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I have been working with NSMutableArray and have had no problems retrieving an object from an array by using objectAtIndex:int. Rather then pulling an object out of the array by an integer is their a way to get the index position by searching the array with a string.

animalOptions = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; 
//Add items
[animalOptions addObject:@"Fish"];
[animalOptions addObject:@"Bear"];
[animalOptions addObject:@"Bird"];
[animalOptions addObject:@"Cow"];
[animalOptions addObject:@"Sheep"];

NSString * buttonTitle = [animalOptions objectAtIndex:1];
// RETURNS BEAR

int * objectIndex = [animalOptions object:@"Bear"];
// THIS IS WHAT I NEED HELP WITH, PULLING AN INDEX INTEGER WITH A STRING (ex: Bear)

Hopefully this makes sense, and there is an answer out there, I have been unable to research online and find anything through google or apple's class references.

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2 Answers

up vote 19 down vote accepted

You can use the indexOfObject: method from NSArray:

NSUInteger index = [animalOptions indexOfObject:@"Bear"];

If there are duplicate entries then the lowest index of that object is returned. For more information, take a look at the docs.

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Will this work with two different NSStrings -- the one in the array and the parameter being passed? Or is the comparison "deep"? –  fbrereto Sep 1 '09 at 17:15
 
Thank You! Amazingly quick response, This solved my question. –  bbullis21 Sep 1 '09 at 17:16
3  
Yes – equality is tested by sending an isEqual: message to the object. An NSString instance will return YES if the string values are equal, even if they are two different instances. –  Alex Rozanski Sep 1 '09 at 17:17
4  
You should use NSUInteger, not int, particularly if you intend to support 64-bit Mac OS X. –  Peter Hosey Sep 2 '09 at 0:39
 
This is great!! –  jxdwinter Mar 12 at 2:04
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up vote 0 down vote

you can use [array indexOfObject:object] which will return the index of that object, now with the way you are wanting to do it, it might not w ork since the string you are specifing is not the actual string object in the array doing this however will def work

NSString * buttonTitle = [animalOptions objectAtIndex:1];// RETURNS BEARint 
objectIndex = [animalOptions indexOfObject:buttonTitle] //this will return 1
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