How do I get the first X elements of an unknown size NSArray?

Question

In objectiveC I have an NSArray, let\'s call it NSArray* largeArray, and I want to get a new NSArray* smallArray with just the first x objects

Answer 1

Fogmeister's answer is perfectly good, but, in situations where the array is often already small enough, that answer will be mildly inefficient since it always makes a copy. Here is a more efficient version:

NSAarray *smallArray = largeArray;
if (smallArray.count > MAX_NUM_ITEMS)
    smallArray = [smallArray subarrayWithRange:NSMakeRange(0, MAX_NUM_ITEMS)];

When the array is already within the limit this version will just make a reference to the existing array.