RetainCount OK to use in this instance?

Question

RetainCount == BAD

retainCount is taboo, unreliable, unpredictable, and in general shouldn\'t be used. I don\'t use it anywhere in my code, but I have se

Answer 1

Nope. You're relying on an abstracted implementation which publicly bears the sign "Keep Out" on its gate.

Just manage your dependencies using your own memory and implementation. This might include an ivar and/or methods for completion/destruction phases.

See also the documentation for release:

release

Decrements the receiver’s reference count. (required)

- (oneway void)release

Discussion

The receiver is sent a dealloc message when its reference count reaches 0.

You would only implement this method to define your own reference-counting scheme. Such implementations should not invoke the inherited method; that is, they should not include a release message to super.

If you want to be sure your program behaves correctly across multiple releases, it's best to change it now.