NSArray
and NSMutableArray
are not sparse arrays. Thus, there is no concept of "exists at index", only "does the array have N elements or more".
For NSMutableArray, the grand sum total of mutable operations are:
- (void)addObject:(id)anObject;
- (void)insertObject:(id)anObject atIndex:(NSUInteger)index;
- (void)removeLastObject;
- (void)removeObjectAtIndex:(NSUInteger)index;
- (void)replaceObjectAtIndex:(NSUInteger)index withObject:(id)anObject;
All other mutability methods can be expressed in terms of the above and -- more specifically to your question -- removing an object does not create a hole (nor can you create an array with N "holes" to be filled later).