Question

Is it possible to create something like a C struct for Objective-C? I need to be able to use it in an NSArray so it cannot be a traditional struct. Right now I am declaring a whole class just to accomplish this and I was wondering if there is a simpler way.

What I currently have:

@interface TextureFile : NSObject
@property NSString *name;
@property GLKTextureInfo *info;
@end

@implementation TextureFile
@synthesize name = _name;
@synthesize info = _info;
@end

NSMutableArray *textures;

What I want to do:

typedef struct {
    NSString *name;
    GLKTextureInfo *info;
} TextureFile;

NSMutable array *textures;

Answer 1

It depends what kind of data you’re using, the example you are using in your question seems okay for a struct.

If you need to store a C struct in an NSArray, which requires an object, you can convert the C-struct to NSValue and store it like that, you then convert back to its C struct type when you read it.

Check the Apple Documentation.

Given this struct:

typedef struct {
    NSString *name;
    GLKTextureInfo *info;
} TextureFile;

To store it:

TextureFile myStruct;
// set your stuct values

NSValue *anObj = [NSValue value:&myStruct withObjCType:@encode(TextureFile)];
NSArray *array = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:anObj, nil];

To read it again:

NSValue *anObj = [array objectAtIndex:0];
TextureFile myStruct;
[anObj getValue:&myStruct];