iphone - Why do I have to call super -dealloc last, and not first?

Question

correct example:

- (void)dealloc {
    [viewController release];
    [window release];
    [super dealloc];
}

wrong example:

- (void)dealloc {
    [super dealloc];
    [viewController release];
    [window release];
}

Althoug in alsmost all other cases when overriding a method I would first call the super's method implementation, in this case apple always calls [super dealloc] in the end. Why?

Answer 1

Its just a guideline. You can call other instructions after [super dealloc]. however you can not access variables of the superclass anymore because they are released when you call [super dealloc]. It is always safe to call the superclass in the last line.

Also KVO and depended (triggered) keys can produce side effects if they are depended of already released member variables.