Adding firstObject to NSArray

Troy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:44:58 +0000

NSArray has a lastObject method. So, of course there is a matching firstObject method, right?

Nope.

If that oversight annoys you to no end, drop this simple category in your code, and say goodbye to all those ugly [array objectAtIndex:0]’s.

// NSArray+FirstObject.h

#import

@interface NSArray (FirstObject)

- (id)firstObject;

@end

// NSArray+FirstObject.m

#import "NSArray+FirstObject.h"

@implementation NSArray (FirstObject)

- (id)firstObject
{
    if ([self count] > 0)
    {
        return [self objectAtIndex:0];
    }
    return nil;
}

@end

When you need the first element of an array (a common enough task) just use firstObject:

#import "NSArray+FirstObject.h"

NSArray *shows = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"Chuck", @"Caprica", @"LOST", nil];

NSString *firstShow = [shows objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *firstShow = [shows firstObject];

Ah, much better.

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