Even with self, object still autoreleased

Question

In regards to this posting http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1481871/why-does-self-protect-memory-space/1481882#1481882, I'm using 'self' to access aArray. Yet, I still get an invalid object in the didSelectRowAtIndexPath: method.

In the root controller, I access aArray like this:

MyAppDelegate *theDelegate = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];  
NSString *aKey = [theDelegate.aArray objectAtIndex:0];

Would that have something to do with aArray loosing its reference? Why wouldn't it occur in cellForRowAtIndexPath: (the first use of it outside of MyAppDelegate proper)?

Answer 1

If aArray is a property that is set to retain, then you may be over-releasing it somewhere. It doesn't seem entirely clear in your question, but if it's the object at index 0 that's invalid, it may be it that was over-released. If you're using Xcode 3.2 on Snow Leopard you may want to make sure you're using the Clang static analyzer. It can help find such over-releases.

Answer 2

This question doesn't make sense. Or, rather, the answer is still "go read and understand the documentation linked to in the answer to your other question".

Specifically:

• Apple Docs - Memory Management Rules
• Apple Docs - Declared Properties
• Apple Docs - NSAutoreleasePool
• Question Regarding How NSAutoreleasePool Works

There is no magic about memory management. There is nothing special about self vs. any other kind of object reference. The dot notation is merely short hand for a method call; nothing special to it, either.

Until you understand these things, you'll be chasing ghosts and not actually solving the real problems in your code.