Question

I’m in the process of learning Objective-C and I’ve read that I should be using both bracket notation exclusively and dot notation exclusively. Is there any practical benefit to using one over the other, or is it personal preference?

Answer 1

Dot notation is the current best way to access properties in Objective-C. The arguments for one paradigm or another are largely stylistic, and Apple’s style is dot notation. As an Objective-C beginner, you should always strive to emulate Apple’s style. Whoever told you to exclusively use bracket notation is incorrect.

And, though you didn’t ask this I’m going to mention it here because it’s a perpetual source of confusion for people just learning Obj-C. The following setters are identical

[self setFoo:42];
self.foo = 42;

the following getters are identical

bar = [self foo];
bar = self.foo;