<html lang="en"> <head> <title>Dynamically registering methods - Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html"> <meta name="description" content="Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)"> <meta name="generator" content="makeinfo 4.13"> <link title="Top" rel="start" href="index.html#Top"> <link rel="up" href="Messaging-with-the-GNU-Objective_002dC-runtime.html#Messaging-with-the-GNU-Objective_002dC-runtime" title="Messaging with the GNU Objective-C runtime"> <link rel="next" href="Forwarding-hook.html#Forwarding-hook" title="Forwarding hook"> <link href="http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/" rel="generator-home" title="Texinfo Homepage"> <!-- Copyright (C) 1988-2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being ``Funding Free Software'', the Front-Cover Texts being (a) (see below), and with the Back-Cover Texts being (b) (see below). A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. (a) The FSF's Front-Cover Text is: A GNU Manual (b) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: You have freedom to copy and modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.--> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <style type="text/css"><!-- pre.display { font-family:inherit } pre.format { font-family:inherit } pre.smalldisplay { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallformat { font-family:inherit; font-size:smaller } pre.smallexample { font-size:smaller } pre.smalllisp { font-size:smaller } span.sc { font-variant:small-caps } span.roman { font-family:serif; font-weight:normal; } span.sansserif { font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal; } --></style> </head> <body> <div class="node"> <a name="Dynamically-registering-methods"></a> <p> Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="Forwarding-hook.html#Forwarding-hook">Forwarding hook</a>, Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="Messaging-with-the-GNU-Objective_002dC-runtime.html#Messaging-with-the-GNU-Objective_002dC-runtime">Messaging with the GNU Objective-C runtime</a> <hr> </div> <h4 class="subsection">8.10.1 Dynamically Registering Methods</h4> <p>If <code>objc_msg_lookup()</code> does not find a suitable method implementation, because the receiver does not implement the required method, it tries to see if the class can dynamically register the method. <p>To do so, the runtime checks if the class of the receiver implements the method <pre class="smallexample"> + (BOOL) resolveInstanceMethod: (SEL)selector; </pre> <p>in the case of an instance method, or <pre class="smallexample"> + (BOOL) resolveClassMethod: (SEL)selector; </pre> <p>in the case of a class method. If the class implements it, the runtime invokes it, passing as argument the selector of the original method, and if it returns <code>YES</code>, the runtime tries the lookup again, which could now succeed if a matching method was added dynamically by <code>+resolveInstanceMethod:</code> or <code>+resolveClassMethod:</code>. <p>This allows classes to dynamically register methods (by adding them to the class using <code>class_addMethod</code>) when they are first called. To do so, a class should implement <code>+resolveInstanceMethod:</code> (or, depending on the case, <code>+resolveClassMethod:</code>) and have it recognize the selectors of methods that can be registered dynamically at runtime, register them, and return <code>YES</code>. It should return <code>NO</code> for methods that it does not dynamically registered at runtime. <p>If <code>+resolveInstanceMethod:</code> (or <code>+resolveClassMethod:</code>) is not implemented or returns <code>NO</code>, the runtime then tries the forwarding hook. <p>Support for <code>+resolveInstanceMethod:</code> and <code>resolveClassMethod:</code> was added to the GNU Objective-C runtime in GCC version 4.6. <!-- ========================================================================= --> </body></html>