store static big size array

Question

Hi, i need to store an array of 40000 statics strings ( towns ).

how can i do this in objective C ?

Thanks, JP

Answer 1

Personally I'd use CoreData and have the bits of data I need read in when they are needed. The other option would be to store it all in memory using NSDictionary but that would potentially require the user to have a fair amount of memory.

The CoreData approach will give you a decently fast way of retrieving the town names but if speed is key and memory usage doesn't matter then using something like NSDictionary or NSArray would be the faster solution.

Answer 2

1. Create an NSArray

2. Store the static strings in the array

3. Profit

Answer 3

I gave a point to both James and Chuck as both answers are correct given the lack of context.

The meta-question is what are you trying to do?

If you are just trying to show a list of cities and not actually building up a data model, then Chuck's answer is quite appropriate. 3,000 cities in NSString's in an NSArray is really not that much.

However, I'd bet you are doing more than that. I would be surprised if you weren't building up some kind of data model where the cities are connected to the data model, even a small portion of that. In that case, James's answer is correct; CoreData is the way to go as it will be plenty of fast, highly scalable, and offers you with higher level tools for modeling and interacting with your data.