Error Readout:
Incorrect syntax near ')'

The Problem:
When I was trying to pass in getdate() as a parameter to execute a stored procedure i got the above error.

Example:
exec dbo.storedProcedure
    @param1 = '8D8DF077-7491-491B-AFA2-8F088821A073',
    @param2 = '8D8DF077-7491-491B-AFA2-8F088821A073',
    @param3 = 'Market: SAP 4 Eva',
    @param4 = getdate()


The Solution:
A sql execute statement can't pass a function such as getdate() in through a parameter. To fix this either:

1. Put getdate() directly in your sql statement that resides in the stored procedure
2. Pass a null if your table definition allows you to.
3. Create a temp variable store the value of getdate() in that variable and pass in that variable through the datetime parameter.
   

It's a good question.

There are some types that are not derived from NSObject, these types are called "Primitive Types." Some examples of these types are

1. int
2. bool
3. short
4. long
5. double
6. char

Sooooo basically any type that is not derived from the NSObject class is a Primitive type and does not require a "*".

Now I bet you are wondering how do I figure out if it's a primitive type or not.

1. An easy way is to look at the color of the syntax in xCode, is it deep blue or a sky blue? Deep blue = primitive type, but this is not entirely reliable as the standards for coloring syntax can fluctuate or change.
   




2. You can option-click on the object after you have typed it in xCode, click the little book in the upper right hand corner, when the class reference viewer comes up, look and see if it inherits from NSObject. If it doesn't it's Primitive and you don't need a "*".
   
   
   
   
   

Note:
There are some alternatives to using the primitive type int, such as the reference type NSInteger, which has some nice baked in functionality of distinguishing between 32 bit and 64 bit, but not all primitive types have an alternative reference type in Objective C.


Just for fun:
In .Net they have primitive types too(I believe they call them value types), kinda. The compiler recognizes traditional primitive types and therefore lets you use the syntax

int i = 5;

But despite the compiler letting you do this, this type still maps back to System.Int32. All things in .Net are mapped back to System.Object. Everything is a reference type, but .Net lets you keep the traditional syntax instead of writing:

System.Int32 i = new System.Int32(5);





Accessorizer I have been told if you do any kind of serious development in Objective C this is the tool to use. At 15 bucks I'll be making it part of my Objective C toolbox especially since I hate typing out all those accessors (variables, @property @synthesize.) The time saved will surely out weigh the cost.

When starting a new project you have the ability to  select a template of premade projects. Two examples of this are
    1. Navigation Based Application
    2. View Based application

When these templates are selected xCode will create the appropriate base controller for you in interface builder, such as "Navigation Controller" or a "View Controller" it will also create the appropriate classes for you with some of the most commonly used delegate and datasource methods along with the appropriate methods to override.

With a new project and selecting Window-based application, you are simply creating a blank slate in which you have to create nearly everything. It's rarely advantageous to use this unless, you are creating something outside the templates offered or you are learning how all the pieces fit together.

I saw this picture on Dave Mark's blog. Dave is a very talented Objective C developer. The picture really got me so I had to post it.

Enjoy.