DevPrep

All topics › Memory management

autorelease vs release?

Middle PRO

Short answer

release lets the object go now; autorelease lets it go later, when the nearest autorelease pool drains. The counter semantics are identical (−1); only the timing differs.

The rest of this answer, with code and interview follow-ups, is in the DevPrep app.

Read the full answer in DevPrep

Practice this before your interview

DevPrep turns these answers into one-minute challenges: what does this code print, find the bug, mock interviews. One challenge a day.

Get DevPrep on the App Store