Implementing NSCopying

I've read the NSCopying docs but I am still very unsure about how to implement what is required.

My class Vendor:

@interface Vendor : NSObject 
{
    NSString        *vendorID;
    NSMutableArray  *availableCars;
    BOOL            atAirport;
}

@property (nonatomic, copy) NSString *vendorID;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *availableCars;
@property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL atAirport;

- (id)initFromVehVendorAvailsDictionary:(NSDictionary *)vehVendorAvails;

@end

The Vendor class has an array of objects called Car.

My Car object:

@interface Car : NSObject 
{
    BOOL            isAvailable;
    NSString        *transmissionType;
    NSMutableArray  *vehicleCharges; 
    NSMutableArray  *fees; 
}

@property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL isAvailable;
@property (nonatomic, copy) NSString *transmissionType;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *vehicleCharges;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *fees;

- (id) initFromVehicleDictionary:(NSDictionary *)vehicleDictionary;

@end

So, Vendor holds an array of Car objects. Car holds 2 arrays of other custom objects.

Both Vendor and Car are init from a dictionary. I'll add one of these methods, they may or may not be relevant.

-(id)initFromVehVendorAvailsDictionary:(NSDictionary *)vehVendorAvails {

    self.vendorCode      = [[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Vendor"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@Code"];

    self.vendorName      = [[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Vendor"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@CompanyShortName"];

    self.vendorDivision  = [[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Vendor"]   
                           objectForKey:@"@Division"];

    self.locationCode    = [[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"] 
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@Code"];

    self.atAirport       = [[[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"] 
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@AtAirport"] boolValue];

    self.venLocationName = [[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"] 
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@Name"];

    self.venAddress      = [[[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"] 
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"] 
                           objectForKey:@"Address"] 
                           objectForKey:@"AddressLine"];

    self.venCountryCode  = [[[[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"]  
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"] 
                           objectForKey:@"Address"] 
                           objectForKey:@"CountryName"]
                           objectForKey:@"@Code"];

    self.venPhone        = [[[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"]  
                           objectForKey:@"LocationDetails"]        
                           objectForKey:@"Telephone"] 
                           objectForKey:@"@PhoneNumber"];

    availableCars        = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];

    NSMutableArray *cars = (NSMutableArray *)[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"VehAvails"];

    for (int i = 0; i < [cars count]; i++) {

        Car *car = [[Car alloc] initFromVehicleDictionary:[cars objectAtIndex:i]];
        [availableCars addObject:car];
        [car release];
    }

    self.venLogo = [[[vehVendorAvails objectForKey:@"Info"] 
                   objectForKey:@"TPA_Extensions"] 
                   objectForKey:@"VendorPictureURL"];

    return self;
}

So to summarize the scary problem.

I need to copy an array of Vendor objects. I believe I need to implement the NSCopying protocol on Vendor, which may mean I need to implement it also on Car since Vendor holds an array of Cars. That means I also need to implement it on the classes that are held in the 2 arrays belonging to the Car object.

I'd really appreciate it if I could get some guidance on implementing NSCopying protocol on Vendor, I can't find any tutorials on this anywhere.

Solution

To implement NSCopying, your object must respond to the -copyWithZone: selector. Here’s how you declare that you conform to it:

@interface MyObject : NSObject <NSCopying> {

Then, in your object’s implementation (your .m file):

- (id)copyWithZone:(NSZone *)zone
{
    // Copying code here.
}

What should your code do? First, create a new instance of the object—you can call [[[self class] alloc] init] to get an initialized obejct of the current class, which works well for subclassing. Then, for any instance variables that are a subclass of NSObject that supports copying, you can call [thatObject copyWithZone:zone] for the new object. For primitive types (int, char, BOOL and friends) just set the variables to be equal. So, for your object Vendor, it’d look like this:

- (id)copyWithZone:(NSZone *)zone
{
    id copy = [[[self class] alloc] init];

    if (copy) {
        // Copy NSObject subclasses
        [copy setVendorID:[[self.vendorID copyWithZone:zone] autorelease]];
        [copy setAvailableCars:[[self.availableCars copyWithZone:zone] autorelease]];

        // Set primitives
        [copy setAtAirport:self.atAirport];
    }

    return copy;
}