Edit: I just noticed this other Stack Overflow question asking much the same thing: Why does a subclass @property with no corresponding ivar hide superclass ivars?
This is some interesting behavior that I cannot find documented in anything official or unofficial (blog, tweet, SO question, etc). I have boiled it down to its essence and tested this in a fresh Xcode project, but I can't explain it.
MyBaseClass has an instance variable:
@interface MyBaseClass : NSObject {
NSObject *fooInstanceVar;
}
@end
MySubclass extends MyBaseClass, and declares a totally unrelated property (that is, the property is not intended to be backed by the instance variable):
#import "MyBaseClass.h"
@interface MySubclass : MyBaseClass { }
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSObject *barProperty;
@end
If the implementation of MySubclass does not synthesize the property but implements the accessor methods, everything is fine (no compiler error):
#import "MySubclass.h"
@implementation MySubclass
- (NSObject*)barProperty {
return [[NSObject alloc] init]; // pls ignore flagrant violation of memory rules.
}
- (void)setBarProperty:(NSObject *)obj { /* no-op */ }
- (void)doSomethingWithProperty {
NSArray *array = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:self.barProperty, fooInstanceVar, nil];
NSLog(@"%@", array);
}
@end
But if I remove the property accessor methods and replace them with a synthesize
declaration for the property, I get a compiler error: 'fooInstanceVar' undeclared (first use in this function)
.
#import "MySubclass.h"
@implementation MySubclass
@synthesize barProperty;
- (void)doSomethingWithProperty {
NSArray *array = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:self.barProperty, fooInstanceVar, nil];
NSLog(@"%@", array);
}
@end
This error goes away if I remove either the synthesize
declaration, or if I do not refer to the fooInstanceVar
instance variable from within MySubclass.m, or if I put all interface and implementation definitions in a single file. This error also seems to happen in both GCC 4.2 and GCC/LLVM build settings.
Can anyone explain what's happening here?
As replied in this question : objective c xcode 4.0.2: subclass can't access superclass variables "was not declared in this scope"
From the doc : Apple Objective-C Programming Langage : http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ObjectiveC/Chapters/ocDefiningClasses.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP30001163-CH12-TPXREF125
The instance variable is accessible within the class that declares it and within classes that inherit it. All instance variables without an explicit scope directive have @protected scope.
However, a public instance variable can be accessed anywhere as if it were a field in a C structure. For example:
Worker *ceo = [[Worker alloc] init];
ceo->boss = nil;
I have the compilation error using LLVM GCC 4.2 (for an iOS project, on device) :
error: 'fooInstanceVar' undeclared (first use in this function) and the same one using GCC 4.2 : error: 'fooInstanceVar' undeclared (first use in this function)
I can compile using LLVM Compiler 2.0 whithout error.
For compiling with LLVM GCC 4.2 and GCC 4.2 with the use of self-> :
[NSArray arrayWithObjects:self.barProperty, self->fooInstanceVar, nil]; in the doSomethingWithProperty method.
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