Object Class Reference

The root class of all Objective-C classes. More...

#import <objc/objc.h>

Inheritance diagram for Object:

Collaboration diagram for Object:

Instance Methods
(void)	- dealloc
	Free resources for an existing instance.
(id)	- init
	Initialize the instance, after allocation. More...
(Class)	- class
	Returns the class of the instance. More...
(Class)	- superclass
	Returns the superclass of the instance. More...
(BOOL)	- isEqual:
	Compares the receiver to another object for equality. More...
(BOOL)	- isKindOfClass:
	Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiver is an instance of a given class. More...
(BOOL)	- conformsTo:
	Checks if the receiver's class conforms to a protocol. More...
(NXString *)	- description
	Returns a string that represents the instance. More...
Instance Methods inherited from <ObjectProtocol>
(BOOL)	- respondsToSelector:
	Checks if the receiver responds to a selector. More...

Class Methods
(void)	+ initialize
	Performs one-time initialization for the class. More...
(id)	+ alloc
	Allocate a new class instance. More...
(Class)	+ class
	Returns the class object. More...
(Class)	+ superclass
	Returns the superclass of the class. More...
(const char *)	+ name
	Returns the name of the class. More...
(BOOL)	+ conformsTo:
	Checks if the class conforms to a protocol. More...
(NXString *)	+ description
	Returns a string that represents the class. More...

Protected Attributes
Class	isa
	A pointer to the object's class structure. More...

Detailed Description

The root class of all Objective-C classes.

This class is the base class for all objects in Objective-C. It provides basic memory management and introspection capabilities.

Definition at line 18 of file Object.h.

Method Documentation

alloc()

+ (id) alloc

Allocate a new class instance.

Returns

A pointer to the instance, or nil if the allocation failed.

class() [1/2]

- (Class) class

Returns the class of the instance.

Returns

The class of the receiver.

class() [2/2]

+ (Class) class

Returns the class object.

Returns

The class object for the receiver.

conformsTo:() [1/2]

+ (BOOL) conformsTo:

(Protocol *)

aProtocolObject

Checks if the class conforms to a protocol.

Parameters

aProtocolObject

The protocol to check conformance against.

Returns

YES if the class conforms to the specified protocol, NO otherwise.

This class method determines whether the receiving class adopts or inherits from the specified protocol. A class conforms to a protocol if it explicitly declares that it adopts the protocol, or if it inherits from a class that conforms to the protocol.

Reimplemented from <ObjectProtocol>.

Implemented in Protocol.

conformsTo:() [2/2]

- (BOOL) conformsTo:

(Protocol *)

aProtocolObject

Checks if the receiver's class conforms to a protocol.

Parameters

aProtocolObject

The protocol to check conformance against.

Returns

YES if the receiver's class conforms to the specified protocol, NO otherwise.

This instance method determines whether the receiving object's class adopts or inherits from the specified protocol. This is equivalent to calling the class method on the receiver's class.

Reimplemented from <ObjectProtocol>.

Implemented in Protocol.

description() [1/2]

+ (NXString *) description

Returns a string that represents the class.

Returns

A string that describes the receiver.

Provided by category Object(Description).

description() [2/2]

- (NXString *) description

Returns a string that represents the instance.

Returns

A string that describes the receiver.

Provided by category Object(Description).

init()

- (id) init

Initialize the instance, after allocation.

Returns

The initialized object.

Subclasses should override this method to perform custom initialization, and free resources if the initialization fails.

initialize()

+ (void) initialize

Performs one-time initialization for the class.

This method is called automatically by the Objective-C runtime before the class receives messages.

Subclasses may override this method to perform initialization tasks like setting up class variables or initializing static data structures. If subclasses implement this method, they are called first, and may be called multiple times.

isEqual:()

- (BOOL) isEqual:

(id)

anObject

Compares the receiver to another object for equality.

Parameters

anObject

The object to compare with the receiver.

Returns

YES if the objects are equal, otherwise NO.

When comparing two objects, this method should be overridden to compare the contents of the objects.

Reimplemented from <ObjectProtocol>.

isKindOfClass:()

- (BOOL) isKindOfClass:

(Class)

cls

Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the receiver is an instance of a given class.

Parameters

cls	A class object.

Returns

YES if the receiver is an instance of cls or an instance of any class that inherits from cls, otherwise NO.

Reimplemented from <ObjectProtocol>.

name()

+ (const char *) name

Returns the name of the class.

Returns

A C-string containing the name of the class.

Reimplemented from <ObjectProtocol>.

Implemented in Protocol.

superclass() [1/2]

- (Class) superclass

Returns the superclass of the instance.

Returns

The superclass of the receiver, or Nil if it is a root class.

superclass() [2/2]

+ (Class) superclass

Returns the superclass of the class.

Returns

The superclass of the receiver, or Nil if it is a root class.

Field Documentation

isa

- isa

protected

A pointer to the object's class structure.

This instance variable holds a reference to the class to which the object belongs. It is a fundamental part of the Objective-C object model, enabling dynamic dispatch and introspection.

Definition at line 27 of file Object.h.

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

• include/runtime-gcc/objc/Object.h