Best way to format setting a property in Objective C

Question

I have been coding in objective c for a while now, but I still wonder at times if there is a BEST or FASTEST way to do something.

For example let's say I had a UILabel named myLabel and UIViewController called mainView, what is the FASTEST or BEST way to set it.

Method 1

mainView.myLabel.text = @"String"; //similar to c/c++ style

Method 2

[mainView.myLabel setText:@"String"]; //between c/c++ and obj-c style

Method 3

[[mainView myLabel] setText:@"String"]; //obj-c style

I personally prefer Method 2, because isn't Method 1 just a shorthand method to access it? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

All 3 options you listed result in calling the same code (myLabel and setText: methods), so there's absolutely no performance difference.

So the best way will be to choose whatever single option you like the most and use it consistently through whole your project.

Answer 2

They compile to exactly identical code. There's no efficiency penalty whatsoever. Use whichever your like.

Option 1 involves the least typing. Option 3 best describes what actually happens (you can't mistake property access for struct element access, for example).

Answer 3

I have added another way, just for reference, and all peers said, all these are similar, and no performance issue....

Method 1

mainView.myLabel.text = @"String"; //similar to c/c++ style

Method 2

[mainView.myLabel setText:@"String"]; //between c/c++ and obj-c style

Method 3

[[mainView myLabel] setText:@"String"]; //obj-c style