Best way to set a retained property to a newly created object

Question

Which is the best way to handle creating an object to live in a retained property? I\'ve included several examples.

Assume the property is:

@property         


        

Answer 1

Option 1: Acceptable... but you're wasting resources with autorelease. The reference gets added to a list of items that need to get released at the end of the run loop... your variable stays around until then even if it doesn't need to.. etc, etc. I believe this option is used frequently... but I also believe it's lazy and wasteful.

Option 2: Confusing. Nothing wrong with it, per-se, but I'd say it's bad form.

Option 3: Acceptable, but not ideal. What if there is a custom setter? Etc. I'd personally only use this form within a custom setter itself, or, possibly in a class initializer. Otherwise, you're missing out on some of the benefits of properties.

Option 4: Best.