Question

In the docs for NSManagedObjectContext on the executeFetchRequest:error: method it says it returns an array, but it doesn’t mention whether the array is autoreleased or if it has a retain count = 1.

I’m assuming that it’s autoreleased, since it appears to be a convenience method, but wasn’t sure.

Edit Again

facepalm

I was checking the retain count before the autorelease pool had… released it.
Thanks for the tip on not calling retainCount – I’ll avoid it in the future. This is a good case in point where it led me astray.

Answer 1

According to the Object Ownership Policy, only methods prefixed with “alloc”, “new”, “copy” and “mutableCopy” return an object you own. executeFetchRequest:error: is no exception. Therefore, you do not own the returned array and you must claim ownership of it by sending a retain message to it if you need to keep it around. Otherwise, it will get released (at some point in the future).

The actual value of retainCount is irrelevant.