its not only about converting your code. There is a gazillion of libraries which users use which had been developed by others. Converting everything backwards is a drawback.
Think of if you try to convert the linux kernel back to K&R C. Its doable but its a very bad idea. My main app originally was in C. I moved to ObjectiveC due to its excellent memory mansgement. Never the less I managed to forget a few release calls eating up memory. ARC has severely simplified my life. Going back would mean changing 500'000 lines of code. Errors will sure be created. -- Sent from Canary (https://canarymail.io) > On Montag, Nov. 20, 2023 at 4:33 PM, H. Nikolaus Schaller <[email protected] > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > > > Am 20.11.2023 um 16:10 schrieb Andreas Fink <[email protected]>: > > > > Without support for ARC, the vast majority of code written in the past 15 > > years will not work (or eat memory without ever freeing it up). Apple's > > reference guide to Objective C 2.0 which introduces ARC is from 2008! > > Well, if you know the alloc/retain/release/copy rules it is just some > diligent work to convert ARC to MRC code. Has to be done once and believe me, > I have done it several times. Wasn't difficult. Then also/still runs on macOS. > > But you are right, if ObjC 2.0 was introduced 15 years ago it is only us > "old-timers" who still know the MRC rules. Although Linux kernel programmers > should also be familiar with get/put calls for refcounting. And their devm > mimicks the ARP. > > BR, > Nikolaus
