Can you force unreferenced code to be linked in from a static library?

Question

Here's the scenario - I have created a custom NSView subclass, and the implementation is in a static library. The class is never referenced from the final executable, only from the Interface Builder XML file. Since it's not referenced, it doesn't get included at link time, and as a result the class can't be found at runtime.

Is there any way to force it to be linked in, other thank link dynamically or compile the class directly into the executable itself?

Answer 1

You can use the class class method on it, which will mostly be a no-op, but will reference it from your code.

int main(int argc, const char** argv)
{
    [MyClass class]; // There you are! MyClass is now referenced from your code.

    /* ... rest of your main function ... */
}

Answer 2

How about making a pointer to the offending class in the executable? That ought to force it and won't require you to allocate memory etc.

Answer 3

Trying using -all_load or -force_load flags. See comments in the following post:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2906147/what-does-the-all-load-linker-flag-does