c - Why does NSError need double indirection? (pointer to a pointer)

Question

This concept seems to trouble me. Why does an NSError object need its pointer passed to a method that is modifying the object? For instance, wouldn't just passing a reference to the error do the same thing?

NSError *anError;
[myObjc doStuff:withAnotherObj error:error];

and then in doStuff:

 - (void)doStuff:(id)withAnotherObjc error:(NSError *)error 
 {
    // something went bad!
    [error doSomethingToTheObject];
 }

Why doesn't the above work like most other object messaging patterns work? Why must instead we use error:(NSError **)error?

Answer 1

Quite simply:

if you pass a pointer to an object to your function, the function can only modify what the pointer is pointing to.

if you pass a pointer to a pointer to an object then the function can modify the pointer to point to another object.

In the case of NSError, the function might want to create a new NSError object and pass you back a pointer to that NSError object. Thus, you need double indirection so that the pointer can be modified.