#import @interface Example : NSObject - (NSNumber *)foo; @end @implementation Example - (NSNumber *)foo { return @42; } @end int main (int argc, const char *argv[]) { @autoreleasepool { id example = [[Example alloc] init]; SEL selector = @selector(foo); // or = NSSelectorFromString(@"foo"); NSLog(@"%@", [example performSelector:selector]); } return 0; }