I have an NSMutableArray i am trying to convert into a string.
Declaring my NSMutableArray...
NSMutableArray *listData;
And later inside a method...
NSString *foo = [listData componentsJoinedByString:#"|"];
NSLog(#"%#",foo);
It seems no matter what i try i keep getting EXC_BAD_ACCESS.
To make sure each element in my array was an NSString i also tried this...
NSMutableArray *mArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
for (id ln in listData) {
NSString *boo = [NSString stringWithFormat: #"%#",ln];
[mArray addObject:boo];
}
NSString *foo = [mArray componentsJoinedByString:#"|"];
NSLog(#"%#",foo);
I can manipulate my NSMutableArray by adding/deleting objects in the same method or other methods inside my class. But when i try "componentsJoinedByString" the error pops up. Does anyone have any advice or another way i can combine this array into a single NSString?
In the code you've given, there will never be an NSMutableArray for listData. At some point in your code, you'll need to create one, and presumably populate it.
Edit
Okay, so you may get into memory management problems here, so let's be a bit clearer:
You're synthesizing getters and setters for the instance variable, so it's good practice to use those to access it, they'll take care of retain and releasing appropriately.
To set listData you can simply use
self.listData = [listManage getList:[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] stringForKey:#"list_name"] list:#"LIST"];
or
[self setListData:[listManage getList:[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] stringForKey:#"list_name"] list:#"LIST"]];
if you prefer.
Related
I know there are a whole bunch of questions that have been asked and answered in stackoverflow about the challenge of getting keys in an NSDictionary sorted by putting those keys into sort order in an array. I understand that objects are not stored in sort order within the actual dictionary and that is, I think, for reasons of efficiency or maybe memory management on the part of Foundation code.
I have been working on trying out examples from several answers out here and in apple documentation and blogs (some I can get to work, others not!) , but I can't seem to find an example that solves my confusion.
I think my confusion is that the examples I'm encountering both here, in apple documentation and in the different helpful blogs, all seem to have examples where there is just a key value pair and the second value is not an object - it's more like just a value. (However isn't it really an object at some level? I would think it is)
One example, that I couldn't get to work (Sorting an NSArray by an NSDictionary value ) , uses this idea
[array sortedArrayUsingComparator:^(NSDictionary *item1, NSDictionary *item2) {
NSString *age1 = [item1 objectForKey:#"age"];
NSString *age2 = [item2 objectForKey:#"age"];
return [age1 compare:age2 options:NSNumericSearch];
}];
I thought maybe this idea, specifying the key in a more specific manner, might be my problem.
I wonder if maybe I'm not communicating to the compiler what the key is, and what the object is, and that is why I'm getting an "unrecognized selector sent to instance" error.
..... Code Snips Follow .....
1)
I have a class called "Dog". A given dog object has several properties, including an NSString key.
My key is "licenseString" is an alphanumeric key - I'm also wondering if I should use decimalNumberWithString but that's not the question here
#property (strong,nonatomic) NSString *licenseString;
#property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *dogName;
#property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *whatMakesDogSpecial;
#property (strong, nonatomic) UIImage *dogPhoto;
2) I have an NSDictionary
#property (nonatomic, strong) NSDictionary *dogDictionary;
I hardcode information into the dogDictionary in this not very sophisticated way,
Dog *aDog;
// Dog one
aDog = [[Dog alloc]init] ;
aDog.licenseString = #"1";
aDog.dogName = #"Oscar";
aDog.whatMakesDogSpecial = #"This animal was found at the Mid-Penn humane society. He is super friendly, plays well with other dogs and likes people too. He enjoys fetching balls and frisbees too. He also goes to the park daily." ;
aDog.dogPhoto = [UIImage imageNamed:#"webVuMiniAppDogOscar.jpg"];
[self.dogDictionary setValue:aDog forKey:aDog.licenseString];
3) Then once I have several dog objects in my dogDictionary, I want to sort on the license tag values, so that I can populate a table view with dog names, but by order of their license tags.
BTW it seems that the compiler does recognize "vars.dogDictionary" which appears in the code snip below, because when I look at the debugger I can see that two valid instances are coming up from my dog dictionary. The debugger output is in an attachment
So, using ideas from a stackoverflow answer and the apple documentation, I write this
NSArray *sortedKeys = [vars.dogDictionary keysSortedByValueUsingComparator:
^NSComparisonResult(id obj1, id obj2) {
return [obj1 compare:obj2];
}];
NSLog(#" The sorted array is %#", sortedKeys);
And that's where my problem happens. I recognize that 0x1182f740 refers to "obj1" as shown in the debugger attachment
2013-08-06 15:13:58.276 SortDogLIcenseTags[3876:11303] -[Dog compare:]: unrecognized selector sent to instance 0x1182f740
(lldb)
Attachment is a picture showing debugger values - they don't like to paste very well
Here's how I resolved this challenge. It works and was pretty straightforward to integrate into my Master/Detail project
I know I found a tutorial on the web somewhere that led me to this solution , I'm sorry I can't find it now.
Note that sortedDogDictionaryArray and dogDictionaryArray are declared as properties in the .h file.
self.dogDictionaryArray = [vars.dogDictionary allValues];
// Sort
NSSortDescriptor *sortDescriptorDog =
[[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:#"licenseString" ascending:YES];
NSArray *sortDescriptorsDogs =
[NSArray arrayWithObject:sortDescriptorDog];
self.sortedDogDictionaryArray =
[self.dogDictionaryArray sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:sortDescriptorsDogs];
NSLog(#"%#",self.sortedDogDictionaryArray );
int doggie;
Dog *someDogName;
NSLog(#"Sorted Order is...");
for (doggie = 0; doggie < [self.sortedDogDictionaryArray count]; doggie++) {
//NSLog(#"%#", [sortedArray objectAtIndex:i]);
//NSLog(#"%#", [sortedArrayDogs objectAtIndex:doggie]);
someDogName = [self.sortedDogDictionaryArray objectAtIndex:doggie];
//NSLog(#"name is %#", someDogName.dogName);
NSLog(#"name is %# tag is %#", someDogName.dogName, someDogName.licenseString);
}
Basically, the question is - are the following essentially the same?
NSString *value1 = ...;
NSString *value2 = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:value1];
and
NSString *value1 = ...;
NSString *value2 = [value1 copy];
Conceptually, yes. However, there is one difference: alloc always creates a new string, whereas copy may return the same string.
In particular, immutable objects, such as immutable strings, are likely respond to copy by returning themselves rather than creating and returning a copy. (After all, if you can't change anything about the original, why would you really need a copy?) Mutable strings will respond to it by creating and returning a copy, as you'd expect.
initWithString: is in the middle: It may release the receiver and return the string you gave it, similar to how copy may return the receiver. However, if that happens, it means you wasted the creation of the string you created with alloc. With copy, you may not need to create any additional objects at all.
About the only reason to use alloc and initWithString: is if you have your own subclass of NSString and want to make an instance of it from an existing string. copy won't use your desired subclass. Since subclassing NSString is practically never warranted in Cocoa, the same is true of using initWithString: (or stringWithString:).
So the bottom line is, just use copy (or mutableCopy). It's shorter, clearer about your intent, and can be faster.
Non-mutable strings are treated a bit special, compared to ordinary objects, so in this case, yes, the two operations are the same.
To wit:
NSString *str1 = #"string";
NSString *str2 = [str1 copy];
NSString *str3 = [[NSString alloc] initWithString: str1];
NSLog(#"str1: %p, str2: %p, str3: %p", str1, str2, str3);
Which gives me the following output:
str1: 0x108a960b0, str2: 0x108a960b0, str3: 0x108a960b0
Since the pointer addresses are the same, we are talking about the same object.
I often use Transformable for Core Data attributes, so I can change them later.
However, it seems like, if I want to use NSPredicate to find a NSManagedObject, using "uniqueKey == %#", or "uniqueKey MATCHES[cd] %#", it's not working as it should.
It always misses matching objects, until I change the attributes of the uniqueKey of the matching object to have specific class like NSString, or NSNumber.
Can someone explain the limitation of using NSPredicate with Transformable attributes?
Note: I'm not sure when/if this has changed since 5/2011 (from Scott Ahten's accepted answer), but you can absolutely search with NSPredicate on transformable attributes. Scott correctly explained why your assumptions were broken, but if Can someone explain the limitation of using NSPredicate with Transformable attributes? was your question, he implied that it is not possible, and that is incorrect.
Since the is the first google hit for "Core Data transformable value search nspredicate" (what I searched for trying to find inspiration), I wanted to add my working answer.
How to use NSPredicate with transformable properties
Short, heady answer: you need to be smart about your data transformers. You need to transfrom the value to NSData that contains what I'll call "primitive identifying information", i.e. the smallest, most identifying set of bytes that can be used to reconstruct your object. Long answer, ...
Foremost, consider:
Did you actual mean to use a transformable attribute? If any supported data type -- even binary data -- will suffice, use it.
Do you understand what transformable attributes actually are? How they pack and unpack data to and from the store? Review Non-Standard Persistent Attributes in Apple's documentation.
After reading the above, ask: does custom code that hides a supported type "backing attribute" work for you? Possibly use that technique.
Now, past those considerations, transformable attributes are rather slick. Frankly, writing an NSValueTransformer "FooToData" for Foo instances to NSData seemed cleaner than writing a lot of adhoc custom code. I haven't found a case where Core Data doesn't know it needs to transform the data using the registered NSValueTransformer.
To proceed simply address these concerns:
Did you tell Core Data what transformer to use? Open the Core Data model in table view, click the entity, click the attribute, load the Data Model Inspector pane. Under "Attribute Type: Transformable", set "Name" to your transformer.
Use a default transformer (again, see the previous Apple docs) or write your own transformer -- transformedValue: must return NSData.
NSKeyedUnarchiveFromDataTransformerName is the default transformer and may not suffice, or may draw in somewhat-transient instance data that can make two similar objects be different when they are equal.
The transformed value should contain only -- what I'll call -- "primitive identifying information". The store is going to be comparing bytes, so every byte counts.
You may also register your transformer globally. I have to do this since I actually reuse them elsewhere in the app -- e.g. NSString *name = #"FooTrans"; [NSValueTransformer setValueTransformer:[NSClassFromString(name) new] forName:name];
You probably don't want to use transforms heavily queried data operations - e.g. a large import where the primary key information uses transformers - yikes!
And then in the end, I simply use this to test for equality for high-level object attributes on models with NSPredicates -- e.g. "%K == %#" -- and it works fine. I haven't tried some of the various matching terms, but I wouldn't be surprised if they worked sometimes, and others not.
Here's an example of an NSURL to NSData transformer. Why not just store the string? Yeah, that's fine -- that's a good example of custom code masking the stored attribute. This example illustrates that an extra byte is added to the stringified URL to record if it was a file URL or not -- allowing us to know what constructors to use when the object is unpacked.
// URLToDataTransformer.h - interface
extern NSString *const kURLToDataTransformerName;
#interface URLToDataTransformer : NSValueTransformer
#end
...
// URLToDataTransformer.m - implementation
#import "URLToDataTransformer.h"
NSString *const kURLToDataTransformerName = #"URLToDataTransformer";
#implementation URLToDataTransformer
+ (Class)transformedValueClass { return [NSData class]; }
+ (BOOL)allowsReverseTransformation { return YES; }
- (id)transformedValue:(id)value
{
if (![value isKindOfClass:[NSURL class]])
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
NSMutableData *data;
char fileType = 0;
if ([value isFileURL])
{
fileType = 1;
data = [NSMutableData dataWithBytes:&fileType length:1];
[data appendData:[[(NSURL *)value path] dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
}
else
{
fileType = -1;
data = [NSMutableData dataWithBytes:&fileType length:1];
[data appendData:[[(NSURL *)value absoluteString] dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding]];
}
return data;
}
- (id)reverseTransformedValue:(id)value
{
if (![value isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
NSURL *url = nil;
NSData *data = (NSData *)value;
char fileType = 0;
NSRange range = NSMakeRange(1, [data length]-1);
[data getBytes:&fileType length:1];
if (1 == fileType)
{
NSData *actualData = [data subdataWithRange:range];
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:actualData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
url = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:str];
}
else if (-1 == fileType)
{
NSData *actualData = [data subdataWithRange:range];
NSString *str = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:actualData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
url = [NSURL URLWithString:str];
}
else
{
// Log error ...
return nil;
}
return url;
}
#end
Transformable attributes are usually persisted as archived binary data. As such, you are attempting to compare an instance of NSData with an instance of NSString or NSNumber.
Since these classes interpret the same data in different ways, they are not considered a match.
you can try this way
NSExpression *exprPath = [NSExpression expressionForKeyPath:#"transformable_field"];
NSExpression *exprKeyword = [NSExpression expressionForConstantValue:nsdataValue];
NSPredicate *predicate = [NSComparisonPredicate predicateWithLeftExpression:exprPath rightExpression:exprKeyword modifier:NSDirectPredicateModifier type:NSEqualToPredicateOperatorType options:0];
I have a situation where I need to use some strings temporarily but I've read so many conflicting things that I'm a bit confused as to what the best way to proceed is.
I need to assign some strings inside an if structure but use them outside the if structure so they need to be created outside the if, I was thinking something like:
NSString *arbString = [[NSString alloc] init];
if(whatever)
{
arbString = #"Whatever"
}
else
{
arbString = #"SomethingElse"
}
myLabel.text = arbString;
[arbString release];
I have seen examples where people just used:
NSString *arbString;
to create the string variable
Google's Objective C guide says it's preferred to autorelease at creation time:
"When creating new temporary objects, autorelease them on the same line as you create them rather than a separate release later in the same method":
// AVOID (unless you have a compelling performance reason)
MyController* controller = [[MyController alloc] init];
// ... code here that might return ...
[controller release];
// BETTER
MyController* controller = [[[MyController alloc] init] autorelease];
So I have no idea, which is the best practice?
In the example you posted, you actually lose the reference to the NSString you created when you assign it in arbString = #"Whatever". You then release the string constant (which is unreleasable, by the way).
So there's a memory leak, since you never release the NSString you created.
Remember that all these types are pointers, so = only reassigns them.
As for the question, in this example, you don't need the [[NSString alloc] init]. You don't need to copy the string into a local variable anyway, you can just set myLabel.text to the string constant #"Whatever".
(edit: that's not to say that you can't use your pointer arbString, arbString = #"Whatever"; myLabel.text = arbString is fine. But this is just pointer assignment, not copying)
If you needed to manipulate the string before you returned it, you would create an NSMutableString, and either release or auto-release it. Personally, create autoreleased objects using class methods, so in this example, I'd use [NSString string], or [NSString stringWithString:], which return autoreleased objects.
I have an method that reads an xml file and stores the xml nodes at a certain XPath-path in an NSArray called *nodes. What I want to do is take each one of the items in the array and add it to a core data entity called Category with the attribute of "name".
I have tried a number of different ways of creating the entity but I'm not sure about the correct way to do this effectively. This is the code used to create the NSArray, any ideas on how to implement this? (ignore the NSError, I will fix this in the final version)
- (IBAction)readCategories:(id)sender
{
NSString *xmlString = [resultView string];
NSData *xmlData = [xmlString dataUsingEncoding: NSASCIIStringEncoding];
NSXMLDocument *xmlDoc = [[NSXMLDocument alloc] initWithData:xmlData options:nil error:nil];
//XPath
NSError *err=nil;
NSArray *nodes = [xmlDoc nodesForXPath:#"//member[name='description']/value/string" error:&err];
}
EDIT - My loop code
NSArray *nodes = [xmlDoc nodesForXPath:#"//member[name='description']/value/string" error:&err];
int arrayCount = [nodes count];
NSAutoreleasePool *pool = [[NSAutoreleasePool alloc] init];
NSXMLElement *categoryEl;
NSString *new = [catArrayController newObject];
int i;
for (i = 0; i < arrayCount; i++)
{
[categoryEl = [nodes objectAtIndex:i]];
[new setValue:[categoryEl stringValue] forKey:#"name"];
[catArrayController addObject:new];
}
[pool release];
Here's how I'd write it:
for (NSXMLElement *categoryElement in nodes) {
NSManagedObject *newObject = [catArrayController newObject];
[newObject setValue:[categoryElement stringValue] forKey:#"name"];
[catArrayController addObject:newObject];
[newObject release];
}
First, I'm using the Objective-C 2.0 for-each syntax. This is simpler than using index variables. I eliminated i and arrayCount.
Next, I took out your NSAutoreleasePool. None of the objects in the loop are autoreleased, so it had no effect. (The newObject method returns a retained object which is, by convention, what methods with the word new in their name do) This is also why I release newObject after adding it to the array controller. Since I'm not going to be using it any more in this method, I need to release it.
Also, you had defined new (which I renamed newObject) as an NSString. Core Data objects are always either an instance of NSManagedObject or a subclass of NSManagedObject.
Your line [categoryEl = [nodes objectAtIndex:i]] won't compile. That's because the bracket syntax is used to send a message to an object. This is an assignment statement, so the bracket syntax is not needed here. (This line is also not necessary any more because of I've changed the loop to use the for-each syntax) But, for future reference, categoryEl = [nodes objectAtIndex:i]; would have worked.
What part are you having trouble with? There shouldn't be much more to it than looping through the array, creating a new managed object for each entry, and setting the correct attributes. You can create the managed object with NSEntityDescription's -insertNewObjectForEntityForName:inManagedObjectContext: method.