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iOS Build a Simple iPhone App with Objective-C Improving Our User Interface Adding a Pop of Color

Posted by Karlyn Gibson
Karlyn Gibson
9,176 Points

Return type for a method syntax

When specifying the return type for a method in Objective-C, why is an * included in the parenthesis with the return type? What does the * denote?

For example,

  • (UIColor *)randomColor;

Why include the *?

1 Answer

Gabe Nadel
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STAFF
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Gabe Nadel
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Gabe Nadel
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Gabe Nadel
Treehouse Guest Teacher

The * denotes a pointer. Pointers are a key concept that often get ignored by developers for one reason or another. They can be a bit tricky, so best to read-up on them, pu them to use and circle back to keep building that understanding.

Here's a good write-up on Pointers, you'll want to scroll down to see the sections on pointers.

http://rypress.com/tutorials/objective-c/c-basics

Karlyn Gibson
Karlyn Gibson
9,176 Points

I appreciate the answer, and the link to the tutorial. Always good to read-up on the basics. I suppose what threw me off was the fact that the syntax was simply a *. I'm accustomed to seeing *pointer or *thing...essentially the * has a word that follows it. So, now I'm curious why the * is allowed to be on it's own when declaring a return type. Perhaps this is simply a syntax that I just need to remember and move on from.