core data difference between findfirstbyattribute and findfirstbyattribute in context

Question

What's the difference between these two ways of fetching an object in Core Data? Is one more efficient than the other? Do they do the same thing?

MR_findFirstByAttribute:(NSString *) withValue:(id) inContext:(NSManagedObjectContext *)

vs

MR_findFirstByAttribute:(NSString *) withValue:(id)

Answer 1

They do exactly the same thing, it's just that one allows you to supply a context and the other goes and gets the context for the current thread ([NSManagedObjectContext MR_contextForCurrentThread]). If you already have the appropriate context then it's more efficient to supply it yourself.