NSObject Class Reference

Contents

NSObject Class Reference 5

Overview 5
Tasks 6
Initializing a Class 6
Creating, Copying, and Deallocating Objects 6
Identifying Classes 7
Testing Class Functionality 7
Testing Protocol Conformance 7
Obtaining Information About Methods 7
Describing Objects 8
Discardable Content Proxy Support 8
Sending Messages 8
Forwarding Messages 9
Dynamically Resolving Methods 9
Error Handling 9
Archiving 9
Working with Class Descriptions 10
Scripting 11
Deprecated Methods 11
Class Methods 11
alloc 11
allocWithZone: 12
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget: 13
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object: 14
class 15
classFallbacksForKeyedArchiver 16
classForKeyedUnarchiver 16
conformsToProtocol: 17
copyWithZone: 18
description 19
initialize 19
instanceMethodForSelector: 20
instanceMethodSignatureForSelector: 21
instancesRespondToSelector: 21

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Contents

isSubclassOfClass: 22
load 22
mutableCopyWithZone: 23
new 24
resolveClassMethod: 25
resolveInstanceMethod: 25
setVersion: 26
superclass 27
version 28
Instance Methods 29
attributeKeys 29
autoContentAccessingProxy 29
awakeAfterUsingCoder: 30
classCode 31
classDescription 31
classForArchiver 32
classForCoder 32
classForKeyedArchiver 33
classForPortCoder 33
className 34
copy 35
copyScriptingValue:forKey:withProperties: 35
dealloc 36
doesNotRecognizeSelector: 37
finalize 38
forwardingTargetForSelector: 40
forwardInvocation: 40
init 42
inverseForRelationshipKey: 43
methodForSelector: 44
methodSignatureForSelector: 45
mutableCopy 46
newScriptingObjectOfClass:forValueForKey:withContentsValue:properties: 46
performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: 47
performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: 49
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: 50
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: 51
performSelectorInBackground:withObject: 52
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: 53

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Contents

performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: 55
replacementObjectForArchiver: 56
replacementObjectForCoder: 56
replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver: 57
replacementObjectForPortCoder: 58
scriptingProperties 59
scriptingValueForSpecifier: 59
setScriptingProperties: 60
toManyRelationshipKeys 61
toOneRelationshipKeys 61

Deprecated NSObject Methods 63

Deprecated in OS X v10.5 63
poseAsClass: 63

Document Revision History 65

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NSObject Class Reference

Inherits from none (NSObject is a root class)

Conforms to NSObject

Framework /System/Library/Frameworks/[Link]

Availability Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSArchiver.h
NSClassDescription.h
NSKeyedArchiver.h
NSObject.h
NSObjectScripting.h
NSPortCoder.h
NSRunLoop.h
NSScriptClassDescription.h
NSThread.h

Related sample code Denoise

QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo103
QTCoreVideo201
QTCoreVideo202

Overview
NSObject is the root class of most Objective-C class hierarchies. Through NSObject, objects inherit a basic
interface to the runtime system and the ability to behave as Objective-C objects.

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NSObject Class Reference
Tasks

Tasks
Initializing a Class

+ initialize (page 19)

Initializes the receiver before it’s used (before it receives its first message).
+ load (page 22)
Invoked whenever a class or category is added to the Objective-C runtime; implement this method to
perform class-specific behavior upon loading.

Creating, Copying, and Deallocating Objects

+ alloc (page 11)

Returns a new instance of the receiving class.
+ allocWithZone: (page 12)
Returns a new instance of the receiving class.
– init (page 42)
Implemented by subclasses to initialize a new object (the receiver) immediately after memory for it has
been allocated.
– copy (page 35)
Returns the object returned by copyWithZone:.
+ copyWithZone: (page 18)
Returns the receiver.
– mutableCopy (page 46)
Returns the object returned by mutableCopyWithZone: where the zone is nil.
+ mutableCopyWithZone: (page 23)
Returns the receiver.
– dealloc (page 36)
Deallocates the memory occupied by the receiver.
+ new (page 24)
Allocates a new instance of the receiving class, sends it an init (page 42) message, and returns the
initialized object.

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NSObject Class Reference
Tasks

Identifying Classes

+ class (page 15)

Returns the class object.
+ superclass (page 27)
Returns the class object for the receiver’s superclass.
+ isSubclassOfClass: (page 22)
Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiving class is a subclass of, or identical to, a given
class.

Testing Class Functionality

+ instancesRespondToSelector: (page 21)

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether instances of the receiver are capable of responding to a
given selector.

Testing Protocol Conformance

+ conformsToProtocol: (page 17)

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiver conforms to a given protocol.

Obtaining Information About Methods

– methodForSelector: (page 44)

Locates and returns the address of the receiver’s implementation of a method so it can be called as a
function.
+ instanceMethodForSelector: (page 20)
Locates and returns the address of the implementation of the instance method identified by a given
selector.
+ instanceMethodSignatureForSelector: (page 21)
Returns an NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the instance method identified
by a given selector.
– methodSignatureForSelector: (page 45)
Returns an NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the method identified by a given
selector.

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NSObject Class Reference
Tasks

Describing Objects

+ description (page 19)

Returns a string that represents the contents of the receiving class.

Discardable Content Proxy Support

– autoContentAccessingProxy (page 29)

Creates and returns a proxy for the receiving object

Sending Messages

– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50)

Invokes a method of the receiver on the current thread using the default mode after a delay.
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51)
Invokes a method of the receiver on the current thread using the specified modes after a delay.
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53)
Invokes a method of the receiver on the main thread using the default mode.
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55)
Invokes a method of the receiver on the main thread using the specified modes.
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 47)
Invokes a method of the receiver on the specified thread using the default mode.
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)
Invokes a method of the receiver on the specified thread using the specified modes.
– performSelectorInBackground:withObject: (page 52)
Invokes a method of the receiver on a new background thread.
+ cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget: (page 13)
Cancels perform requests previously registered with the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page
50) instance method.

+ cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object: (page 14)

Cancels perform requests previously registered with performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page
50).

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NSObject Class Reference
Tasks

Forwarding Messages

– forwardingTargetForSelector: (page 40)

Returns the object to which unrecognized messages should first be directed.
– forwardInvocation: (page 40)
Overridden by subclasses to forward messages to other objects.

Dynamically Resolving Methods

+ resolveClassMethod: (page 25)

Dynamically provides an implementation for a given selector for a class method.
+ resolveInstanceMethod: (page 25)
Dynamically provides an implementation for a given selector for an instance method.

Error Handling

– doesNotRecognizeSelector: (page 37)

Handles messages the receiver doesn’t recognize.

Archiving

– awakeAfterUsingCoder: (page 30)

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object in place of the object that was decoded and
subsequently received this message.
– classForArchiver (page 32)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own during archiving.
– classForCoder (page 32)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own during coding.
– classForKeyedArchiver (page 33)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute a new class for instances during keyed archiving.
+ classFallbacksForKeyedArchiver (page 16)
Overridden to return the names of classes that can be used to decode objects if their class is unavailable.
+ classForKeyedUnarchiver (page 16)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute a new class during keyed unarchiving.

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NSObject Class Reference
Tasks

– classForPortCoder (page 33)

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own for distribution encoding.
– replacementObjectForArchiver: (page 56)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during archiving.
– replacementObjectForCoder: (page 56)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during encoding.
– replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver: (page 57)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during keyed archiving.
– replacementObjectForPortCoder: (page 58)
Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object or a copy for itself during distribution encoding.
+ setVersion: (page 26)
Sets the receiver's version number.
+ version (page 28)
Returns the version number assigned to the class.

Working with Class Descriptions

– attributeKeys (page 29)

Returns an array of NSString objects containing the names of immutable values that instances of the
receiver's class contain.
– classDescription (page 31)
Returns an object containing information about the attributes and relationships of the receiver’s class.
– inverseForRelationshipKey: (page 43)
For a given key that defines the name of the relationship from the receiver’s class to another class, returns
the name of the relationship from the other class to the receiver’s class.
– toManyRelationshipKeys (page 61)
Returns array containing the keys for the to-many relationship properties of the receiver.
– toOneRelationshipKeys (page 61)
Returns the keys for the to-one relationship properties of the receiver, if any.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Scripting

– classCode (page 31)

Returns the receiver's Apple event type code, as stored in the NSScriptClassDescription object for
the object’s class.
– className (page 34)
Returns a string containing the name of the class.
– copyScriptingValue:forKey:withProperties: (page 35)
Creates and returns one or more scripting objects to be inserted into the specified relationship by copying
the passed-in value and setting the properties in the copied object or objects.
– newScriptingObjectOfClass:forValueForKey:withContentsValue:properties: (page 46)
Creates and returns an instance of a scriptable class, setting its contents and properties, for insertion into
the relationship identified by the key.
– scriptingProperties (page 59)
Returns an NSString-keyed dictionary of the receiver's scriptable properties.
– setScriptingProperties: (page 60)
Given an NSString-keyed dictionary, sets one or more scriptable properties of the receiver.
– scriptingValueForSpecifier: (page 59)
Given an object specifier, returns the specified object or objects in the receiving container.

Deprecated Methods

– finalize (page 38)

The garbage collector invokes this method on the receiver before disposing of the memory it uses.
(Deprecated. Garbage collection is deprecated in OS X v10.8; instead, you should use AutomaticReference
Counting—see Transitioning to ARC Release Notes .)
+ poseAsClass: (page 63) Deprecated in OS X v10.5
Causes the receiving class to pose as a specified superclass.

Class Methods
alloc

Returns a new instance of the receiving class.

+ (id)alloc

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Return Value
A new instance of the receiver.

Discussion
The isa instance variable of the new instance is initialized to a data structure that describes the class; memory
for all other instance variables is set to 0.

You must use an init... method to complete the initialization process. For example:

TheClass *newObject = [[TheClass alloc] init];

Do not override alloc to include initialization code. Instead, implement class-specific versions of init...
methods.

For historical reasons, alloc invokes allocWithZone:.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– init (page 42)

Related Sample Code

Cocoa OpenGL
From A View to A Movie
GLSL Showpiece Lite
QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo201

Declared in
NSObject.h

allocWithZone:

Returns a new instance of the receiving class.

+ (id)allocWithZone:(NSZone *)zone

Parameters
zone
This parameter is ignored.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Return Value
A new instance of the receiver.

Discussion
The isa instance variable of the new instance is initialized to a data structure that describes the class; memory
for all other instance variables is set to 0.

You must use an init... method to complete the initialization process. For example:

TheClass *newObject = [[TheClass allocWithZone:nil] init];

Do not override allocWithZone: to include any initialization code. Instead, class-specific versions of init...
methods.

This method exists for historical reasons; memory zones are no longer used by Objective-C.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ alloc (page 11)
– init (page 42)

Related Sample Code

From A View to A Movie
From A View to A Picture
MenuItemView
MenuMadness
TextEdit

Declared in
NSObject.h

cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:

Cancels perform requests previously registered with the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page

50) instance method.

+ (void)cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:(id)aTarget

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Parameters
aTarget
The target for requests previously registered with the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page
50) instance method.

Discussion
All perform requests having the same target aTarget are canceled. This method removes perform requests
only in the current run loop, not all run loops.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

FunkyOverlayWindow

Declared in
NSRunLoop.h

cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object:

Cancels perform requests previously registered with performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50).

+ (void)cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:(id)aTarget selector:(SEL)aSelector
object:(id)anArgument

Parameters
aTarget
The target for requests previously registered with the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page
50) instance method

aSelector
The selector for requests previously registered with the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page
50) instance method.

anArgument
The argument for requests previously registered with the
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50) instance method. Argument equality is determined
using isEqual:, so the value need not be the same object that was passed originally. Pass nil to match
a request for nil that was originally passed as the argument.

Discussion
All perform requests are canceled that have the same target as aTarget, argument as anArgument, and
selector as aSelector. This method removes perform requests only in the current run loop, not all run loops.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

AttachAScript
QuickLookDownloader

Declared in
NSRunLoop.h

class

Returns the class object.

+ (Class)class

Return Value
The class object.

Discussion
Refer to a class only by its name when it is the receiver of a message. In all other cases, the class object must
be obtained through this or a similar method. For example, here SomeClass is passed as an argument to the
isKindOfClass: method (declared in the NSObject protocol):

BOOL test = [self isKindOfClass:[SomeClass class]];

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
class (NSObject protocol)

Related Sample Code

GLSLShowpiece
Sketch
Sketch+Accessibility
TableViewPlayground
TextEdit

Declared in
NSObject.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

classFallbacksForKeyedArchiver

Overridden to return the names of classes that can be used to decode objects if their class is unavailable.

+ (NSArray *)classFallbacksForKeyedArchiver

Return Value
An array of NSString objects that specify the names of classes in preferred order for unarchiving

Discussion
NSKeyedArchiver calls this method and stores the result inside the archive. If the actual class of an object
doesn’t exist at the time of unarchiving, NSKeyedUnarchiver goes through the stored list of classes and uses
the first one that does exists as a substitute class for decoding the object. The default implementation of this
method returns nil.

You can use this method if you introduce a new class into your application to provide some backwards
compatibility in case the archive will be read on a system that does not have that class. Sometimes there may
be another class which may work nearly as well as a substitute for the new class, and the archive keys and
archived state for the new class can be carefully chosen (or compatibility written out) so that the object can
be unarchived as the substitute class if necessary.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in
NSKeyedArchiver.h

classForKeyedUnarchiver

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a new class during keyed unarchiving.

+ (Class)classForKeyedUnarchiver

Return Value
The class to substitute for the receiver during keyed unarchiving.

Discussion
During keyed unarchiving, instances of the receiver will be decoded as members of the returned class. This
method overrides the results of the decoder’s class and instance name to class encoding tables.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Declared in
NSKeyedArchiver.h

conformsToProtocol:

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiver conforms to a given protocol.

+ (BOOL)conformsToProtocol:(Protocol *)aProtocol

Parameters
aProtocol
A protocol.

Return Value
YES if the receiver conforms to aProtocol, otherwise NO.

Discussion
A class is said to “conform to” a protocol if it adopts the protocol or inherits from another class that adopts it.
Protocols are adopted by listing them within angle brackets after the interface declaration. For example, here
MyClass adopts the (fictitious) AffiliationRequests and Normalization protocols:

@interface MyClass : NSObject <AffiliationRequests, Normalization>

A class also conforms to any protocols that are incorporated in the protocols it adopts or inherits. Protocols
incorporate other protocols in the same way classes adopt them. For example, here the AffiliationRequests
protocol incorporates the Joining protocol:

@protocol AffiliationRequests <Joining>

If a class adopts a protocol that incorporates another protocol, it must also implement all the methods in the
incorporated protocol or inherit those methods from a class that adopts it.

This method determines conformance solely on the basis of the formal declarations in header files, as illustrated
above. It doesn’t check to see whether the methods declared in the protocol are actually implemented—that’s
the programmer’s responsibility.

The protocol required as this method’s argument can be specified using the @protocol() directive:

BOOL canJoin = [MyClass conformsToProtocol:@protocol(Joining)];

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ conformsToProtocol: (page 17)

Declared in
NSObject.h

copyWithZone:

Returns the receiver.

+ (id)copyWithZone:(NSZone *)zone

Parameters
zone
This argument is ignored.

Return Value
The receiver.

Discussion
This method exists so class objects can be used in situations where you need an object that conforms to the
NSCopying protocol. For example, this method lets you use a class object as a key to an NSDictionary
object. You should not override this method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– copy (page 35)

Related Sample Code

BezierPathLab
CompositeLab
TextEdit

Declared in
NSObject.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

description

Returns a string that represents the contents of the receiving class.

+ (NSString *)description

Return Value
A string that represents the contents of the receiving class.

Discussion
The debugger’s print-object command invokes this method to produce a textual description of an object.

NSObject's implementation of this method simply prints the name of the class.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
description (NSObject protocol)

Related Sample Code

AVRecorder
ImageBackground
QTRecorder
Sketch+Accessibility
TreeView

Declared in
NSObject.h

initialize

Initializes the receiver before it’s used (before it receives its first message).

+ (void)initialize

Discussion
The runtime sends initialize to each class in a program exactly one time just before the class, or any class
that inherits from it, is sent its first message from within the program. (Thus the method may never be invoked
if the class is not used.) The runtime sends the initialize message to classes in a thread-safe manner.
Superclasses receive this message before their subclasses.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Special Considerations
initialize it is invoked only once per class. If you want to perform independent initialization for the class
and for categories of the class, you should implement load (page 22) methods.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– init (page 42)
+ load (page 22)
class (NSObject protocol)

Related Sample Code

Cache
CameraBrowser
Dicey
QuickLookSketch
Scene Kit Material Editor

Declared in
NSObject.h

instanceMethodForSelector:

Locates and returns the address of the implementation of the instance method identified by a given selector.

+ (IMP)instanceMethodForSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method for which to return the implementation address. The selector must
be non-NULL and valid for the receiver. If in doubt, use the respondsToSelector: method to check
before passing the selector to methodForSelector:.

Return Value
The address of the implementation of the aSelector instance method.

Discussion
An error is generated if instances of the receiver can’t respond to aSelector messages.

Use this method to ask the class object for the implementation of instance methods only. To ask the class for
the implementation of a class method, send the methodForSelector: (page 44) instance method to the class
instead.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:

Returns an NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the instance method identified by a given
selector.

+ (NSMethodSignature *)instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method for which to return the implementation address.

Return Value
An NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the instance method identified by aSelector,
or nil if the method can’t be found.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– methodSignatureForSelector: (page 45)

Declared in
NSObject.h

instancesRespondToSelector:

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether instances of the receiver are capable of responding to a given
selector.

+ (BOOL)instancesRespondToSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector.

Return Value
YES if instances of the receiver are capable of responding to aSelector messages, otherwise NO.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Discussion
If aSelector messages are forwarded to other objects, instances of the class are able to receive those messages
without error even though this method returns NO.

To ask the class whether it, rather than its instances, can respond to a particular message, send to the class
instead the NSObject protocol instance method respondsToSelector:.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– forwardInvocation: (page 40)

Declared in
NSObject.h

isSubclassOfClass:

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiving class is a subclass of, or identical to, a given class.

+ (BOOL)isSubclassOfClass:(Class)aClass

Parameters
aClass
A class object.

Return Value
YES if the receiving class is a subclass of—or identical to—aClass, otherwise NO.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

load

Invoked whenever a class or category is added to the Objective-C runtime; implement this method to perform
class-specific behavior upon loading.

+ (void)load

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Discussion
The load message is sent to classes and categories that are both dynamically loaded and statically linked, but
only if the newly loaded class or category implements a method that can respond.

The order of initialization is as follows:

1. All initializers in any framework you link to.
2. All +load methods in your image.
3. All C++ static initializers and C/C++ __attribute__(constructor) functions in your image.
4. All initializers in frameworks that link to you.

In addition:
● A class’s +load method is called after all of its superclasses’ +load methods.
● A category +load method is called after the class’s own +load method.

In a custom implementation of load you can therefore safely message other unrelated classes from the same
image, but any load methods implemented by those classes may not have run yet.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ initialize (page 19)

Related Sample Code

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CIDemoImageUnit

Declared in
NSObject.h

mutableCopyWithZone:

Returns the receiver.

+ (id)mutableCopyWithZone:(NSZone *)zone

Parameters
zone
The memory zone in which to create the copy of the receiver.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

Return Value
The receiver.

Discussion
This method exists so class objects can be used in situations where you need an object that conforms to the
NSMutableCopying protocol. For example, this method lets you use a class object as a key to an NSDictionary
object. You should not override this method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

new

Allocates a new instance of the receiving class, sends it an init (page 42) message, and returns the initialized
object.

+ (id)new

Return Value
A new instance of the receiver.

Discussion
This method is a combination of alloc (page 11) and init (page 42). Like alloc (page 11), it initializes the isa
instance variable of the new object so it points to the class data structure. It then invokes the init (page 42)
method to complete the initialization process.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

From A View to A Movie
QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo103
QTCoreVideo201
QTCoreVideo202

Declared in
NSObject.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

resolveClassMethod:

Dynamically provides an implementation for a given selector for a class method.

+ (BOOL)resolveClassMethod:(SEL)name

Parameters
name
The name of a selector to resolve.

Return Value
YES if the method was found and added to the receiver, otherwise NO.

Discussion
This method allows you to dynamically provide an implementation for a given selector. See
resolveInstanceMethod: (page 25) for further discussion.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

See Also
+ resolveInstanceMethod: (page 25)

Declared in
NSObject.h

resolveInstanceMethod:

Dynamically provides an implementation for a given selector for an instance method.

+ (BOOL)resolveInstanceMethod:(SEL)name

Parameters
name
The name of a selector to resolve.

Return Value
YES if the method was found and added to the receiver, otherwise NO.

Discussion
This method and resolveClassMethod: (page 25) allow you to dynamically provide an implementation for a
given selector.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

An Objective-C method is simply a C function that take at least two arguments—self and _cmd. Using the
class_addMethod function, you can add a function to a class as a method. Given the following function:

void dynamicMethodIMP(id self, SEL _cmd)

// implementation ....

you can use resolveInstanceMethod: to dynamically add it to a class as a method (called

resolveThisMethodDynamically) like this:

+ (BOOL) resolveInstanceMethod:(SEL)aSEL

if (aSEL == @selector(resolveThisMethodDynamically))

class_addMethod([self class], aSEL, (IMP) dynamicMethodIMP, "v@:");

return YES;

return [super resolveInstanceMethod:aSel];

Special Considerations
This method is called before the Objective-C forwarding mechanism is invoked. If respondsToSelector: or
instancesRespondToSelector: (page 21) is invoked, the dynamic method resolver is given the opportunity
to provide an IMP for the given selector first.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

See Also
+ resolveClassMethod: (page 25)

Declared in
NSObject.h

setVersion:

Sets the receiver's version number.

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

+ (void)setVersion:(NSInteger)aVersion

Parameters
aVersion
The version number for the receiver.

Discussion
The version number is helpful when instances of the class are to be archived and reused later. The default
version is 0.

Special Considerations
The version number applies to NSArchiver/NSUnarchiver, but not to
NSKeyedArchiver/NSKeyedUnarchiver. A keyed archiver does not encode class version numbers.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ version (page 28)

Declared in
NSObject.h

superclass

Returns the class object for the receiver’s superclass.

+ (Class)superclass

Return Value
The class object for the receiver’s superclass.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ class (page 15)
superclass (NSObject protocol)

Declared in
NSObject.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Class Methods

version

Returns the version number assigned to the class.

+ (NSInteger)version

Return Value
The version number assigned to the class.

Discussion
If no version has been set, the default is 0.

Version numbers are needed for decoding or unarchiving, so older versions of an object can be detected and
decoded correctly.

Caution should be taken when obtaining the version from within an NSCoding protocol or other methods.
Use the class name explicitly when getting a class version number:

version = [MyClass version];

Don’t simply send version to the return value of class—a subclass version number may be returned instead.

Special Considerations
The version number applies to NSArchiver/NSUnarchiver, but not to
NSKeyedArchiver/NSKeyedUnarchiver. A keyed archiver does not encode class version numbers.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ setVersion: (page 26)
versionForClassName: (NSCoder)

Related Sample Code

GLEssentials
HID Config Save

Declared in
NSObject.h

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28
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Instance Methods

Instance Methods
attributeKeys

Returns an array of NSString objects containing the names of immutable values that instances of the receiver's
class contain.

- (NSArray *)attributeKeys

Return Value
An array of NSString objects containing the names of immutable values that instances of the receiver's class
contain.

Discussion
NSObject’s implementation of attributeKeys simply calls [[self classDescription]
attributeKeys]. To make use of the default implementation, you must therefore implement and register a
suitable class description—see NSClassDescription. A class description that describes Movie objects could,
for example, return the attribute keys title, dateReleased, and rating.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– classDescription (page 31)
– inverseForRelationshipKey: (page 43)
– toManyRelationshipKeys (page 61)
– toOneRelationshipKeys (page 61)

Declared in
NSClassDescription.h

autoContentAccessingProxy

Creates and returns a proxy for the receiving object

- (id)autoContentAccessingProxy

Return Value
A proxy of the receiver.

Discussion
This method creates and returns a proxy for the receiving object if the receiver adopts the
NSDiscardableContent protocol and still has content that has not been discarded.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

The proxy calls beginContentAccess on the receiver to keep the content available as long as the proxy lives,
and calls endContentAccess when the proxy is deallocated.

The wrapper object is otherwise a subclass of NSProxy and forwards messages to the original receiver object
as an NSProxy does.

This method can be used to hide an NSDiscardableContent object's content volatility by creating an object
that responds to the same messages but holds the contents of the original receiver available as long as the
created proxy lives. Thus hidden, the NSDiscardableContent object (by way of the proxy) can be given out
to unsuspecting recipients of the object who would otherwise not know they might have to call
beginContentAccess and endContentAccess around particular usages (specific to each
NSDiscardableContent object) of the NSDiscardableContent object.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.6 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

awakeAfterUsingCoder:

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object in place of the object that was decoded and subsequently
received this message.

- (id)awakeAfterUsingCoder:(NSCoder *)aDecoder

Parameters
aDecoder
The decoder used to decode the receiver.

Return Value
The receiver, or another object to take the place of the object that was decoded and subsequently received
this message.

Discussion
You can use this method to eliminate redundant objects created by the coder. For example, if after decoding
an object you discover that an equivalent object already exists, you can return the existing object. If a
replacement is returned, your overriding method is responsible for releasing the receiver.

This method is invoked by NSCoder. NSObject’s implementation simply returns self.

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Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– classForCoder (page 32)
– replacementObjectForCoder:(page 56)
initWithCoder: (NSCoding protocol)

Declared in
NSObject.h

classCode

Returns the receiver's Apple event type code, as stored in the NSScriptClassDescription object for the
object’s class.

- (FourCharCode)classCode

Return Value
The receiver's Apple event type code, as stored in the NSScriptClassDescription object for the object’s
class.

Discussion
This method is invoked by Cocoa’s scripting support classes.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in
NSScriptClassDescription.h

classDescription

Returns an object containing information about the attributes and relationships of the receiver’s class.

- (NSClassDescription *)classDescription

Return Value
An object containing information about the attributes and relationships of the receiver’s class.

Discussion
NSObject’s implementation simply calls [NSClassDescription classDescriptionForClass:[self
class]]. See NSClassDescription for more information.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– attributeKeys (page 29)
– inverseForRelationshipKey: (page 43)
– toManyRelationshipKeys (page 61)
– toOneRelationshipKeys (page 61)

Related Sample Code

SimpleScriptingPlugin

Declared in
NSClassDescription.h

classForArchiver

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own during archiving.

- (Class)classForArchiver

Return Value
The class to substitute for the receiver's own class during archiving.

Discussion
This method is invoked by NSArchiver. It allows specialized behavior for archiving—for example, the private
subclasses of a class cluster substitute the name of their public superclass when being archived.

NSObject’s implementation returns the object returned by classForCoder (page 32). Override
classForCoder (page 32) to add general coding behavior.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– replacementObjectForArchiver: (page 56)

Declared in
NSArchiver.h

classForCoder

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own during coding.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

- (Class)classForCoder

Return Value
The class to substitute for the receiver's own class during coding.

Discussion
This method is invoked by NSCoder. NSObject’s implementation returns the receiver’s class. The private
subclasses of a class cluster substitute the name of their public superclass when being archived.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– awakeAfterUsingCoder: (page 30)
– replacementObjectForCoder: (page 56)

Declared in
NSObject.h

classForKeyedArchiver

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a new class for instances during keyed archiving.

- (Class)classForKeyedArchiver

Discussion
The object will be encoded as if it were a member of the returned class. The results of this method are overridden
by the encoder class and instance name to class encoding tables. If nil is returned, the result of this method
is ignored.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

See Also
– replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver: (page 57)

Declared in
NSKeyedArchiver.h

classForPortCoder

Overridden by subclasses to substitute a class other than its own for distribution encoding.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

- (Class)classForPortCoder

Return Value
The class to substitute for the receiver in distribution encoding.

Discussion
This method allows specialized behavior for distributed objects—override classForCoder (page 32) to add
general coding behavior. This method is invoked by NSPortCoder. NSObject’s implementation returns the
class returned by classForCoder (page 32).

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– replacementObjectForPortCoder: (page 58)

Declared in
NSPortCoder.h

className

Returns a string containing the name of the class.

- (NSString *)className

Return Value
A string containing the name of the class.

Discussion
This method is invoked by Cocoa’s scripting support classes.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

DragNDropOutlineView
QuickLookSketch
Sketch
Sketch+Accessibility

Declared in
NSScriptClassDescription.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

copy

Returns the object returned by copyWithZone:.

- (id)copy

Return Value
The object returned by the NSCopying protocol method copyWithZone:,.

Discussion
This is a convenience method for classes that adopt the NSCopying protocol. An exception is raised if there
is no implementation for copyWithZone:.

NSObject does not itself support the NSCopying protocol. Subclasses must support the protocol and implement
the copyWithZone: method. A subclass version of the copyWithZone: method should send the message
to super first, to incorporate its implementation, unless the subclass descends directly from NSObject.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo103
QTCoreVideo201
QTCoreVideo202
Sketch+Accessibility

Declared in
NSObject.h

copyScriptingValue:forKey:withProperties:

Creates and returns one or more scripting objects to be inserted into the specified relationship by copying the
passed-in value and setting the properties in the copied object or objects.

- (id)copyScriptingValue:(id)value forKey:(NSString *)key withProperties:(NSDictionary

*)properties

Parameters
value
An object or objects to be copied. The type must match the type of the property identified by key. (See
also the Discussion section.)
For example, if the property is a to-many relationship, value will always be an array of objects to be
copied, and this method must therefore return an array of objects.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

key
A key that identifies the relationship into which to insert the copied object or objects.
properties
The properties to be set in the copied object or objects. Derived from the "with properties" parameter
of a duplicate command. (See also the Discussion section.)

Return Value
The copied object or objects. Returns nil if an error occurs.

Discussion
You can override the copyScriptingValue method to take more control when your application is sent a
duplicate command. This method is invoked on the prospective container of the copied object or objects.
The properties are derived from the with properties parameter of the duplicate command. The
returned objects or objects are then inserted into the container using key-value coding.

When this method is invoked by Cocoa, neither the value nor the properties will have yet been coerced using
the NSScriptKeyValueCoding method coerceValue:forKey:. For sdef-declared scriptability, however,
the types of the passed-in objects reliably match the relevant sdef declarations.

The default implementation of this method copies scripting objects by sending copyWithZone: to the object
or objects specified by value. You override this method for situations where this is not sufficient, such as in
Core Data applications, in which new objects must be initialized with
[NSManagedObject initWithEntity:insertIntoManagedObjectContext:].

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in
NSObjectScripting.h

dealloc

Deallocates the memory occupied by the receiver.

- (void)dealloc

Discussion
Subsequent messages to the receiver may generate an error indicating that a message was sent to a deallocated
object (provided the deallocated memory hasn’t been reused yet).

You override this method to dispose of resources other than the object’s instance variables, for example:

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

- (void)dealloc {

free(myBigBlockOfMemory);

In an implementation of dealloc, do not invoke the superclass’s implementation. You should try to avoid
managing the lifetime of limited resources such as file descriptors using dealloc.

You never send a dealloc message directly. Instead, an object’s dealloc method is invoked by the runtime.
See Advanced Memory Management Programming Guide for more details.

Special Considerations
When not using ARC, your implementation of dealloc must invoke the superclass’s implementation as its
last instruction.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

From A View to A Movie
From A View to A Picture
QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo201
QTCoreVideo202

Declared in
NSObject.h

doesNotRecognizeSelector:

Handles messages the receiver doesn’t recognize.

- (void)doesNotRecognizeSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies a method not implemented or recognized by the receiver.

Discussion
The runtime system invokes this method whenever an object receives an aSelector message it can’t respond
to or forward. This method, in turn, raises an NSInvalidArgumentException, and generates an error message.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Any doesNotRecognizeSelector: messages are generally sent only by the runtime system. However, they
can be used in program code to prevent a method from being inherited. For example, an NSObject subclass
might renounce the copy (page 35) or init (page 42) method by re-implementing it to include a
doesNotRecognizeSelector: message as follows:

- (id)copy

[self doesNotRecognizeSelector:_cmd];

The _cmd variable is a hidden argument passed to every method that is the current selector; in this example,
it identifies the selector for the copy method. This code prevents instances of the subclass from responding
to copy messages or superclasses from forwarding copy messages—although respondsToSelector: will
still report that the receiver has access to a copy method.

If you override this method, you must call super or raise an NSInvalidArgumentException exception at
the end of your implementation. In other words, this method must not return normally; it must always result
in an exception being thrown.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– forwardInvocation: (page 40)

Related Sample Code

AVSimpleEditorOSX

Declared in
NSObject.h

finalize

The garbage collector invokes this method on the receiver before disposing of the memory it uses. (Deprecated.
Garbage collection is deprecated in OS X v10.8; instead, you should use AutomaticReference Counting—see
Transitioning to ARC Release Notes .)

- (void)finalize

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Discussion
The garbage collector invokes this method on the receiver before disposing of the memory it uses. When
garbage collection is enabled, this method is invoked instead of dealloc.

You can override this method to relinquish resources the receiver has obtained, as shown in the following
example:

- (void)finalize {

if (log_file != NULL) {

fclose(log_file);

log_file = NULL;

[super finalize];

Typically, however, you are encouraged to relinquish resources prior to finalization if at all possible. For more
details, see “Implementing a finalize Method”.

Special Considerations
It is an error to store self into a new or existing live object (colloquially known as “resurrection”), which implies
that this method will be called only once. However, the receiver may be messaged after finalization by other
objects also being finalized at this time, so your override should guard against future use of resources that
have been reclaimed, as shown by the log_file = NULL statement in the example. The finalize method
itself will never be invoked more than once for a given object.

Important: finalize methods must be thread-safe.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.4 and later.

See Also
– dealloc (page 36)

Related Sample Code

GLUT
TextInputView
ZipBrowser

Declared in
NSObject.h

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39
NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

forwardingTargetForSelector:

Returns the object to which unrecognized messages should first be directed.

- (id)forwardingTargetForSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector for a method that the receiver does not implement.

Return Value
The object to which unrecognized messages should first be directed.

Discussion
If an object implements (or inherits) this method, and returns a non-nil (and non-self) result, that returned
object is used as the new receiver object and the message dispatch resumes to that new object. (Obviously if
you return self from this method, the code would just fall into an infinite loop.)

If you implement this method in a non-root class, if your class has nothing to return for the given selector then
you should return the result of invoking super’s implementation.

This method gives an object a chance to redirect an unknown message sent to it before the much more
expensive forwardInvocation: (page 40) machinery takes over. This is useful when you simply want to redirect
messages to another object and can be an order of magnitude faster than regular forwarding. It is not useful
where the goal of the forwarding is to capture the NSInvocation, or manipulate the arguments or return value
during the forwarding.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.6 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

forwardInvocation:

Overridden by subclasses to forward messages to other objects.

- (void)forwardInvocation:(NSInvocation *)anInvocation

Parameters
anInvocation
The invocation to forward.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Discussion
When an object is sent a message for which it has no corresponding method, the runtime system gives the
receiver an opportunity to delegate the message to another receiver. It delegates the message by creating an
NSInvocation object representing the message and sending the receiver a forwardInvocation: message
containing this NSInvocation object as the argument. The receiver’s forwardInvocation: method can
then choose to forward the message to another object. (If that object can’t respond to the message either, it
too will be given a chance to forward it.)

The forwardInvocation: message thus allows an object to establish relationships with other objects that
will, for certain messages, act on its behalf. The forwarding object is, in a sense, able to “inherit” some of the
characteristics of the object it forwards the message to.

Important: To respond to methods that your object does not itself recognize, you must override
methodSignatureForSelector: (page 45) in addition to forwardInvocation:. The mechanism for
forwarding messages uses information obtained from methodSignatureForSelector: (page 45) to create
the NSInvocation object to be forwarded. Your overriding method must provide an appropriate method
signature for the given selector, either by pre formulating one or by asking another object for one.

An implementation of the forwardInvocation: method has two tasks:

● To locate an object that can respond to the message encoded in anInvocation. This object need not
be the same for all messages.
● To send the message to that object using anInvocation. anInvocation will hold the result, and the
runtime system will extract and deliver this result to the original sender.

In the simple case, in which an object forwards messages to just one destination (such as the hypothetical
friend instance variable in the example below), a forwardInvocation: method could be as simple as this:

- (void)forwardInvocation:(NSInvocation *)invocation
{

SEL aSelector = [invocation selector];

if ([friend respondsToSelector:aSelector])

[invocation invokeWithTarget:friend];

else

[super forwardInvocation:invocation];

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

The message that’s forwarded must have a fixed number of arguments; variable numbers of arguments (in
the style of printf()) are not supported.

The return value of the forwarded message is returned to the original sender. All types of return values can be
delivered to the sender: id types, structures, double-precision floating-point numbers.

Implementations of the forwardInvocation: method can do more than just forward messages.
forwardInvocation: can, for example, be used to consolidate code that responds to a variety of different
messages, thus avoiding the necessity of having to write a separate method for each selector. A
forwardInvocation: method might also involve several other objects in the response to a given message,
rather than forward it to just one.

NSObject’s implementation of forwardInvocation: simply invokes the doesNotRecognizeSelector: (page

37) method; it doesn’t forward any messages. Thus, if you choose not to implement forwardInvocation:,
sending unrecognized messages to objects will raise exceptions.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in
NSObject.h

init

Implemented by subclasses to initialize a new object (the receiver) immediately after memory for it has been
allocated.

- (id)init

Return Value
An initialized object.

Discussion
An init message is coupled with an alloc (page 11) (or allocWithZone: (page 12)) message in the same line
of code:

TheClass *newObject = [[TheClass alloc] init];

An object isn’t ready to be used until it has been initialized. The init method defined in the NSObject class
does no initialization; it simply returns self.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

In a custom implementation of this method, you must invoke super’s designated initializer then initialize and
return the new object. If the new object can’t be initialized, the method should return nil.

- (id)init {

self = [super init];

if (self) {

// Initialize self.

return self;

In some cases, an init method might return a substitute object. You must therefore always use the object
returned by init, and not the one returned by alloc (page 11) or allocWithZone: (page 12), in subsequent
code.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

From A View to A Movie
QTCoreVideo102
QTCoreVideo103
QTCoreVideo201
QTCoreVideo202

Declared in
NSObject.h

inverseForRelationshipKey:

For a given key that defines the name of the relationship from the receiver’s class to another class, returns the
name of the relationship from the other class to the receiver’s class.

- (NSString *)inverseForRelationshipKey:(NSString *)relationshipKey

Parameters
relationshipKey
The name of the relationship from the receiver’s class to another class.

Return Value
The name of the relationship that is the inverse of the receiver's relationship named relationshipKey.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Discussion
NSObject’s implementation of inverseForRelationshipKey: simply invokes [[self
classDescription] inverseForRelationshipKey:relationshipKey]. To make use of the default
implementation, you must therefore implement and register a suitable class description—see
NSClassDescription.

For example, suppose an Employee class has a relationship named department to a Department class, and
that Department has a relationship called employees to Employee. The statement:

employee inverseForRelationshipKey:@"department"];

returns the string employees.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– attributeKeys (page 29)
– classDescription (page 31)
– toManyRelationshipKeys (page 61)
– toOneRelationshipKeys (page 61)

Declared in
NSClassDescription.h

methodForSelector:

Locates and returns the address of the receiver’s implementation of a method so it can be called as a function.

- (IMP)methodForSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method for which to return the implementation address. The selector must
be a valid and non-NULL. If in doubt, use the respondsToSelector: method to check before passing
the selector to methodForSelector:.

Return Value
The address of the receiver’s implementation of the aSelector.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Discussion
If the receiver is an instance, aSelector should refer to an instance method; if the receiver is a class, it should
refer to a class method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ instanceMethodForSelector: (page 20)

Declared in
NSObject.h

methodSignatureForSelector:

Returns an NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the method identified by a given selector.

- (NSMethodSignature *)methodSignatureForSelector:(SEL)aSelector

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method for which to return the implementation address. When the receiver
is an instance, aSelector should identify an instance method; when the receiver is a class, it should
identify a class method.

Return Value
An NSMethodSignature object that contains a description of the method identified by aSelector, or nil
if the method can’t be found.

Discussion
This method is used in the implementation of protocols. This method is also used in situations where an
NSInvocation object must be created, such as during message forwarding. If your object maintains a delegate
or is capable of handling messages that it does not directly implement, you should override this method to
return an appropriate method signature.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ instanceMethodSignatureForSelector: (page 21)
– forwardInvocation: (page 40)

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Declared in
NSObject.h

mutableCopy

Returns the object returned by mutableCopyWithZone: where the zone is nil.

- (id)mutableCopy

Return Value
The object returned by the NSMutableCopying protocol method mutableCopyWithZone:, where the zone
is nil.

Discussion
This is a convenience method for classes that adopt the NSMutableCopying protocol. An exception is raised
if there is no implementation for mutableCopyWithZone:.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

DesktopImage
IdentitySample
iSpend
Sketch+Accessibility
TextEdit

Declared in
NSObject.h

newScriptingObjectOfClass:forValueForKey:withContentsValue:properties:

Creates and returns an instance of a scriptable class, setting its contents and properties, for insertion into the
relationship identified by the key.

- (id)newScriptingObjectOfClass:(Class)class forValueForKey:(NSString *)key

withContentsValue:(id)contentsValue properties:(NSDictionary *)properties

Parameters
class
The class of the scriptable object to be created.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

key
A key that identifies the relationship into which the new class object will be inserted.
contentsValue
Specifies the contents of the object to be created. This may be nil. (See also the Discussion section.)
properties
The properties to be set in the new object. (See also the Discussion section.)

Return Value
The new object. Returns nil if an error occurs.

Discussion
You can override the newScriptingObjectOfClass method to take more control when your application is
sent a make command. This method is invoked on the prospective container of the new object.
The contentsValue and properties are derived from the with contents and with properties
parameters of the make command. The returned objects or objects are then inserted into the container using
key-value coding.

When this method is invoked by Cocoa, neither the contents value nor the properties will have yet been coerced
using the NSScriptKeyValueCoding method coerceValue:forKey:. For sdef-declared scriptability,
however, the types of the passed-in objects reliably match the relevant sdef declarations.

The default implementation of this method creates new scripting objects by sending alloc to a class and
init to the resulting object. You override this method for situations where this is not sufficient, such as in
Core Data applications, in which new objects must be initialized with
[NSManagedObject initWithEntity:insertIntoManagedObjectContext:].

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in
NSObjectScripting.h

performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the specified thread using the default mode.

- (void)performSelector:(SEL)aSelector onThread:(NSThread *)thread withObject:(id)arg

waitUntilDone:(BOOL)wait

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
thread
The thread on which to execute aSelector.
arg
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.
wait
A Boolean that specifies whether the current thread blocks until after the specified selector is performed
on the receiver on the specified thread. Specify YES to block this thread; otherwise, specify NO to have
this method return immediately.
If the current thread and target thread are the same, and you specify YES for this parameter, the selector
is performed immediately on the current thread. If you specify NO, this method queues the message on
the thread’s run loop and returns, just like it does for other threads. The current thread must then dequeue
and process the message when it has an opportunity to do so.

Discussion
You can use this method to deliver messages to other threads in your application. The message in this case is
a method of the current object that you want to execute on the target thread.

This method queues the message on the run loop of the target thread using the default run loop modes—that
is, the modes associated with the NSRunLoopCommonModes constant. As part of its normal run loop processing,
the target thread dequeues the message (assuming it is running in one of the default run loop modes) and
invokes the desired method.

You cannot cancel messages queued using this method. If you want the option of canceling a message on the
current thread, you must use either the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50) or
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)
– performSelectorInBackground:withObject: (page 52)

Declared in
NSThread.h

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the specified thread using the specified modes.

- (void)performSelector:(SEL)aSelector onThread:(NSThread *)thread withObject:(id)arg

waitUntilDone:(BOOL)wait modes:(NSArray *)array

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. It should not have a significant return value and should
take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
thread
The thread on which to execute aSelector. This thread represents the target thread.
arg
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.
wait
A Boolean that specifies whether the current thread blocks until after the specified selector is performed
on the receiver on the specified thread. Specify YES to block this thread; otherwise, specify NO to have
this method return immediately.
If the current thread and target thread are the same, and you specify YES for this parameter, the selector
is performed immediately. If you specify NO, this method queues the message and returns immediately,
regardless of whether the threads are the same or different.
array
An array of strings that identifies the modes in which it is permissible to perform the specified selector.
This array must contain at least one string. If you specify nil or an empty array for this parameter, this
method returns without performing the specified selector. For information about run loop modes, see
“Run Loops” in Threading Programming Guide .

Discussion
You can use this method to deliver messages to other threads in your application. The message in this case is
a method of the current object that you want to execute on the target thread.

This method queues the message on the run loop of the target thread using the run loop modes specified in
the array parameter. As part of its normal run loop processing, the target thread dequeues the message
(assuming it is running in one of the specified modes) and invokes the desired method.

You cannot cancel messages queued using this method. If you want the option of canceling a message on the
current thread, you must use either the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50) or
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method instead.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 47)
– performSelectorInBackground:withObject: (page 52)

Declared in
NSThread.h

performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the current thread using the default mode after a delay.

- (void)performSelector:(SEL)aSelector withObject:(id)anArgument
afterDelay:(NSTimeInterval)delay

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
anArgument
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.
delay
The minimum time before which the message is sent. Specifying a delay of 0 does not necessarily cause
the selector to be performed immediately. The selector is still queued on the thread’s run loop and
performed as soon as possible.

Discussion
This method sets up a timer to perform the aSelector message on the current thread’s run loop. The timer
is configured to run in the default mode (NSDefaultRunLoopMode). When the timer fires, the thread attempts
to dequeue the message from the run loop and perform the selector. It succeeds if the run loop is running and
in the default mode; otherwise, the timer waits until the run loop is in the default mode.

If you want the message to be dequeued when the run loop is in a mode other than the default mode, use
the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method instead. If you are not sure
whether the current thread is the main thread, you can use the
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53) or
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55) method to guarantee that

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

your selector executes on the main thread. To cancel a queued message, use the
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget: (page 13) or
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object: (page 14) method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
+ cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object: (page 14)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55)
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)

Related Sample Code

AVReaderWriter for OSX
GLUT
iSpend
Quartz Composer RepositoryBrowser
TargetGallery

Declared in
NSRunLoop.h

performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the current thread using the specified modes after a delay.

- (void)performSelector:(SEL)aSelector withObject:(id)anArgument
afterDelay:(NSTimeInterval)delay inModes:(NSArray *)modes

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
anArgument
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.
delay
The minimum time before which the message is sent. Specifying a delay of 0 does not necessarily cause
the selector to be performed immediately. The selector is still queued on the thread’s run loop and
performed as soon as possible.

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Instance Methods

modes
An array of strings that identify the modes to associate with the timer that performs the selector. This
array must contain at least one string. If you specify nil or an empty array for this parameter, this method
returns without performing the specified selector. For information about run loop modes, see “Run Loops”
in Threading Programming Guide .

Discussion
This method sets up a timer to perform the aSelector message on the current thread’s run loop. The timer
is configured to run in the modes specified by the modes parameter. When the timer fires, the thread attempts
to dequeue the message from the run loop and perform the selector. It succeeds if the run loop is running and
in one of the specified modes; otherwise, the timer waits until the run loop is in one of those modes.

If you want the message to be dequeued when the run loop is in a mode other than the default mode, use
the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method instead. If you are not sure
whether the current thread is the main thread, you can use the
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53) or
performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55) method to guarantee that
your selector executes on the main thread. To cancel a queued message, use the
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget: (page 13) or
cancelPreviousPerformRequestsWithTarget:selector:object: (page 14) method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55)
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)
addTimer:forMode: (NSRunLoop)
invalidate (NSTimer)

Declared in
NSRunLoop.h

performSelectorInBackground:withObject:

Invokes a method of the receiver on a new background thread.

- (void)performSelectorInBackground:(SEL)aSelector withObject:(id)arg

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
arg
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.

Discussion
This method creates a new thread in your application, putting your application into multithreaded mode if it
was not already. The method represented by aSelector must set up the thread environment just as you
would for any other new thread in your program. For more information about how to configure and run threads,
see Threading Programming Guide .

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)

Declared in
NSThread.h

performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the main thread using the default mode.

- (void)performSelectorOnMainThread:(SEL)aSelector withObject:(id)arg
waitUntilDone:(BOOL)wait

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
arg
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.

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Instance Methods

wait
A Boolean that specifies whether the current thread blocks until after the specified selector is performed
on the receiver on the main thread. Specify YES to block this thread; otherwise, specify NO to have this
method return immediately.
If the current thread is also the main thread, and you specify YES for this parameter, the message is
delivered and processed immediately.

Discussion
You can use this method to deliver messages to the main thread of your application. The main thread
encompasses the application’s main run loop, and is where the NSApplication object receives events. The
message in this case is a method of the current object that you want to execute on the thread.

This method queues the message on the run loop of the main thread using the common run loop modes—that
is, the modes associated with the NSRunLoopCommonModes constant. As part of its normal run loop processing,
the main thread dequeues the message (assuming it is running in one of the common run loop modes) and
invokes the desired method. Multiple calls to this method from the same thread cause the corresponding
selectors to be queued and performed in the same same order in which the calls were made.

You cannot cancel messages queued using this method. If you want the option of canceling a message on the
current thread, you must use either the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50) or
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50)
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 55)
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)

Related Sample Code

CocoaDVDPlayer
PhotoSearch
TextEdit
VirtualScanner
ZipBrowser

Declared in
NSThread.h

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Instance Methods

performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes:

Invokes a method of the receiver on the main thread using the specified modes.

- (void)performSelectorOnMainThread:(SEL)aSelector withObject:(id)arg
waitUntilDone:(BOOL)wait modes:(NSArray *)array

Parameters
aSelector
A selector that identifies the method to invoke. The method should not have a significant return value
and should take a single argument of type id, or no arguments.
arg
The argument to pass to the method when it is invoked. Pass nil if the method does not take an argument.
wait
A Boolean that specifies whether the current thread blocks until after the specified selector is performed
on the receiver on the main thread. Specify YES to block this thread; otherwise, specify NO to have this
method return immediately.
If the current thread is also the main thread, and you pass YES, the message is performed immediately,
otherwise the perform is queued to run the next time through the run loop.
array
An array of strings that identifies the modes in which it is permissible to perform the specified selector.
This array must contain at least one string. If you specify nil or an empty array for this parameter, this
method returns without performing the specified selector. For information about run loop modes, see
“Run Loops” in Threading Programming Guide .

Discussion
You can use this method to deliver messages to the main thread of your application. The main thread
encompasses the application’s main run loop, and is where the NSApplication object receives events. The
message in this case is a method of the current object that you want to execute on the thread.

This method queues the message on the run loop of the main thread using the run loop modes specified in
the array parameter. As part of its normal run loop processing, the main thread dequeues the message
(assuming it is running in one of the specified modes) and invokes the desired method. Multiple calls to this
method from the same thread cause the corresponding selectors to be queued and performed in the same
same order in which the calls were made, assuming the associated run loop modes for each selector are the
same. If you specify different modes for each selector, any selectors whose associated mode does not match
the current run loop mode are skipped until the run loop subsequently executes in that mode.

You cannot cancel messages queued using this method. If you want the option of canceling a message on the
current thread, you must use either the performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50) or
performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51) method.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

See Also
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay: (page 50)
– performSelector:withObject:afterDelay:inModes: (page 51)
– performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: (page 53)
– performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:modes: (page 49)

Declared in
NSThread.h

replacementObjectForArchiver:

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during archiving.

- (id)replacementObjectForArchiver:(NSArchiver *)anArchiver

Parameters
anArchiver
The archiver creating an archive.

Return Value
The object to substitute for the receiver during archiving.

Discussion
This method is invoked by NSArchiver. NSObject’s implementation returns the object returned by
replacementObjectForCoder: (page 56).

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– classForArchiver (page 32)

Declared in
NSArchiver.h

replacementObjectForCoder:

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during encoding.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

- (id)replacementObjectForCoder:(NSCoder *)aCoder

Parameters
aCoder
The coder encoding the receiver.

Return Value
The object encode instead of the receiver (if different).

Discussion
An object might encode itself into an archive, but encode a proxy for itself if it’s being encoded for distribution.
This method is invoked by NSCoder. NSObject’s implementation returns self.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– classForCoder (page 32)
– awakeAfterUsingCoder: (page 30)

Declared in
NSObject.h

replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver:

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object for itself during keyed archiving.

- (id)replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver:(NSKeyedArchiver *)archiver

Parameters
archiver
A keyed archiver creating an archive.

Return Value
The object encode instead of the receiver (if different).

Discussion
This method is called only if no replacement mapping for the object has been set up in the encoder (for
example, due to a previous call of replacementObjectForKeyedArchiver: to that object).

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

See Also
– classForKeyedArchiver (page 33)

Declared in
NSKeyedArchiver.h

replacementObjectForPortCoder:

Overridden by subclasses to substitute another object or a copy for itself during distribution encoding.

- (id)replacementObjectForPortCoder:(NSPortCoder *)aCoder

Parameters
aCoder
The port coder encoding the receiver.

Return Value
The object encode instead of the receiver (if different).

Discussion
This method is invoked by NSPortCoder. NSObject’s implementation returns an NSDistantObject object
for the object returned by replacementObjectForCoder: (page 56), enabling all objects to be distributed by
proxy as the default. However, if replacementObjectForCoder: (page 56) returns nil, NSObject’s
implementation will also return nil.

Subclasses that want to be passed by copy instead of by reference must override this method and return self.
The following example shows how to support object replacement both by copy and by reference:

- (id)replacementObjectForPortCoder:(NSPortCoder *)encoder {

if ([encoder isByref])

return [NSDistantObject proxyWithLocal:self

connection:[encoder connection]];

else

return self;

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

See Also
– classForPortCoder (page 33)

Declared in
NSPortCoder.h

scriptingProperties

Returns an NSString-keyed dictionary of the receiver's scriptable properties.

- (NSDictionary *)scriptingProperties

Return Value
An NSString-keyed dictionary of the receiver's scriptable properties, including all of those that are declared
as Attributes and ToOneRelationships in the .scriptSuite property list entries for the class and its scripting
superclasses, with the exception of ones keyed by "scriptingProperties." Each key in the dictionary must be
identical to the key for an Attribute or ToOneRelationship. The values of the dictionary must be Objective-C
objects that are convertible to NSAppleEventDescriptor objects.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

See Also
– setScriptingProperties: (page 60)

Declared in
NSObjectScripting.h

scriptingValueForSpecifier:

Given an object specifier, returns the specified object or objects in the receiving container.

- (id)scriptingValueForSpecifier:(NSScriptObjectSpecifier *)objectSpecifier

Parameters
objectSpecifier
An object specifier to be evaluated.

Return Value
The specified object or objects in the receiving container.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

This method might successfully return an object, an array of objects, or nil, depending on the kind of object
specifier. Because nil is a valid return value, failure is signaled by invoking the object specifier’s
setEvaluationError: method before returning.

Discussion
You can override this method to customize the evaluation of object specifiers without requiring that the
scripting container make up indexes for contained objects that don't naturally have indexes (as can be the
case if you implement indicesOfObjectsByEvaluatingObjectSpecifier: instead).

Your override of this method doesn't need to also invoke any of the NSScriptCommand error signaling methods,
though it can, to record very specific information. The NSUnknownKeySpecifierError and
NSInvalidIndexSpecifierError numbers are special, in that Cocoa may continue evaluating an outer
specifier if they're encountered, for the convenience of scripters.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in
NSObjectScripting.h

setScriptingProperties:

Given an NSString-keyed dictionary, sets one or more scriptable properties of the receiver.

- (void)setScriptingProperties:(NSDictionary *)properties

Parameters
properties
A dictionary containing one or more scriptable properties of the receiver. The valid keys for the dictionary
include the keys for non-ReadOnly Attributes and ToOneRelationships in the .scriptSuite property
list entries for the object's class and its scripting superclasses, and no others. The values of the dictionary
are Objective-C objects.

Discussion
Invokers of this method must have already done any necessary validation to ensure that the properties dictionary
includes nothing but entries for declared, settable, Attributes and ToOneRelationships. Implementations of
this method are not expected to check the validity of keys in the passed-in dictionary, but must be able to
accept dictionaries that do not contain entries for every scriptable property. Implementations of this method
must perform type checking on the dictionary values.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.2 and later.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

See Also
– scriptingProperties (page 59)

Declared in
NSObjectScripting.h

toManyRelationshipKeys

Returns array containing the keys for the to-many relationship properties of the receiver.

- (NSArray *)toManyRelationshipKeys

Return Value
An array containing the keys for the to-many relationship properties of the receiver (if any).

Discussion
NSObject’s implementation simply invokes [[self classDescription] toManyRelationshipKeys].
To make use of the default implementation, you must therefore implement and register a suitable class
description—see NSClassDescription.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– attributeKeys (page 29)
– classDescription (page 31)
– inverseForRelationshipKey: (page 43)
– toOneRelationshipKeys (page 61)

Declared in
NSClassDescription.h

toOneRelationshipKeys

Returns the keys for the to-one relationship properties of the receiver, if any.

- (NSArray *)toOneRelationshipKeys

Return Value
An array containing the keys for the to-one relationship properties of the receiver.

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NSObject Class Reference
Instance Methods

Discussion
NSObject’s implementation of toOneRelationshipKeys simply invokes [[self classDescription]
toOneRelationshipKeys]. To make use of the default implementation, you must therefore implement and
register a suitable class description—see NSClassDescription.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

See Also
– attributeKeys (page 29)
– classDescription (page 31)
– toManyRelationshipKeys (page 61)
– inverseForRelationshipKey: (page 43)

Declared in
NSClassDescription.h

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Deprecated NSObject Methods

A method identified as deprecated has been superseded and may become unsupported in the future.

Deprecated in OS X v10.5
poseAsClass:

Causes the receiving class to pose as a specified superclass. (Deprecated in OS X v10.5.)

+ (void)poseAsClass:(Class)aClass

Parameters
aClass
A superclass of the receiver.

Discussion
The receiver takes the place of aClass in the inheritance hierarchy; all messages sent to aClass will actually
be delivered to the receiver. The receiver must be defined as a subclass of aClass. It can’t declare any new
instance variables of its own, but it can define new methods and override methods defined in aClass. The
poseAsClass: message should be sent before any messages are sent to aClass and before any instances
of aClass are created.

This facility allows you to add methods to an existing class by defining them in a subclass and having the
subclass substitute for the existing class. The new method definitions will be inherited by all subclasses of the
superclass. Care should be taken to ensure that the inherited methods do not generate errors.

A subclass that poses as its superclass still inherits from the superclass. Therefore, none of the functionality of
the superclass is lost in the substitution. Posing doesn’t alter the definition of either class.

Posing is useful as a debugging tool, but category definitions are a less complicated and more efficient way
of augmenting existing classes. Posing admits only two possibilities that are absent from categories:
● A method defined by a posing class can override any method defined by its superclass. Methods defined
in categories can replace methods defined in the class proper, but they cannot reliably replace methods
defined in other categories. If two categories define the same method, one of the definitions will prevail,
but there’s no guarantee which one.

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Deprecated NSObject Methods
Deprecated in OS X v10.5

● A method defined by a posing class can, through a message to super, incorporate the superclass method
it overrides. A method defined in a category can replace a method defined elsewhere by the class, but it
can’t incorporate the method it replaces.

Special Considerations
Posing is deprecated in OS X v10.5. The poseAsClass: method is not available in 64-bit applications in OS X
v10.5.

Availability
Available in OS X v10.0 and later.

Deprecated in OS X v10.5.

Declared in
NSObject.h

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64
Document Revision History

This table describes the changes to NSObject Class Reference .

Date Notes

2013-01-28 Updated description of forwardInvocation: to recommend calling super

instead of doesNotRecognizeSelector:.

2012-09-19 Updated for OS X v10.8.

2012-02-16 Updated discussion of alloc methods for the modern runtime.

2011-09-08 Updated for ARC.

2011-01-19 Updated the performSelectorOnMainThread... method descriptions to

reflect what happens during sequential calls to the method from the same
thread.

2010-03-24 Update example code to new initializer pattern.

2009-08-28 Added autoContentAccessingProxy method.

2009-03-24 Updated for OS X v10.6.

2009-02-04 Added note about managing scarce resources in dealloc.

2008-10-15 Added special consideration for +initialize method.

2008-06-09 Updated sample code in +resolveInstanceMethod: to properly call super.

2008-03-11 Updated the descriptions of the methods

copyScriptingValue:forKey:withProperties: and
newScriptingObjectOfClass:forValueForKey: withContentsValue:properties:.

2008-02-08 Updated the description of the load method.

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65
Document Revision History

Date Notes

2007-12-11 Updated descriptions for the performSelector methods.

2007-07-07 Included new API for OS X v10.5.

The following new methods have been added for use with Cocoa scripting:
copyScriptingValue:forKey:withProperties: (page 35),
newScriptingObjectOfClass:forValueForKey:withContentsValue:properties:(page
46), and scriptingValueForSpecifier: (page 59).

2006-06-28 Augmented the description of dealloc and version.

2006-05-23 First publication of this content as a separate document.

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66
Apple Inc.
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No licenses, express or implied, are granted with
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