How to duplicate a UIButton in Objective C?

Question

The object inherits from NSObject.

Is there a method to create a copy of it as a new object?

Answer 1

UIButton does not conform to NSCopying, so you cannot make a copy via -copy.

However, it does conform to NSCoding, so you can archive the current instance, then unarchive a 'copy'.

NSData *archivedData = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject: button]; UIButton *buttonCopy = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithData: archivedData]; 

Afterwards, you'll have to assign any additional properties that weren't carried over in the archive (e.g. the delegate) as necessary.

Answer 2

UIButton doesn't conform to the NSCopying protocol, so you have copy it by hand. On the other hand, it is not a bad thing, since it is not exactly clear what does it mean to copy a button. For example, should it add the button copy to the same view the original is in? Should it fire the same methods when tapped?