent : [myObject myMessage]; or IMP myImp = [myObject methodFor:@selector(myMessage)]; myImp(myObject,@selector(myMessage)); or [myObject perform:@selector(myMessage)]; 6.4 How can I use IMP for methods returning double ? For methods that return a C type such as double instead of id, the IMP function pointer is casted from pointer to a function returning id to pointer to a function returning double : double aDouble = ((double (*) (id,SEL))myImp)(self,_cmd); 6.5 Can I use perform: for a message returning double ? No. The method perform: is for sending messages returning id without any other argument. Use perform:with: if the message returns id and takes one argument. Use methodFor: for the general case of any number of arguments and any return type. 7. Copying objects 7.1 What's the difference between copy and deepCopy ? copy is intented to make a bytecopy of the object, sharing pointers with the original, and can be overridden to copy additional memory. deepCopy is intented to make a copy that doesn't share pointers with the original. A deep copy of an object contains copies of its instance variables, while a plain copy is normally just a copy at the first level. 8. Objective-C and C++ 8.1 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? You have two options : either use the Apple compiler or use the POC. The former accepts a mix of C++ and Objective-C syntax (called Objective-C++), the latter compiles Objective-C into C and then compiles the intermediate code with a C++ compiler. See the compiler specific questions for more information. 9. Messages 9.1 How do I make a static method ? Methods are always implemented in Objective-C as static functions. The only way to obtain the IMP (implementation pointer) of a method is through the runtime (via methodFor: and friends), because the function itself is static to the file that implements the method. 9.2 How do I prevent an object from sending a given message ? You can't. If your object responds to a message, any other class can send this message. You could add an extra argument sender and check, as in : - mymethod:sender { if ([sender isKindOf:..]) ... } But this still requires cooperation of the sender, to use a correct argument : [anObject mymethod:self]; 9.3 Do I have to recompile everything if I change the implementation of a method ? No, you only have to recompile the implementation of the method itself. Files that only send that particular messages do not have to be recompiled because Objective-C has dynamic binding. 10. Instance and Class Variables 10.1 Do I have to recompile everything if I change instance variables of a class ? You have to recompile that class, all of its subclasses, and those files that use @defs() or use direct access to the instance variables of that class. In short, using @defs() to access instance variables, or accessing instance variables through subclassing, breaks the encapsulation that the Objective-C runtime normally provides for all other files (the files that you do not have to recompile). 11. Objective-C and X-Windows 11.1 How do I include X Intrinsics headers into an Objective-C file ? To avoid a conflict between Objective-C's Object and the X11/Object, do the following : #include <Object.h> #define Object XtObject #include <X11/Intrinsic.h> #include <X11/IntrinsicP.h> #undef Object 12. Stepstone Specific Questions 12.1 How do I allocate an object on the stack ? To allocate an instance of 'MyClass' on the stack : MyClass aClass = [MyClass new]; 13. GNU Objective-C Specific Questions 13.1 Why do I get a 'floating point exception' ? This used to happen on some platforms and is described at ftp://ftp.ics.ele.tue.nl/pub/users/tiggr/objc/README.387. A solution was to add -lieee to the command line, so that an invalid floating point operation in the runtime did not send a signal. DJGPP users can consult http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/v2faq/. AIX users may want to consult http://world.std.com/~gsk/oc-rs6000-problems.html. In some cases, you can fix the problem by upgrading to a more recent version of the GNU Objective-C runtime and/or compiler. 14. Apple Objective-C Specific Questions 14.1 What's the class of a constant string ? It's an NXConstantString. NXConstantString *myString = @"my string"; 14.2 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? c++ -c file.m c++ file.o -lcpluslib -o myprogram 15. Portable Object Compiler Objective-C Specific Questions 15.1 What's the syntax for class variables ? List the class variables after the instance variables, and group them together in the same way as instance variables, as follows : @implementation MyClass : Object { id ivar1; int ivar2; } : { id cvar1; } @end 15.2 How do I forward messages ? You have to implement doesNotUnderstand: to send a sentTo: message. - doesNotUnderstand:aMsg { return [aMsg sentTo:aProxy]; } 15.3 How can I link a C++ library into an Objective-C program ? objc -c -cplus file.m objc -cplus file.o -lcpluslib -o myprogram 16. Books and further reading 16.1 Object-Oriented Programming : An Evolutionary Approach, 2nd Ed. Brad Cox & Andy Novobilski, ISBN 0201548348. 16.2 An Introduction To Object-Oriented Programming, 2nd Ed. Timothy Budd, ISBN 0201824191 16.3 Objective-C : Object-Oriented Programming Techniques Pinson, Lewis J. / Wiener, Richard S., ISBN 0201508281 16.4 Applications of Object-Oriented Programming; C++ SmallTalk Actor Objective-C Object PASCAL Pinson, Lewis J. / Wiener, Richard S., ISBN 0201503697 _________________________________________________________________ User Contributions:
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