I want a class that take a REQUIRED argument like the UITableViewController that does not have init.
Currently I just throw an exception when invoking init.
Is there a way to deactivate it completely?
A:
No. Just redefine it to some error condition. This is bad style anyway and I question your motives.
jer
2010-09-05 22:59:31
Well the motive is that i think it was good style if it was possible since the object have little meaning if not well initialized. Why do you think it's bad style?
gurghet
2010-09-05 23:05:03
Well in fact you can call `[[UITableViewController alloc] init]`. It does have `init`, because it's a subclass of `NSObject`. I understand your motivation but it's just not a standard practice in Objective-C to try to remove/hide methods.
Yuji
2010-09-05 23:06:57
I see, I'll initialize it with some random default argument. Thank you guys you're amazing.
gurghet
2010-09-05 23:10:32
Well, it's not a standard practice either. What people usually do is just not defining the `init` method in your subclass.
Yuji
2010-09-05 23:12:37
Let me add: not defining `init` in your class does not remove the `init` method. What happens when you call `[[YourClass alloc] init]` in that case is that it calls the superclass's `init`, which will be `NSObject`'s `init`. Which will zero-out all the ivars.
Yuji
2010-09-05 23:15:16
I don't see why this is bad style. If i have a class that requires another object to be created I would rather an error be thrown if I call the wrong init method than being left with bad data.
skorulis
2010-09-05 23:24:29
i have just declared bad data to be logical dummy data so i can catch the error down the stack
gurghet
2010-09-05 23:28:41
@gurghet - You might want to read up on designated initializers, as well: http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ObjectiveC/Articles/ocAllocInit.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP30001163-CH22-106376 Also, a song on the topic can't hurt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajlESsRXqmM
Brad Larson
2010-09-06 15:32:00
A:
A non-existant method (anywhere in the class hierarchy) for any object would cause the runtime to throw an exception. If that's what you mean by a deactivated method, and you're throwing an exception already, then you're already done.
hotpaw2
2010-09-05 23:09:42