"Initializer element is not constant" for NSNumbers
Post: #1
I'm using an NSMutableSet to store numbers. Of course, this being Objective C, I have to use NSNumber objects.
There are certain number values I wish to query the set for from time to time, so I'm trying to declare NSNumbers for them.
This does not work though. I get "Initializer element is not constant" errors for each line.
I tried moving the constants to a separate header and implementation file, to get something like this:
...And then I import codes.h in the file I'm going to be using with them. I still get the same errors.
There are certain number values I wish to query the set for from time to time, so I'm trying to declare NSNumbers for them.
Code:
NSNumber *KEY_UP = [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSUpArrowFunctionKey];
NSNumber *KEY_DOWN = [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSDownArrowFunctionKey];
...This does not work though. I get "Initializer element is not constant" errors for each line.
I tried moving the constants to a separate header and implementation file, to get something like this:
Code:
//codes.h
extern NSNumber * const KEY_UP;
extern NSNumber * const KEY_DOWN;
...Code:
// codes.m
NSNumber * const KEY_UP
= [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSUpArrowFunctionKey];
NSNumber * const KEY_DOWN
= [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSDownArrowFunctionKey];
......And then I import codes.h in the file I'm going to be using with them. I still get the same errors.
Post: #2
Correct, you can't execute code like +[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:] outside the context of a function. If you really need constant NSNumbers like that, you'll have to call some function in that file to initialize them at startup. You're likely better off just using the existing primitive constants and dealing with creating a new NSNumber when you want to add to the set, and getting its -intValue when you want to retrieve one.
Post: #3
So if I want to check for a specific value, do I have to create a new NSNumber ever time?
Code:
// I'm also not quite sure what I should call on the temporary number to make sure it's garbage collected.
[myset containsObject:[[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSUpArrowFunctionKey] autorelease]];
Post: #4
No. You can create the NSNumbers once and then hang on to them. You declare the pointers as globals and then assign the objects to them in your class's initialize method.
Code:
//See Skorche's post for a corrected version
NSNumber *KEY_UP;
NSNumber *KEY_DOWN;
- (void) initialize
{
KEY_UP = [[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSUpArrowFunctionKey] retain];
KEY_DOWN = [[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSDownArrowFunctionKey] retain];
}
Post: #5
A couple of nitpicks with the above code:
Code:
NSNumber *KEY_UP;
NSNumber *KEY_DOWN;
+ (void) initialize // + not -
{
static bool done = FALSE;
if(!done){ // This method will be called again if you subclass the class and don't define a initialize method for the subclass
KEY_UP = [[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSUpArrowFunctionKey] retain];
KEY_DOWN = [[NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:NSDownArrowFunctionKey] retain];
done = TRUE;
}
}Scott Lembcke - Howling Moon Software
Author of Chipmunk Physics - A fast and simple rigid body physics library in C.
Post: #6
I wondered if that's thread safe, but it is. See comment atop http://opensource.apple.com/source/objc4...itialize.m
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