Differences between strong and weak in Objective-C

Question

I'm new to Obj-C, so my first question is:

What are the differences between strong and weak in @property declarations of pointers to objects?

Also, what does nonatomic mean?

Answer 1

It may be helpful to think about strong and weak references in terms of balloons.

A balloon will not fly away as long as at least one person is holding on to a string attached to it. The number of people holding strings is the retain count. When no one is holding on to a string, the ballon will fly away (dealloc). Many people can have strings to that same balloon. You can get/set properties and call methods on the referenced object with both strong and weak references.

A strong reference is like holding on to a string to that balloon. As long as you are holding on to a string attached to the balloon, it will not fly away.

A weak reference is like looking at the balloon. You can see it, access it's properties, call it's methods, but you have no string to that balloon. If everyone holding onto the string lets go, the balloon flies away, and you cannot access it anymore.