Question

I’m wondering how ARC knows how to work when I create variables without @property like in this case:

@interface MyClass: NSObject
{
    NSString *name;
}
-(NSString*)name;
-(void)setName:(NSString*)the_name;

have I to use __strong keyword like in this code? :

@interface MyClass : NSObject
{
    NSString __strong *name;
}

Or I have to write accessor methods in this way ?:

-(void)setName:(NSString*)the_name{
   name = __strong the_name;
} 

Answer 1

No, you do not need to do anything special: __strong keyword is implied when there is no ARC keyword.

EDIT You do not need to use __strong in the setter either: ARC knows to retain the_name, because name is already a __strong reference.