---
title: zone
framework: foundation
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Method
path: foundation/nsgarbagecollector/zone
---

# zone

Returns a zone of unscanned memory.

## Declaration

```occ
- (NSZone *) zone;
```

## Return Value

Return Value A memory zone of memory that is not scanned.

## Discussion

Discussion The collector provides a NSZoneMalloc-style allocation interface, primarily for compatibility with existing code that maintains zone affinity. Such memory is unscanned and you must free it using NSZoneFree.  This is exactly equivalent to calling NSAllocateCollectable with the option NSCollectorDisabledOption. You should typically allocate garbage-collected memory using NSAllocateCollectable.