Question

Is it safe to do the following?

// in AppController.h
@interface AppController : NSObject
{
    IBOutlet NSTextField *label;
}
@end

// in AppController.m
- (void)awakeFromNib
{
    [label setIntValue:5];
}

Or is there a chance that label might not yet have been fully initialised when awakeFromNib is sent to the AppController instance?

Answer 1

Documentation says:

Important
Because the order in which objects are instantiated from an archive is not guaranteed, your initialization methods should not send messages to other objects in the hierarchy. Messages to other objects can be sent safely from within awakeFromNib—by which time it’s assured that all the objects are unarchived and initialized (though not necessarily awakened, of course).

In Fact, awakeFromNib is send to all objects the nib created and File’s Owner , after creation of the objects and connecting outlets and actions is complete.