Does using lists of structs make sense in cocoa?

Question

This question has spawned out of this one. Working with lists of structs in cocoa is not simple. Either use NSArray and encode/decode, or use a C type array and lose the com

Answer 1

It is convenient and useful at times to use structs, especially when you have to drop down to C, such as when working with an existing library or doing system level stuff. Sometimes you just want a compact data structure without the overhead of a class. If you need many instances of such structs, it can make a real impact on performance and memory footprint.

Another way to do an array of structs is to use the NSPointerArray class. It takes a bit more thought to set up but it works pretty much just like an NSArray after that and you don't have to bother with boxing/unboxing or wrapping in a class so accessing the data is more convenient, and it doesn't take up the extra memory of a class.

NSPointerFunctions *pf = [[NSPointerFunctions alloc] initWithOptions:NSPointerFunctionsMallocMemory |
                          NSPointerFunctionsStructPersonality |
                          NSPointerFunctionsCopyIn];
pf.sizeFunction = keventSizeFunction;
self.pending = [[NSPointerArray alloc] initWithPointerFunctions:pf];