[NOT DUPLICATE: read well the question and the already given answers, I've already read them]
I'm facing that problem, I need to substitute -performSelector method since it causes that warning in the compiler with ARC
performSelector may cause a leak because its selector is unknown
I'm aware that there different questions about that topic:
One
Two
Three
and I'm also aware about the techniques to avoid that warning.
Sometimes as a solution I found that the most suggested advice is to use dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(),^(void) { WHATEVER });
but as far as I know dispatching would require the execution of the block in the next run loop, -performSelector (without delay) is executed immediately.
Why this mental masturbation? Imagine that you are using the new Gamekit method for authentication, game kit could send you inside the auth block a view controller to make the user do some operation (such as creating the id, log in, etc). It could be useful to warn the user if he/She wants to see that view controller. To do that and other stuffs I'm writing a protocol. In particular that method should return a BOOL - (BOOL)shouldLoadGameKitViewController: (UIViewController*) viewController;, I'd like to call it using -performSelector. Here is the point, if the method dosen't return immediately I can't get the answer from the delegate.
I'm using NSInvocation to make that happen but is verbose, does exist some other way?
[UPDATE WITH CODE] Pay attention that now I'm using invocation, the thread-check part is not still implemented. Commented there is the part that gave the warning
- (void) dispatchToDelegate: (SEL) selector withArg: (id) arg error: (NSError*) err
{
NSMethodSignature *methodSig = [[self class] instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:selector];
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:methodSig];
[invocation setTarget:self.delegate];
if([self.delegate respondsToSelector: selector])
{
if(arg != NULL) {
[invocation setArgument:&arg atIndex:2];
[invocation setArgument:&err atIndex:3];
// [_delegate performSelector: selector withObject: arg withObject: err];
}else {
[invocation setArgument:&err atIndex:2];
// [_delegate performSelector: selector withObject: err];
}
[invocation invoke];
}
else
DLog(#"Method not implemented in the delegate");
}
[SORT OF SOLUTION STILL UNTESTED]
- (BOOL) dispatchToDelegate: (SEL) selector withArg: (id) arg error: (NSError*) err
{
NSMethodSignature *methodSig = [[self class] instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:selector];
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:methodSig];
[invocation setTarget:self.delegate];
BOOL result = NO;
if([self.delegate respondsToSelector: selector])
{
if(arg != NULL) {
[invocation setArgument:&arg atIndex:2];
[invocation setArgument:&err atIndex:3];
// [_delegate performSelector: selector withObject: arg withObject: err];
}else {
[invocation setArgument:&err atIndex:2];
// [_delegate performSelector: selector withObject: err];
}
if ([NSThread isMainThread]) {
[invocation invoke];
}
else{
[invocation performSelectorOnMainThread:#selector(invoke) withObject:nil waitUntilDone:YES];
}
[invocation getReturnValue:&result];
}
else
NSLog(#"Missed Method");
return result;
}
Using the NSMethodSignature method, is possible to gear up, and ask for the return type. I still didn't test but it should made the trick.
Try to make this to avoid leak or "unknown selector send to instance" issue:
SEL selector = NSSelectorFromString(#"methodName::");
if ([obj respondsToSelector:selector])
[obj performSelector:selector withObject#[args,array]];
You can use dispatch_sync instead of dispatch_async to have the block performed immediately (your code will be blocked until the block returns).
Another alternative is to suppress the warning temporarily, as explained in this answer.
Related
I use invocation call block copy, I think it's equals to [block copy],but crashed why?
#implementation MyService
+ (void)load {
[MyService startRequest:^(id _Nonnull responseObject, NSError * _Nonnull error) {
NSLog(#"%#",self);
}];
}
+ (void)startRequest:(void (^)(id responseObject,NSError *error))object {
SEL sel = #selector(copy);
NSMethodSignature* methodSign = [object methodSignatureForSelector:sel];
NSInvocation* invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:methodSign];
[invocation setSelector:sel];
[invocation setTarget:object];
[invocation invoke];
}
#end
Due to an undocumented feature (see this answer), invoking NSInvocation on a block actually calls the block, instead of sending a message to the block object. The method signature you provided is not the method signature of the actual block call, so it leads to undefined behavior.
I am trying to create a new instance of my custom class (custom init method call, with a BOOL parameter) dynamically. How can I use NSInvocation to do that?
This is what I have so far:
NSMethodSignature* signature = [NSClassFromString(className) instanceMethodSignatureForSelector: sel];
NSInvocation* invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature: signature];
[invocation setTarget: [NSClassFromString(className) alloc]];
[invocation setSelector:sel];
[invocation setArgument:&value atIndex:2];
[invocation invoke];
[invocation getReturnValue:&obj];
Above sample throws error in line [invocation invoke]; error is "message sent to deallocated instance".
Your code doesn't work because the NSInvocation doesn't retain the target or any arguments unless you tell it to (with retainArguments). So, you alloc an instance and then it gets destroyed before you invoke the NSInvocation.
Alternatively, create an instance variable and store the alloc'd instance there, then pass that to the NSInvocation.
I'm running into a crash when using +[NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:invocation:repeats] on iOS 7. The code is straightforward enough; here is the copy paste (with variable renames) in its entirety.
SEL selector = #selector(callback);
NSMethodSignature *signature = [self methodSignatureForSelector:selector];
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:signature];
[invocation setTarget:self];
[NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:0.5 invocation:invocation repeats:NO];
When the timer fires, my app crashes with the following stack trace:
I thought that maybe one of the variables was no longer retained (even though NSTimer's documentation mentions that it retains all referenced parameters), so I strongly retained all of the variables to self. Unfortunately, the crash persists.
Thanks in advance!
You are missing this line [self.invocation setSelector:selector];
This will work
SEL selector = #selector(callback);
NSMethodSignature *signature = [self methodSignatureForSelector:selector];
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:signature];
[invocation setTarget:self];
[invocation setSelector:selector];
[NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:0.5 invocation:invocation repeats:NO];
- (void)callback
{
NSLog(#"triggered");
}
Output:
triggered
This answer seems to suggest you need to call setSelector: on the invocation in addition to init-ing it with the signature.
This question already has answers here:
NSInvocation getReturnValue: called inside forwardInvocation: makes the returned object call dealloc:
(3 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
So I come from the Java world where we are blissfully ignorant of memory management issues. For the most part, ARC has saved my butt, but here is something that has got me stumped. Basically I am using NSInvocations for some stuff, and I ran into some nasty memory issues before I made the following code modifications. Since I made these modifications, the memory crashes have gone away, but I am usually very scared of code that I dont understand. Am I doing this right?
Before: all sorts of memory issues:
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:[[target class] instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:selector]];
[invocation setSelector:selector];
[invocation setTarget:target];
[invocation setArgument:&data atIndex:2];
[invocation setArgument:&arg atIndex:3];
[invocation invoke];
NSString *returnValue;
[invocation getReturnValue:&returnValue];
After : No memory issues, but I am not sure I got this right:
NSInvocation *invocation = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:[[target class] instanceMethodSignatureForSelector:selector]];
[invocation setSelector:selector];
[invocation setTarget:target];
[invocation setArgument:&data atIndex:2];
[invocation setArgument:&arg atIndex:3];
[invocation invoke];
CFTypeRef result;
[invocation getReturnValue:&result];
if (result)
CFRetain(result);
NSString *returnValue = (__bridge_transfer NSString *)result;
Edit:
I Just wanted to add on basis of the answer below, I used objc_msgSend, as such.:
NSString * returnValue = objc_msgSend(target, selector, data, arg);
And it solves all the memory issues, plus looks much simpler. Please comment if you see any issues with this.
I will answer your question like this: Don't use NSInvocation. It's just a friendly advice to avoid that if possible.
There are many nice ways to do callbacks in Objective-C, here are two that may be useful for you:
Blocks: Defined in context, choose any argument count and types, possible issues with memory too. There are many resources on how to use them.
performSelector: max 2 object arguments, invoked using:
[target performSelector:selector withObject:data withObject:args];
In addition, when I need to invoke a selector with 4 arguments I still don't use NSIvocation, but rather call objc_msgSend directly:
id returnValue = objc_msgSend(target, selector, data, /* argument1, argument2, ... */);
Simple.
Edit: With objc_msgSend you need to be careful with the return value. If your method returns an object, use the above. If it returns a primitive type, you need to cast the objc_msgSend method so the compiler knows what's going on (see this link). Here's an example for a method that takes one argument and returns a BOOL:
// Cast the objc_msgSend function to a function named BOOLMsgSend which takes one argument and has a return type of BOOL.
BOOL (*BOOLMsgSend)(id, SEL, id) = (typeof(BOOLMsgSend)) objc_msgSend;
BOOL ret = BOOLMsgSend(target, selector, arg1);
If your method returns a struct, things are a bit more complicated. You may (but not always) will need to use objc_msgSend_stret -- see here for more info.
Edit: - this line have to be added to the code, or Xcode will complain:
#import <objc/message.h>
or
#import ObjectiveC.message;
You should generally consider blocks as a superior alternative where possible (they succeeded NSInvocation).
As far as the return value, you can use this:
CFTypeRef result = NULL;
[invocation getReturnValue:&result];
NSString *returnValue = (__bridge NSString *)result;
The underlying issue here is that -getReturnValue: does not return an out object, as far as ARC is concerned. Therefore, it is likely getting the reference count operations wrong (the compiler adds these for you in ARC), because -getReturnValue:'s parameter is void*, not an out object (e.g. NSObject**).
Long story short, I'm tired of the absurd concurrency rules associated with NSManagedObjectContext (or rather, its complete lack of support for concurrency and tendency to explode or do other incorrect things if you attempt to share an NSManagedObjectContext across threads), and am trying to implement a thread-safe variant.
Basically what I've done is created a subclass that tracks the thread that it was created on, and then maps all method invocations back to that thread. The mechanism for doing this is slightly convoluted, but the crux of it is that I've got some helper methods like:
- (NSInvocation*) invocationWithSelector:(SEL)selector {
//creates an NSInvocation for the given selector
NSMethodSignature* sig = [self methodSignatureForSelector:selector];
NSInvocation* call = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:sig];
[call retainArguments];
call.target = self;
call.selector = selector;
return call;
}
- (void) runInvocationOnContextThread:(NSInvocation*)invocation {
//performs an NSInvocation on the thread associated with this context
NSThread* currentThread = [NSThread currentThread];
if (currentThread != myThread) {
//call over to the correct thread
[self performSelector:#selector(runInvocationOnContextThread:) onThread:myThread withObject:invocation waitUntilDone:YES];
}
else {
//we're okay to invoke the target now
[invocation invoke];
}
}
- (id) runInvocationReturningObject:(NSInvocation*) call {
//returns object types only
[self runInvocationOnContextThread:call];
//now grab the return value
__unsafe_unretained id result = nil;
[call getReturnValue:&result];
return result;
}
...and then the subclass implements the NSManagedContext interface following a pattern like:
- (NSArray*) executeFetchRequest:(NSFetchRequest *)request error:(NSError *__autoreleasing *)error {
//if we're on the context thread, we can directly call the superclass
if ([NSThread currentThread] == myThread) {
return [super executeFetchRequest:request error:error];
}
//if we get here, we need to remap the invocation back to the context thread
#synchronized(self) {
//execute the call on the correct thread for this context
NSInvocation* call = [self invocationWithSelector:#selector(executeFetchRequest:error:) andArg:request];
[call setArgument:&error atIndex:3];
return [self runInvocationReturningObject:call];
}
}
...and then I'm testing it with some code that goes like:
- (void) testContext:(NSManagedObjectContext*) context {
while (true) {
if (arc4random() % 2 == 0) {
//insert
MyEntity* obj = [NSEntityDescription insertNewObjectForEntityForName:#"MyEntity" inManagedObjectContext:context];
obj.someNumber = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:1.0];
obj.anotherNumber = [NSNumber numberWithDouble:1.0];
obj.aString = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%d", arc4random()];
[context refreshObject:obj mergeChanges:YES];
[context save:nil];
}
else {
//delete
NSArray* others = [context fetchObjectsForEntityName:#"MyEntity"];
if ([others lastObject]) {
MyEntity* target = [others lastObject];
[context deleteObject:target];
[context save:nil];
}
}
[NSThread sleepForTimeInterval:0.1];
}
}
So essentially, I spin up some threads targeting the above entry point, and they randomly create and delete entities. This almost works the way it should.
The problem is that every so often one of the threads will get an EXC_BAD_ACCESS when calling obj.<field> = <value>;. It's not clear to me what the problem is, because if I print obj in the debugger everything looks good. Any suggestions on what the problem might be (other than the fact that Apple recommends against subclassing NSManagedObjectContext) and how to fix it?
P.S. I'm aware of GCD and NSOperationQueue and other techniques typically used to "solve" this problem. None of those offer what I want. What I'm looking for is an NSManagedObjectContext that can be freely, safely, and directly used by any number of threads to view and change application state without requiring any external synchronization.
As noa rightly pointed out, the problem was that although I had made the NSManagedObjectContext thread-safe, I had not instrumented the NSManagedObject instances themselves to be thread-safe. Interactions between the thread-safe context and the non-thread-safe entities were responsible for my periodic crashes.
In case anyone is interested, I created a thread-safe NSManagedObject subclass by injecting my own setter methods in lieu of (some of) the ones that Core Data would normally generate. This is accomplished using code like:
//implement these so that we know what thread our associated context is on
- (void) awakeFromInsert {
myThread = [NSThread currentThread];
}
- (void) awakeFromFetch {
myThread = [NSThread currentThread];
}
//helper for re-invoking the dynamic setter method, because the NSInvocation requires a #selector and dynamicSetter() isn't one
- (void) recallDynamicSetter:(SEL)sel withObject:(id)obj {
dynamicSetter(self, sel, obj);
}
//mapping invocations back to the context thread
- (void) runInvocationOnCorrectThread:(NSInvocation*)call {
if (! [self myThread] || [NSThread currentThread] == [self myThread]) {
//okay to invoke
[call invoke];
}
else {
//remap to the correct thread
[self performSelector:#selector(runInvocationOnCorrectThread:) onThread:myThread withObject:call waitUntilDone:YES];
}
}
//magic! perform the same operations that the Core Data generated setter would, but only after ensuring we are on the correct thread
void dynamicSetter(id self, SEL _cmd, id obj) {
if (! [self myThread] || [NSThread currentThread] == [self myThread]) {
//okay to execute
//XXX: clunky way to get the property name, but meh...
NSString* targetSel = NSStringFromSelector(_cmd);
NSString* propertyNameUpper = [targetSel substringFromIndex:3]; //remove the 'set'
NSString* firstLetter = [[propertyNameUpper substringToIndex:1] lowercaseString];
NSString* propertyName = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%#%#", firstLetter, [propertyNameUpper substringFromIndex:1]];
propertyName = [propertyName substringToIndex:[propertyName length] - 1];
//NSLog(#"Setting property: name=%#", propertyName);
[self willChangeValueForKey:propertyName];
[self setPrimitiveValue:obj forKey:propertyName];
[self didChangeValueForKey:propertyName];
}
else {
//call back on the correct thread
NSMethodSignature* sig = [self methodSignatureForSelector:#selector(recallDynamicSetter:withObject:)];
NSInvocation* call = [NSInvocation invocationWithMethodSignature:sig];
[call retainArguments];
call.target = self;
call.selector = #selector(recallDynamicSetter:withObject:);
[call setArgument:&_cmd atIndex:2];
[call setArgument:&obj atIndex:3];
[self runInvocationOnCorrectThread:call];
}
}
//bootstrapping the magic; watch for setters and override each one we see
+ (BOOL) resolveInstanceMethod:(SEL)sel {
NSString* targetSel = NSStringFromSelector(sel);
if ([targetSel startsWith:#"set"] && ! [targetSel contains:#"Primitive"]) {
NSLog(#"Overriding selector: %#", targetSel);
class_addMethod([self class], sel, (IMP)dynamicSetter, "v#:#");
return YES;
}
return [super resolveInstanceMethod:sel];
}
This, in conjunction with my thread-safe context implementation, solved the problem and got me what I wanted; a thread-safe context that I can pass around to whomever I want without having to worry about the consequences.
Of course this is not a bulletproof solution, as I have identified at least the following limitations:
/* Also note that using this tool carries several small caveats:
*
* 1. All entities in the data model MUST inherit from 'ThreadSafeManagedObject'. Inheriting directly from
* NSManagedObject is not acceptable and WILL crash the app. Either every entity is thread-safe, or none
* of them are.
*
* 2. You MUST use 'ThreadSafeContext' instead of 'NSManagedObjectContext'. If you don't do this then there
* is no point in using 'ThreadSafeManagedObject' (and vice-versa). You need to use the two classes together,
* or not at all. Note that to "use" ThreadSafeContext, all you have to do is replace every [[NSManagedObjectContext alloc] init]
* with an [[ThreadSafeContext alloc] init].
*
* 3. You SHOULD NOT give any 'ThreadSafeManagedObject' a custom setter implementation. If you implement a custom
* setter, then ThreadSafeManagedObject will not be able to synchronize it, and the data model will no longer
* be thread-safe. Note that it is technically possible to work around this, by replicating the synchronization
* logic on a one-off basis for each custom setter added.
*
* 4. You SHOULD NOT add any additional #dynamic properties to your object, or any additional custom methods named
* like 'set...'. If you do the 'ThreadSafeManagedObject' superclass may attempt to override and synchronize
* your implementation.
*
* 5. If you implement 'awakeFromInsert' or 'awakeFromFetch' in your data model class(es), thne you MUST call
* the superclass implementation of these methods before you do anything else.
*
* 6. You SHOULD NOT directly invoke 'setPrimitiveValue:forKey:' or any variant thereof.
*
*/
However, for most typical small to medium-sized projects I think the benefits of a thread-safe data layer significantly outweigh these limitations.
Why not just instantiate your context using one of the provided concurrency types, and leverage performBlock / performBlockAndWait?
That implements the necessary thread confinement with having to mangle with the implementation of Core Data's accessor methods. Which, as you will soon find out will be either very painful to get right or end quite badly for your users.
A great tutorial by Bart Jacobs entitled: Core Data from Scratch: Concurrency for those that need an elegant solution for iOS 5.0 or later and/or Lion or later. Two approaches are described in detail, the more elegant solution involves parent/child managed object contexts.