Question

In almost all my classes I use properties and I always use retain properties like this:

@property (nonatomic, retain) HomeViewController *homeViewController;

And in the implementation file I instantiate these properties like this:

self.homeViewController = [[HomeViewController alloc]init];

and this is the only place I am releasing:

- (void)dealloc
{
    [homeViewController release];
    [super dealloc];
}

Am I correct in believing that I have a memory leak here – because the retain count will actually be 2. The first comes from the property retain and the second comes from the alloc call?

If yes, should I be using assign under these circumstances?

Answer 1

Yes, you have a leak, and yes your retain count is 2.

Three solutions:

• self.homeViewController = [[[HomeViewController alloc]init] autorelease];
• homeViewController = [[[HomeViewController alloc]init];
• UIViewController *temp = [[HomeViewController alloc]init]; self.homeViewController = temp; [temp release];