Objective C Flashcards
abstract class
A class defined to make creating subclasses easier.
accessor method
A method that gets or sets the value of an instance variable.
Application Kit
A framework for developing an application’s user interface, which includes objects such as menus, toolbars, and windows. Part of Cocoa.
archiving
Translating the representation of an object’s data into a format that can later be restored (unarchived).
array
An ordered collection of values.
automatic variable
A variable that is automatically allocated and released
autorelease pool
An object defined in the Foundation framework that keeps track of objects that are to be released when the pool itself is released.
bitfield
A structure containing one or more integer fields of a specified bit width.
category
A set of methods grouped together under a specified name.
caharacter string
A null-terminated sequence of characters.
class
A set of instance variables and methods that have access to those variables.
class method
A method (defined with a leading + sign) that is invoked on class objects.
class object
An object that identifies a particular class
cluster
An abstract class that groups a set of private concrete subclasses, providing a simplified interface to the user
Cocoa
A development environment that consists of the Foundation and Application Kit frameworks.
Cocoa Touch
A development environment that consists of the Foundation and UIKit frameworks.
collection
A Foundation framework object that is an array, a dictionary, or a set used for grouping and manipulating
compile time
The time during which the source code is analyzed and converted into a lower-level format known as object code.
composite class
A class that is composed of objects from other classes; often it’s used as an alternative to subclassing.
concrete subclass
A subclass of an abstract class.
conform
A class to a protocol if it adopts all the required methods in the protocol, either directly through
constant character string
A sequence of characters enclosed inside a pair of double quotation marks.
data encapsulation
The notion that the data for an object is stored in its
delegate
An object directed to carry out an action by another object.
designated initializer
The method that all other initialization methods in the
dictionary
A collection of key/value pairs implemented under Foundation with the NSDictionary and NSMutableDictionary classes.
directive
In Objective-C, a special construct that begins with an at sign (@). @interface, @implementation, @end, and @class are examples of .
Distributed Objects
The capability of Foundation objects in one application
synamic binding
Determining the method to invoke with an object at runtime instead of at compile time.
dynamic typing
Determining the class to which an object belongs at runtime instead of at compile time.
formal protocol
A set of related methods grouped together under a name
forwarding
The process of sending a message and its associated argument(s) to another method for execution.
Foundation framework
A collection of classes, functions, and protocols that form the foundation for application development, providing basic facilities such as memory management, file and URL access, the tasks of archiving and working with collections, strings, and number and date objects.
framwork
A collection of classes, functions, protocols, documentation, and header files and other resources that are all related.
function
A block of statements identified by a name that can accept one or more arguments passed to it by value and
garbage collection
A memory-management system that automatically releases the memory used by unreferenced objects. Not supported in the iPhone runtime environment.
gcc
The name of the compiler developed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).
gdb
The standard debugging tool for programs compiled with gcc.
getter method
An accessor method that retrieves the value of an instance variable.
global variable
A variable defined outside any method or function that can be accessed by any method or function in the same source file or from other source files that declare the variable as extern.
header file
A file that contains common definitions, macros, and variable declarations that is included in a program
id
The generic object type that can hold a pointer to any type of object.
inmutable object
An object whose value cannot be modified. Examples from the Foundation framework include NSString, NSDictionary, and NSArray objects.
implementation section
The section of a class definition that contains the
informal protocol
A logically related set of methods declared as a category, often as a category of the root class.
inheritance
The process of passing methods and instance variables from a class, starting with the root object, down to subclasses.
instance
A concrete representation of a class.
instance method
A method that can be invoked by an instance of a class. See
instance variable
A variable declared in the interface section (or inherited
Interface Builder
A tool under Mac OS X for building a graphical user interface for an application.
interface section
The section for declaring a class, its superclass, instance
isa
A special instance variable defined in the root object that all objects inherit.
linking
The process of converting one or more object files into a program that can be executed.
local variable
A variable whose scope is limited to the block in which it is defined.
localization
The process of making a program suitable for execution within a particular geographic region, typically by
message
The method and its associated arguments that are sent to an object (the receiver).
message expression
An expression enclosed in square brackets that specifies
method
A procedure that belongs to a class and can be executed by sending a message to a class object or to instances from the class.
mutable object
An object whose value can be changed.
nil
An object of type id, which is used to represent an invalid object. Its value is defined as 0.
notification
The process of sending a message to objects that have registered to be alerted when a specific event occurs.
NSObject
The root object under the Foundation framework.
null character
A character whose value is 0.
null pointer
An invalid pointer value, normally defined as 0.
object
A set of variables and associated methods.
object-oriented programming
A method of programming based on classes and objects, and performing actions on those objects.
parent class
A class from which another class inherits.
pointer
A value that references another object or data type. .
polymorphism
The capability of objects from different classes to accept
preprocessor
A program that makes a first pass through the source code processing lines that begin with a #, which presumably contain special preprocessor statements. Common uses are for defining macros with #define, including other source files with #import and #include, and conditionally including source lines with #if, #ifdef, and #ifndef.
procedural programming language
A language in which programs are defined by procedures and functions that operate on a set of data.
property declaration
A way to specify attributes for instance variables that
property list
A representation of different types of objects in a standardized format. Property lists are typically stored
protocol
A list of methods that a class must implement to conform to or adopt
receiver
The object to which a message is sent.The receiver can be referred to as self from inside the method that is
retaint counter
A count of the number of times an object is referenced. It’s incremented by sending a retain message to the object, and it’s decremented by sending a release message to it.
root object
The top most object in the inheritance hierarchy that has no parent.
runtime
The time when a program is executing; also the mechanism responsible for executing a program’s instructions.
selector
The name used to select the method to execute for an object.
self
A variable used inside a method to refer to the receiver of the message.
set
An unordered collection of unique objects implemented under Foundation with the NSSet, NSMutableSet, and
setter method
An accessor method that sets the value of an instance variable.
statement
One or more expressions terminated by a semicolon.
statement block
One or more statements enclosed in a set of curly braces.
static function
A function declared with the static keyword that can be
static typing
Explicitly identifying the class to which an object belongs at compile time.
static variable
A variable whose scope is limited to the block or module in which it is defined. Static variables have default initial values of 0 and retain their values through method or function invocations.
structure
An aggregate data type that can contain members of varying types.
subclass
Also known as a child class.
super
A keyword used in a method to refer to the parent class of the receiver.
super class
The parent class of a particular class.
synthesized method
A setter or getter method that the compiler automatically
UIKit
A framework for developing applications on the iPhone and iTouch. In addition to providing classes for working
Unicode character
A standard for representing characters from sets containing up to millions of characters.
union
An aggregate data type, such as a structure containing members that share the same storage area. Only one of those members can occupy the storage area at any point in time.
Xcode
A compiling and debugging tool for program development with Mac OS X.
XML
Extensible Markup Language. The default format for property lists generated on Mac OS X.
zone
A designated area of memory for allocating data and objects.
