module UI::ObjC

Overview

Factory methods for creating NativeHandle instances that wrap ObjC objects.

Each factory encodes the correct ReleaseStrategy for the ownership model:

• .owned: Crystal owns the pointer (+1 retain count). Will call objc_release on cleanup. Use for objects returned by alloc/init, copy, mutableCopy, or any method where Crystal has explicitly retained the result.

• .borrowed: Crystal does NOT own the pointer. No release will occur. Use for autoreleased return values, pointers borrowed from containers, or objects whose lifetime is managed by a parent view hierarchy.

• .retain: Immediately calls objc_retain on the pointer to take ownership, then wraps it with ObjCRelease strategy. Use when you receive an autoreleased object that you need to store beyond the current autorelease scope.

• .class_ref: Wraps an ObjC class pointer (e.g., from objc_getClass). Class objects are never released; uses Unowned strategy.

All factories are gated behind flag?(:darwin) to ensure zero ObjC code compiles on non-Apple platforms.

Defined in:

ui/native/objc_handle.cr

Class Method Summary

• .borrowed(ptr : Pointer(Void), label : String | Nil = nil) : NativeHandle

  Wrap a borrowed ObjC pointer that Crystal does NOT own.

• .class_ref(ptr : Pointer(Void), label : String | Nil = nil) : NativeHandle

  Wrap an ObjC class object pointer.

• .owned(ptr : Pointer(Void), label : String | Nil = nil) : NativeHandle

  Wrap an ObjC pointer that Crystal already owns (+1 retain count).

• .retain(ptr : Pointer(Void), label : String | Nil = nil) : NativeHandle

  Retain an ObjC pointer (+1) and wrap it as owned.

Class Method Detail