When is the right time to use dot notation vs bracket notation in objective C, or should I not use dot notation at all? I searched around for information on this, read quite a few opinions, but this blog post seems to give an answer of why.  I quote the most important part; I suggest you don't read the blog post. The post is very technical and what you really want to know is right below here. If you need to know the details, eschatology does a great job at giving them.

Most important parts of blog post:

• Use dot notation to get and set objects’ state.
• Use bracket notation to invoke objects’ behavior.

Eschatology -- http://eschatologist.net/blog/?p=160

A bit of a dark name for a blog, but the name doesn't affect the quality of the post.