Reference Counting

"Reference counting" is a phrase that in Core Foundation refers to an object's "retention count": an internal count of the number of "claims" on the object (with each claim deferring deallocation). Base Services' CFRetain function increments the retention count of an object; the CFRelease function decrements the current retention count. The CFGetRetainCount function returns the current retention count of an object. See Retaining and Releasing Objects for more information on these functions.

For a conceptual summary of reference counting, see "Reference Counting" in the "Overview of Core Foundation" chapter.


© 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. – (Last Updated 07 September 99)