Question

I have a NSString called fontType

and I am trying to have a custom setter for it:

- (void) setFontType:(NSString *) fType
{   
    if (self.fontType != fType){
        [fontType release];
        self.fontType = [fType retain];
        //some more custom code
    }
}

Is there any issue with this?

Answer 1

A few things that stand out for me:

• do not use self. inside of custom accessors. access the variable directly
• it’s better use copy semantics for properties of a type that has a
  mutable subtype
• be careful with whatever is // some more custom code

My personal style preferences are like so:

-(void)setFontType:(NSString *)fontType_ {
   if (fontType == fontType_) return; // get out quick, flatten the code

   [fontType release];
   fontType = [fontType_ copy];

   // some more code
}

Cocoa with Love has a good article on this topic. It’s worth a read.