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If I am decoding standard objects like strings, arrays, and numbers, do I need to copy the result? It seems to me that decodeObjectForKey will always return a unique object in these cases: 

_foo = [coder decodeObjectForKey:@"foo"];

but I want to be sure that I don't need to do this:

_foo = [[coder decodeObjectForKey:@"foo"] copy];

when I end up storing the result.

Skotch
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  • Why copy? The object shouldn't be altered anyway so retain should be good enough, and also shouldn't you be using ARC by now..? – TheAmateurProgrammer Jun 27 '13 at 01:35
  • @TheAmateurProgrammer, copy has nothing to do with ARC. – Skotch Jun 28 '13 at 00:30
  • @CodaFi, I am not continually requesting a decoded object, nor did I ever say that I was. This is a normal serialization question. – Skotch Jun 28 '13 at 00:32
  • I phrased that wrong. What I meant is that your question is focusing on the wrong usage of the copy method. If you need to guarantee that subsequent calls to decode an object produce unique objects (which they do), then decode once and copy the result around. – CodaFi Jun 28 '13 at 02:47

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