CODEWITHSUNDEEP
objective-ciosios4
TeaCupApp
TeaCupApp

Reputation: 11452

Objective C syntax paradigm

I am fairly new with Objective C and getting my feet wet! I have came across with two different notations in syntax,

  1. Dot notation
  2. Square bracket notation

I would like to ask, Which would be more preferable? As I am learning this straight after java I am much more familiar with dot notation. So should consider it to be a normal pattern for whatever code I write? Does industry standardised which notation to use?

Thanks for your help

Upvotes: 4

Views: 235

Answers (4)

tipycalFlow
tipycalFlow

Reputation: 7644

I don't think there is any standard but I prefer the "Square bracket notation" for calling methods and the "dot notation" for accessing properties. Though the dot notation works the same, it helps differentiate between the two operations

Upvotes: 1

Jano
Jano

Reputation: 63667

Use dot notation to refer to properties and square notation to call methods. Both result in a message send, but at least you are separating state vs behaviour.

Upvotes: 3

DarkDust
DarkDust

Reputation: 92335

The dot notation is only available for properties and of course C structs. Whether you prefer:

foo.aProperty = bar.anotherProperty;

or:

[foo setAProperty:[bar anotherProperty]];

...is a matter of taste. I personally prefer the second one because it's absolutely clear there's two method calls involved. You can't tell at a first glance in this case:

CGFloat x = myView.frame.origin.x;

This is equivalent to:

CGFloat x = [myView frame].origin.x;

In the second example, it's clearly visible that a method call is involved, but the first example tends to be more readable.

So use whichever suits you, both are okay (though I guess most developers tend to use the first one, partly due to the fact it's faster to type and tends to be more legible).

Upvotes: 4

Srikar Appalaraju
Srikar Appalaraju

Reputation: 73608

Well if I am not wrong, the square notation is more native. This is what was more prevalent. The dot notation has come into being recently.

I have seen code with both styles being used...

Upvotes: 1

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