iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

Static Analyzer

Instruments can be helpful when tracking down a problem in a running application. You can also ask Xcode to analyze your code without running it. The static analyzer is a tool that can make educated guesses about what would happen if your code were to be executed and inform you of potential problems.

When the static analyzer checks the code, it examines each function and method individually by iterating over every possible code path. A method can have a number of control statements (if, for, switch, etc.). The conditions of these statements will dictate which code is actually executed. A code path is one of the possible paths the code will take given these control statements. For example, a method that has a single ...