proper memory handling for an NSMutableArray assigned to property?

Question

I have a property declared like this:

@property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *pricingLevels;

And I assign it like this:

Answer 1

self.pricingLevels is a property declared as retained which means every time you set it thru property assignment (the dot-syntax OR the method), the object automatically retains the object for you.

self.pricingLevels = [NSMutableArray array];
[self setPricingLevels:[NSMutableArray array]];

The above code will do the same and automatically retain the array passed. This is what happens under the hood (or something similar). This method gets called:

- (void)setPricingLevels:(NSMutableArray *)a {
    if(_pricingLevels != a) {
        [_pricingLevels release];
        _pricingLevels = [a retain];
    }
}

You see? Automatically retained, while the previous value automatically gets released.

EDIT to answer your last question: Yes you should call autorelease