Using object

like many other application framework, ZFFramework use single inheritance, most of elements inherit from ZFObject
and, we use retain count logic to manage memory, just like Object-C
to create an object, you must use one of alloc function supplied by ZFFramework:

// all object can only be allocated in heap,
// so always use pointer here
ZFObject *obj;
 
// use zfnull to stands for null object,
// which typically same as NULL in C/C++ world
obj = zfnull;
 
// allocate an object,
// the newly allocated object would have 1 as retain count
obj = zfAlloc(ZFObject);
 
// retain an object,
// which would increase the object's retain count by 1,
// would be 2 here in this example
zfRetain(obj);
 
// release an object,
// which would decrease the object's retain count by 1,
// would be 1 here in this example
zfRelease(obj);
 
// continue to release the object,
// decreasing the retain count to 0,
// and the object would be deleted finally
zfRelease(obj);
 
// after the object being deleted,
// set it to null is recommended,
// just like it was in the C/C++ world
obj = zfnull;

once allocated, you may use object's member method just like normal C++ object:

obj->func();

Advanced

tired of writing retain and release everywhere? we also supply some utility methods to make it easier to manage allocated object:

{
    // similar to shared_ptr in C++ world
    zfauto obj = zfobj<MyObject>();
} // obj would be released automatically after this code block
 
{
    // allocate an object which looks like being allocated in stack
    zfobj<MyObject> obj;
} // obj would be released automatically after this code block
 
// allocate an temp object which would be released automatically
// after end of this code line
func(zfobj<MyObject>());
 
MyObject *obj = zfAlloc(MyObject);
// release the object automatically after end of this code line
func(zflineRelease(obj));
 
obj = zfAlloc(MyObject);
// most powerful auto release logic similar to autorelease in Object-C
// however, requires ZFThread,
// and may affect performance for a little
func(zfautoRelease(obj)); // obj would be released at future

it's recommended to use zfauto for API design when your function needs to return an allocated object

zfauto myFunc(void) {
    zfobj<MyObject> obj;
    return obj;
}