Are objects initialised to nil by default in Objective-C?

Question

NSArray *items;
NSArray *items = nil;

Is there any difference in these two statements in Objective-C?

This might help you to understand `If an object does not implement an initializer, Cocoa invokes the initializer of the nearest ancestor instead.` — Anoop Vaidya, Nov 25 '14 at 10:52

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 25 '14 at 10:46

2

Objects are initialized to zero or nil before the initializer runs.

Then check this for more info:

It isn’t necessary to initialize all instance variables of an object explicitly, just those that are necessary to make the object functional. The default set-to-zero initialization performed on an instance variable during allocation is often sufficient. Make sure that you retain or copy instance variables, as required for memory management.

answered Nov 25 '14 at 10:46

Jose Luis

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The OP is talking about the object *pointers*, not the memory occupied by the objects themselves. – trojanfoe Nov 25 '14 at 10:48
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Check the other link and quote – Jose Luis Nov 25 '14 at 10:49
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Now you are referring to instance variables when the OP is clearly referring to local or global variables. – trojanfoe Nov 25 '14 at 10:51
Your answer should be in your answer--not in a link. – nhgrif Nov 25 '14 at 11:34

Are objects initialised to nil by default in Objective-C?

1 Answers1