Do I need to release NSString generated using @"..."?

Question

If I make an NSString using the code below, do I need to need to release someString?

NSString *someString = @"somestring";

Answer 1

No, it's a compile time constant string object, so it doesn't need releasing. It's the moral equiv of char *c = "hello world" -- where the string hello world is in global data, and you're assigning the address of this data to the pointer c.

Answer 2

If you created an object via a method call that contains alloc, retain, or copy, or starts with new (N-A-R-C = "narc"), then you are responsible for releasing the object. If this is not the case, then you can ignore the object.

So in the case of strings:

NSString * myString = @"This is a string";

I don't see a call there to a NARC method, so you are not responsible for releasing it. It's really that simple.