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Abdalrhman Al-Dayel
531 PointsNSLog
hi there ,, i am wondering what does the symbol (@) mean at the beginning of NSLog statement , and when i should use it ?
1 Answer
Rutger Farry
2,071 PointsTyping the @ symbol in NSLog before typing a string implicitly allocates and initializes the string object. You know how creating an object usually involves typing [[ObjectType alloc] init]? Typing the @ symbol tells the compiler to automatically figure out what object type you're trying to create (in this case NSLog takes a string, so that is what you are trying to create), and then allocates and initializes that object with the value that follows.
In short, typing NSLog(@"Hi!"); is the same as typing NSLog([[NSString alloc] initWithUTF8String:"Hi!"];
The only difference is that using @ is much shorter and easier.
(In case you're wondering, the initWithUTF8String method is to initialize with a C-string, something you will be familiar with if you've used C)