[snippets_intro text=”to convert a mutable array to an immutable array”]
When you want to convert a mutable array to an immutable array, try this:
// Converting from a mutable array to its immutable counterpart: NSMutableArray *myMutableArray = methodToReturnAnNSMutableArray(); NSArray *myArray = myMutableArray;
Converting a mutable to an immutable array is much simpler than the reverse process because all NSMutable* classes inherit from their immutable counterparts. However, if you no longer need the ability to add and remove elements from a NSMutableArray the best way is to make an immutable copy of the original, and then release that original. Reasons:
- The container only stores references to objects, so the copy operation never copies the actual objects, just references to them.
- It’s much faster to access items from an array than from a linked list.
- The resultant NSArray will take up less memory than the NSMutableArray just released.
// Stripping off the additional functionality of a mutable container for efficiency. NSMutableArray *myMutableArray = methodToReturnAnNSMutableArray(); NSArray *myArray = [myMutableArray copy]; [myMutableArray release];
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