Hey all. I know this question's been asked but I still don't have a clear picture of memory management in Objective-C. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of it, but I'd still like some correct answers for the following code. I have a series of examples that I'd love for someone(s) to clarify. Setting a value for an instance variable. Say I have an NSMutableArray variable. In my class, when I initialize it, do I need to call a retain on it? Do I do fooArray = [[[NSMutableArray alloc] init] retain]; or fooArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; Does doing [[NSMutableArray alloc] init] already set the retain count to 1, so I wouldn't need to call retain on it? On the other hand, if I called a method that I know returns an autoreleased object, I would for sure have to call retain on it, right? Like so: fooString = [[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%d items", someInt] retain]; Properties. I ask about the retain because I'm a bit confused about how @property's automatic setter works. If I had set fooArray to be a @property with retain set, Objective-C will automatically create the following setter, right? - (void)setFooArray:(NSMutableArray *)anArray { [fooArray release]; fooArray = [anArray retain]; } So, if I had code like this: self.fooArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; (which I believe is valid code), Objective-C creates a setter method that calls retain on the value assigned to fooArray. In this case, will the retain count actually be 2? Correct way of setting a value of a property. I know there are questions on this and (possibly) debates, but which is the right way to set a @property? This? self.fooArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; Or this? NSMutableArray *anArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; self.fooArray = anArray; [anArray release]; I'd love to get some clarification on these examples. Thanks!