Question

in my viewDidLoad method I want to read the user defaults. But

NSLog(@"%@", [prefs stringForKey:@"gateway_picker"]);

prints (null). Why?

gateway_picker default value is set to 1.

Answer 1

Because it is set to the number 1, as either an integer, a float, or a Boolean, and unlike an NSControl, NSUserDefaults does not attempt to convert the value to the type you requested.

Use objectForKey: instead. This will return the object regardless of whether it is a string or anything else.

If you then want to interpret it numerically, ask the object for its integerValue, floatValue, or boolValue. This will work regardless of whether the object is an NSString or any kind of NSNumber. (If it is a data, date, array, or dictionary, this will cause an exception. You may want to detect such values and substitute the default value in that case.)

If you specifically want a string, detect whether the object is a number and ask it for its stringValue if it is. (Again, you may want to also handle receiving a data, date, array, or dictionary.)