Protocol Buffers - Google's data interchange format =================================================== [](https://fusion.corp.google.com/projectanalysis/current/KOKORO/prod:protobuf%2Fgithub%2Fmaster%2Fmacos%2Fobjectivec_cocoapods_integration%2Fcontinuous) [](https://fusion.corp.google.com/projectanalysis/current/KOKORO/prod:protobuf%2Fgithub%2Fmaster%2Fmacos%2Fobjectivec_ios_debug%2Fcontinuous) [](https://fusion.corp.google.com/projectanalysis/current/KOKORO/prod:protobuf%2Fgithub%2Fmaster%2Fmacos%2Fobjectivec_ios_release%2Fcontinuous) [](https://fusion.corp.google.com/projectanalysis/current/KOKORO/prod:protobuf%2Fgithub%2Fmaster%2Fmacos%2Fobjectivec_osx%2Fcontinuous) Copyright 2008 Google Inc. This directory contains the Objective C Protocol Buffers runtime library. Requirements ------------ The Objective C implementation requires: - Objective C 2.0 Runtime (32bit & 64bit iOS, 64bit OS X). - Xcode 8.0 (or later). - The library code does *not* use ARC (for performance reasons), but it all can be called from ARC code. Installation ------------ The distribution pulled from github includes the sources for both the compiler (protoc) and the runtime (this directory). After cloning the distribution and needed submodules ([see the src directory's README](../src/README.md)), to build the compiler and run the runtime tests, you can use: $ objectivec/DevTools/full_mac_build.sh This will generate the `src/protoc` binary. Building -------- There are two ways to include the Runtime sources in your project: Add `objectivec/*.h`, `objectivec/google/protobuf/*.pbobjc.h`, and `objectivec/GPBProtocolBuffers.m` to your project. *or* Add `objectivec/*.h`, `objectivec/google/protobuf/*.pbobjc.h`, `objectivec/google/protobuf/*.pbobjc.m`, and `objectivec/*.m` except for `objectivec/GPBProtocolBuffers.m` to your project. If the target is using ARC, remember to turn off ARC (`-fno-objc-arc`) for the `.m` files. The files generated by `protoc` for the `*.proto` files (`*.pbobjc.h` and `*.pbobjc.m`) are then also added to the target. Usage ----- The objects generated for messages should work like any other Objective C object. They are mutable objects, but if you don't change them, they are safe to share between threads (similar to passing an NSMutableDictionary between threads/queues; as long as no one mutates it, things are fine). There are a few behaviors worth calling out: A property that is type NSString\* will never return nil. If the value is unset, it will return an empty string (@""). This is inpart to align things with the Protocol Buffers spec which says the default for strings is an empty string, but also so you can always safely pass them to isEqual:/compare:, etc. and have deterministic results. A property that is type NSData\* also won't return nil, it will return an empty data ([NSData data]). The reasoning is the same as for NSString not returning nil. A property that is another GPBMessage class also will not return nil. If the field wasn't already set, you will get a instance of the correct class. This instance will be a temporary instance unless you mutate it, at which point it will be attached to its parent object. We call this pattern *autocreators*. Similar to NSString and NSData properties it makes things a little safer when using them with isEqual:/etc.; but more importantly, this allows you to write code that uses Objective C's property dot notation to walk into nested objects and access and/or assign things without having to check that they are not nil and create them each step along the way. You can write this: ``` - (void)updateRecord:(MyMessage *)msg { ... // Note: You don't have to check subMessage and otherMessage for nil and // alloc/init/assign them back along the way. msg.subMessage.otherMessage.lastName = @"Smith"; ... } ``` If you want to check if a GPBMessage property is present, there is always as `has\[NAME\]` property to go with the main property to check if it is set. A property that is of an Array or Dictionary type also provides *autocreator* behavior and will never return nil. This provides all the same benefits you see for the message properties. Again, you can write: ``` - (void)updateRecord:(MyMessage *)msg { ... // Note: Just like above, you don't have to check subMessage and otherMessage // for nil and alloc/init/assign them back along the way. You also don't have // to create the siblingsArray, you can safely just append to it. [msg.subMessage.otherMessage.siblingsArray addObject:@"Pat"]; ... } ``` If you are inspecting a message you got from some other place (server, disk, etc), you may want to check if the Array or Dictionary has entries without causing it to be created for you. For this, there is always a `\[NAME\]_Count` property also provided that can return zero or the real count, but won't trigger the creation. For primitive type fields (ints, floats, bools, enum) in messages defined in a `.proto` file that use *proto2* syntax there are conceptual differences between having an *explicit* and *default* value. You can always get the value of the property. In the case that it hasn't been set you will get the default. In cases where you need to know whether it was set explicitly or you are just getting the default, you can use the `has\[NAME\]` property. If the value has been set, and you want to clear it, you can set the `has\[NAME\]` to `NO`. *proto3* syntax messages do away with this concept, thus the default values are never included when the message is encoded. The Objective C classes/enums can be used from Swift code. Objective C Generator Proto File Options ---------------------------------------- **objc_class_prefix=\** (no default) Since Objective C uses a global namespace for all of its classes, there can be collisions. This option provides a prefix that will be added to the Enums and Objects (for messages) generated from the proto. Convention is to base the prefix on the package the proto is in. Objective C Generator `protoc` Options -------------------------------------- When generating Objective C code, `protoc` supports a `--objc_opt` argument; the argument is comma-delimited name/value pairs (_key=value,key2=value2_). The _keys_ are used to change the behavior during generation. The currently supported keys are: * `generate_for_named_framework`: The `value` used for this key will be used when generating the `#import` statements in the generated code. Instead of being plain `#import "some/path/file.pbobjc.h"` lines, they will be framework based, i.e. - `#import `. _NOTE:_ If this is used with `named_framework_to_proto_path_mappings_path`, then this is effectively the _default_ to use for everything that wasn't mapped by the other. * `named_framework_to_proto_path_mappings_path`: The `value` used for this key is a path to a file containing the listing of framework names and proto files. The generator uses this to decide if another proto file referenced should use a framework style import vs. a user level import (`#import ` vs `#import "dir/file.pbobjc.h"`). The format of the file is: * An entry is a line of `frameworkName: file.proto, dir/file2.proto`. * Comments start with `#`. * A comment can go on a line after an entry. (i.e. - `frameworkName: file.proto # comment`) Any number of files can be listed for a framework, just separate them with commas. There can be multiple lines listing the same frameworkName incase it has a lot of proto files included in it; and having multiple lines makes things easier to read. Contributing ------------ Please make updates to the tests along with changes. If just changing the runtime, the Xcode projects can be used to build and run tests. If your change also requires changes to the generated code, `objectivec/DevTools/full_mac_build.sh` can be used to easily rebuild and test changes. Passing `-h` to the script will show the addition options that could be useful. Documentation ------------- The complete documentation for Protocol Buffers is available via the web at: https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/