Question

I have seen both ways from different programmers.

• [[self object] method]
• [object method]

Some other just use [self.object method] instead of [[self object] method].

Does self give me a safety about not calling other objects ?
I think second way is more readable.

What should I use ?

Answer 1

It’s up to you. They are just different styles of programming. However, if your getter method does more than just return object, calling self.object or [self object] (which are the same thing) every time could be less efficient.

for example:

- (NSObject *) object {
  // some random code here
  return _object;
}

consider these two examples:

NSObject *obj = [self object];
[[self object] method];

vs.

NSObject *obj = [self object];
[obj method];

The second method could be more efficient, since the “random code” in the getter method is only executed once, whereas in the first example it is executed twice (each time [self object] is called).