Why to use [super init] in Objective C constructors?

Question

Say I have a class named Item. Which is a superclass of NewsItem and TwitterItem.

If I want to create some NewsItem\'s do I have to use (inside constructor)

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Answer 1

In Java and C#, the compiler automatically makes your constructor call the superclass constructor if you don't explicitly call it. For example, the “Java Tutorials” say this:

If a constructor does not explicitly invoke a superclass constructor, the Java compiler automatically inserts a call to the no-argument constructor of the superclass. If the super class does not have a no-argument constructor, you will get a compile-time error. Object does have such a constructor, so if Object is the only superclass, there is no problem.

In Objective-C, the compiler doesn't do it automatically, so you have to do it yourself.