MulleDynamicObject.md

MulleDynamicObject

Base class that provides dynamic property support in mulle-objc. Enables dynamic property access and automatic method generation for property accessors.

Base Class

NSObject

Instance Variables

struct mulle__pointermap   __ivars;  // Maps property names to values

Methods

Initialization

• -init - Initializes the dynamic property storage

Dynamic Property Support

• -forward: - Handles dynamic property access and method generation
• +isFullyDynamic - Returns NO by default, can be overridden to enable fully dynamic mode

Internal Support

• _MulleDynamicObjectValueSetter - Sets value for dynamic property
• _MulleDynamicObjectNumberSetter - Sets number value for dynamic property
• _MulleDynamicObjectValueGetter - Gets value from dynamic property
• _MulleDynamicObjectForward - Helper function for subclasses implementing forward:

Usage Example

// Create dynamic object with property
@interface MyDynamic : MulleDynamicObject
@property(dynamic) NSString *name;
@end

@implementation MyDynamic
@dynamic name;
@end

// Use dynamic property
MyDynamic *obj = [MyDynamic new];
obj.name = @"Hello";  // Uses dynamic setter
NSString *name = obj.name;  // Uses dynamic getter

Important Notes

1. Property Types

   • Supports primitive types through NSNumber wrapping
   • Handles object properties with retain/copy/assign semantics
   • Manages strings with strdup/free
   • Supports NSValue for structs/unions

2. Implementation Details

   • Creates accessor methods on demand
   • Caches property lookups for performance
   • Handles memory management automatically
   • Supports property observation

3. Memory Management

   • Automatically releases stored objects
   • Manages memory for C strings
   • Cleans up in dealloc/finalize

4. Restrictions

   • Cannot retain variadic method arguments
   • Cannot retain unions containing id or char*
   • Fully dynamic mode requires NSValue/NSNumber support

5. Generic Types

typedef NS_ENUM(NSInteger, MulleObjCGenericType)
{
    MulleObjCGenericTypeVoidPointer = 0,  // as is
    MulleObjCGenericTypeStrdup,           // strdup/free
    MulleObjCGenericTypeAssign,           // just like void pointer
    MulleObjCGenericTypeRetain,           // retain/autorelease
    MulleObjCGenericTypeCopy,             // copy/autorelease
    MulleObjCGenericTypeValue,            // wrap into NSValue
    MulleObjCGenericTypeNumber            // wrap into NSNumber
};