How do I create delegates in Objective-C?

Question

I know how delegates work, and I know how I can use them.

But how do I create them?

Answer 1

Swift version

A delegate is just a class that does some work for another class. Read the following code for a somewhat silly (but hopefully enlightening) Playground example that shows how this is done in Swift.

// A protocol is just a list of methods (and/or properties) that must
// be used by any class that adopts the protocol.
protocol OlderSiblingDelegate: class {
    // This protocol only defines one required method
    func getYourNiceOlderSiblingAGlassOfWater() -> String
}

class BossyBigBrother {
    
    // The delegate is the BossyBigBrother's slave. This position can 
    // be assigned later to whoever is available (and conforms to the 
    // protocol).
    weak var delegate: OlderSiblingDelegate?
    
    func tellSomebodyToGetMeSomeWater() -> String? {
        // The delegate is optional because there might not be anyone
        // nearby to boss around.
        return delegate?.getYourNiceOlderSiblingAGlassOfWater()
    }
}

// PoorLittleSister conforms to the OlderSiblingDelegate protocol
class PoorLittleSister: OlderSiblingDelegate {

    // This method is repquired by the protocol, but the protocol said
    // nothing about how it needs to be implemented.
    func getYourNiceOlderSiblingAGlassOfWater() -> String {
        return "Go get it yourself!"
    }
    
}

// initialize the classes
let bigBro = BossyBigBrother()
let lilSis = PoorLittleSister()

// Set the delegate 
// bigBro could boss around anyone who conforms to the 
// OlderSiblingDelegate protocol, but since lilSis is here, 
// she is the unlucky choice.
bigBro.delegate = lilSis

// Because the delegate is set, there is a class to do bigBro's work for him.
// bigBro tells lilSis to get him some water.
if let replyFromLilSis = bigBro.tellSomebodyToGetMeSomeWater() {
    print(replyFromLilSis) // "Go get it yourself!"
}

In actual practice, delegates are often used in the following situations

1. When a class needs to communicate some information to another class
2. When a class wants to allow another class to customize it

The classes don't need to know anything about each other beforehand except that the delegate class conforms to the required protocol.

I highly recommend reading the following two articles. They helped me understand delegates even better than the documentation did.

• What is Delegation? – A Swift Developer’s Guide
• How Delegation Works – A Swift Developer’s Guide