What's the deference between @class and #import in Objective-C

The @class directive minimizes the amount of code seen by the compiler and linker, and is therefore the simplest way to give a forward declaration of a class name. Being simple, it avoids potential problems that may come with importing files that import still other files. For example, if one class declares a statically typed instance variable of another class, and their two interface files import each other, neither class may compile correctly.

 

 

It is to my understanding that one should use a forward-class declaration in the event ClassA needs to include a ClassB header, and ClassB needs to include a ClassA header to avoid any circular inclusions. I also understand that an #import it a simple ifndef so that an include only happens.

My inquiry is this. When does one use #import and when does one use @class? Sometimes if I use a @class declaration, I see a common compiler warning such as the following:

warning: receiver 'FooController' is a forward class and corresponding @interface may not exist.

Would really love to understand this, versus just removing the @class forward-declaration and throwing an #import in to silence the warnings the compiler is giving me.

 

 

So, be sure that if you use @class in .h files to import class, you must reminde that you add the #import to the Corresponding .m files.