Since transitioning to Xcode 4, I have discovered a very curious shift in the way Objective C categories are handled in static libraries. In general, if you create an Objective C category, you have to import that category into an implementation (.m) class in order for that category's additions to be visible and used. That worked great in Xcode 3, as you can control what categories methods appear wherever by merits of using the import (or not). However, in Xcode 4, all categories defined in a static library used in a dependent project are by definition visible, even if not imported.
Here's an example. I have a common static library I have created to hold a lot of my frequently-used utility code, and commonly used categories. One such category in my static library is called UIViewController+Utils. If I create a brand new Xcode project (I used the iOS Tab Bar Application template), and add the static library to the project using the menu just so that it shows in the project, all of the view controllers in that template project are inheriting the view controller behavior from the category. I have not added *any* import statements or touched one line of code in that new project. I can visually see that these category methods from my UIViewController+Utils category in my static library because if I pull up the MainWindow.xib file, and click on the TabBarController object, I can see some actions defined by my category in the Connections Inspector. Also, any methods overridden by the category will exhibit the category's behavior in any base class (in other words, all view controllers will be by default effected by UIViewController categories, even though they don't import those categories). This is no bueno. I do not want all of my static library's categories to be used regardless of whether an import statement exists or not. Unless there is something obvious I am missing here, this would seem to call into question any use of categories in static libraries, and I have a major code refactoring required to reorganize how code is shared between projects. Can anyone shed some light on this? Why would UIViewControllers bear the effects of a UIViewController category in a static library if no import statements for that category or any other class which imports it anywhere in the project? Thanks. Brad _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to arch...@mail-archive.com
