On Mar 8, 2012, at 4:29 PM, Prime Coderama wrote:

> I have references to 'ground' and 'air' in multiple files. It is usually used 
> in this context, but not always.
>>  if ([transport.type isEqualToString:@"ground"]) {
>>    // do something for automobiles
>>  }
>>  else if ([transport.type isEqualToString:@"air"]) {
>>    // do something else for planes
>>  }
>>  else {
>>    // we don't care
>>  }
> 
> Should I be using string constants to represent 'ground' and 'air' so if I 
> ever change their literal, I just update it in one place? e.g.
>>  NSString * const TransportGround = @"ground";
>>  NSString * const TransportAir = @"air";
> 
> I then decide I want to rename 'ground' to be 'wheels', then I would only 
> update the above string constant.

I would say yes, partially so you only have one place to update it and 
partially so you don't end up with typos, e.g., if ([transport.type 
isEqualToString:@"gound"]).

Depending on your situation, subclassing could use the objects class to 
indicate its type and reduce the number of if-elseif blocks.

Or you might try a typedef-ed enum instead of strings so you could use plain == 
for comparison. The typedef would also allow you to use switch statements so 
that if you add a new transportation mode (e.g., water), you can get the 
compiler to warn you if you aren't handling it (assuming you set the 
appropriate flags and don't use a "default" case). However, you need to be 
careful since Objective C typedefs aren't as carefully checked as C++ typedefs 
(at least I don't think they are).

Aaron
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