The default implementation of the NSKeyValueCoding protocol provided by NSObject maps key-based accessor calls to an object’s underlying properties using a clearly defined set of rules. These protocol methods use a key parameter to search their own object instance for accessors, instance variables, and related methods that follow certain naming conventions. Although you rarely modify this default search, it can be helpful to understand how it works, both for tracing the behavior of key-value coded objects, and for making your own objects compliant.

Search Pattern for the Basic Getter

The default implementation of valueForKey:, given a key parameter as input, carries out the following procedure, operating from within the class instance receiving the valueForKey: call.

1. Search the instance for the first accessor method found with a name like get<Key>, <key>, is<Key>, or _<key>, in that order. If found, invoke it and proceed to step 5 with the result. Otherwise proceed to the next step.

2. If no simple accessor method is found, search the instance for methods whose names match the patterns countOf<Key> and objectIn<Key>AtIndex: (corresponding to the primitive methods defined by the NSArray class) and <key>AtIndexes: (corresponding to the NSArray method objectsAtIndexes:).

   If the first of these and at least one of the other two is found, create a collection proxy object that responds to all NSArray methods and return that. Otherwise, proceed to step 3.

   The proxy object subsequently converts any NSArray messages it receives to some combination of countOf<Key>, objectIn<Key>AtIndex:, and <key>AtIndexes: messages to the key-value coding compliant object that created it. If the original object also implements an optional method with a name like get<Key>:range:, the proxy object uses that as well, when appropriate. In effect, the proxy object working together with the key-value coding compliant object allows the underlying property to behave as if it were an NSArray, even if it is not.

3. If no simple accessor method or group of array access methods is found, look for a triple of methods named countOf<Key>, enumeratorOf<Key>, and memberOf<Key>: (corresponding to the primitive methods defined by the NSSet class).

   If all three methods are found, create a collection proxy object that responds to all NSSet methods and return that. Otherwise, proceed to step 4.

   This proxy object subsequently converts any NSSet message it receives into some combination of countOf<Key>, enumeratorOf<Key>, and memberOf<Key>: messages to the object that created it. In effect, the proxy object working together with the key-value coding compliant object allows the underlying property to behave as if it were an NSSet, even if it is not.

4. If no simple accessor method or group of collection access methods is found, and if the receiver's class method accessInstanceVariablesDirectly returns YEStrue, search for an instance variable named _<key>, _is<Key>, <key>, or is<Key>, in that order. If found, directly obtain the value of the instance variable and proceed to step 5. Otherwise, proceed to step 6.

5. If the retrieved property value is an object pointer, simply return the result.

   If the value is a scalar type supported by NSNumber, store it in an NSNumber instance and return that.

   If the result is a scalar type not supported by NSNumber, convert to an NSValue object and return that.

6. If all else fails, invoke valueForUndefinedKey:. This raises an exception by default, but a subclass of NSObject may provide key-specific behavior.

Search Pattern for the Basic Setter

The default implementation of setValue:forKey:, given key and value parameters as input, attempts to set a property named key to value (or, for non-object properties, the unwrapped version of value, as described in Representing Non-Object Values) inside the object receiving the call, using the following procedure:

1. Look for the first accessor named set<Key>: or _set<Key>, in that order. If found, invoke it with the input value (or unwrapped value, as needed) and finish.

2. If no simple accessor is found, and if the class method accessInstanceVariablesDirectly returns YEStrue, look for an instance variable with a name like _<key>, _is<Key>, <key>, or is<Key>, in that order. If found, set the variable directly with the input value (or unwrapped value) and finish.

3. Upon finding no accessor or instance variable, invoke setValue:forUndefinedKey:. This raises an exception by default, but a subclass of NSObject may provide key-specific behavior.

Search Pattern for Mutable Arrays

The default implementation of mutableArrayValueForKey:, given a key parameter as input, returns a mutable proxy array for a property named key inside the object receiving the accessor call, using the following procedure:

1. Look for a pair of methods with names like insertObject:in<Key>AtIndex: and removeObjectFrom<Key>AtIndex: (corresponding to the NSMutableArray primitive methods insertObject:atIndex: and removeObjectAtIndex: respectively), or methods with names like insert<Key>:atIndexes: and remove<Key>AtIndexes: (corresponding to the NSMutableArrayinsertObjects:atIndexes: and removeObjectsAtIndexes: methods).

   If the object has at least one insertion method and at least one removal method, return a proxy object that responds to NSMutableArray messages by sending some combination of insertObject:in<Key>AtIndex:, removeObjectFrom<Key>AtIndex:, insert<Key>:atIndexes:, and remove<Key>AtIndexes: messages to the original receiver of mutableArrayValueForKey:.

   When the object receiving a mutableArrayValueForKey: message also implements an optional replace object method with a name like replaceObjectIn<Key>AtIndex:withObject: or replace<Key>AtIndexes:with<Key>:, the proxy object utilizes those as well when appropriate for best performance.

2. If the object does not have the mutable array methods, look instead for an accessor method whose name matches the pattern set<Key>:. In this case, return a proxy object that responds to NSMutableArray messages by issuing a set<Key>: message to the original receiver of mutableArrayValueForKey:.

3. If neither the mutable array methods, nor the accessor are found, and if the receiver's class responds YEStrue to accessInstanceVariablesDirectly, search for an instance variable with a name like _<key> or <key>, in that order.

   If such an instance variable is found, return a proxy object that forwards each NSMutableArray message it receives to the instance variable's value, which typically is an instance of NSMutableArray or one of its subclasses.

4. If all else fails, return a mutable collection proxy object that issues a setValue:forUndefinedKey: message to the original receiver of the mutableArrayValueForKey: message whenever it receives an NSMutableArray message.

   The default implementation of setValue:forUndefinedKey: raises an NSUndefinedKeyException, but subclasses may override this behavior.

Search Pattern for Mutable Ordered Sets

The default implementation of mutableOrderedSetValueForKey: recognizes the same simple accessor methods and ordered set accessor methods as valueForKey: (see Default Search Pattern for the Basic Getter), and follows the same direct instance variable access policies, but always returns a mutable collection proxy object instead of the immutable collection that valueForKey: returns. In addition, it does the following:

1. Search for methods with names like insertObject:in<Key>AtIndex: and removeObjectFrom<Key>AtIndex: (corresponding to the two most primitive methods defined by the NSMutableOrderedSet class), and also insert<Key>:atIndexes: and remove<Key>AtIndexes: (corresponding to insertObjects:atIndexes: and removeObjectsAtIndexes:).

   If at least one insertion method and at least one removal method are found, the returned proxy object sends some combination of insertObject:in<Key>AtIndex:, removeObjectFrom<Key>AtIndex:, insert<Key>:atIndexes:, and remove<Key>AtIndexes: messages to the original receiver of the mutableOrderedSetValueForKey: message when it receives NSMutableOrderedSet messages.

   The proxy object also makes use of methods with names like replaceObjectIn<Key>AtIndex:withObject: or replace<Key>AtIndexes:with<Key>: when they exist in the original object.

2. If the mutable set methods are not found, search for an accessor method with a name like set<Key>:. In this case, the returned proxy object sends a set<Key>: message to the original receiver of mutableOrderedSetValueForKey: every time it receives a NSMutableOrderedSet message.

3. If neither the mutable set messages nor the accessor are found, and if the receiver’s accessInstanceVariablesDirectly class method returns YEStrue, search for an instance variable with a name like _<key> or <key>, in that order. If such an instance variable is found, the returned proxy object forwards any NSMutableOrderedSet messages it receives to the instance variable’s value, which is typically an instance of NSMutableOrderedSet or one of its subclasses.

4. If all else fails, the returned proxy object sends a setValue:forUndefinedKey: message to the original receiver of mutableOrderedSetValueForKey: whenever it receives a mutable set message.

   The default implementation of setValue:forUndefinedKey: raises an NSUndefinedKeyException, but objects may override this behavior.

Search Pattern for Mutable Sets

The default implementation of mutableSetValueForKey:, given a key parameter as input, returns a mutable proxy set for an array property named key inside the object receiving the accessor call, using the following procedure:

1. Search for methods with names like add<Key>Object: and remove<Key>Object: (corresponding to the NSMutableSet primitive methods addObject: and removeObject: respectively) and also add<Key>: and remove<Key>: (corresponding to NSMutableSet methods unionSet: and minusSet:). If at least one addition method and at least one removal method are found, return a proxy object that sends some combination of add<Key>Object:, remove<Key>Object:, add<Key>:, and remove<Key>: messages to the original receiver of mutableSetValueForKey: for each NSMutableSet message it receives.

   The proxy object also makes use of the methods with a name like intersect<Key>: or set<Key>: for best performance, if they are available.

2. If the receiver of the mutableSetValueForKey: call is a managed object, the search pattern does not continue as it would for non-managed objects. See Managed Object Accessor Methods in Core Data Programming Guide for more information.

3. If the mutable set methods are not found, and if the object is not a managed object, search for an accessor method with a name like set<Key>:. If such a method is found, the returned proxy object sends a set<Key>: message to the original receiver of mutableSetValueForKey: for each NSMutableSet message it receives.

4. If the mutable set methods and the accessor method are not found, and if the accessInstanceVariablesDirectly class method returns YEStrue, search for an instance variable with a name like _<key> or <key>, in that order. If such an instance variable is found, the proxy object forwards each NSMutableSet message it receives to the instance variable's value, which is typically an instance of NSMutableSet or one of its subclasses.

5. If all else fails, the returned proxy object responds to any NSMutableSet message it receives by sending a setValue:forUndefinedKey: message to the original receiver of mutableSetValueForKey:.