Question

The tutorial I am working on has the following method defined.

- (void)addBirdSightingWithSighting:(BirdSighting *)sighting {
    [self.masterBirdSightingList addObject:sighting];
}

The tutorial describes this as follows:

This method creates and initializes a new BirdSighting object by sending to the initWithName:location:date: method the name and location the user entered, along with today’s date. Then, the method adds the new BirdSighting object to the array.

There is a initWithName:location:date: method that is on the BirdSighting class which is my data model. The above method is added to the data controller which simply is adding a BirdSighting object to the masterBirdSightingList mutable array.

What I do not understand is that the tutorial says that BirdSighting object is sent to the initWithName:location:date: method when I do not see this?

• Is this because the * in the (BirdSighting *) method parameter? I understand that the * is a pointer to a object, but does it create a new object and call its default init method? And just because I added the initWithName:location:date to the BirdSighting class, does it automatically become my default init method?

Answer 1

No magic there. You’re right. That line of code does not create or initialize a BirdSighting object.

Added:

You’ve discovered, perhaps sooner than many, that neither the Apple code nor docs are perfect. Sometimes they even have serious issues. When you encounter a dissonance, it’s best to trust your intuition and do some of your own testing.