Currently using g++-11.3.0, C++20.
I'm trying to make this class that accepts two parameters at construction: a void pointer that points to a pre-allocated block of memory, and the size of the memory block. The class then iterates through the data block with calls to the next() method, which returns a reference of the next available slot in the data block, enclosed in the specified type T.
class DataArrayIterator
{
private:
void* data;
size_t maxSize;
size_t size;
public:
template<typename T>
T& next<T>()
{
assert(sizeof(T) + size <= maxSize);
size_t offset = size;
size += sizeof(T);
return *((T*)(static_cast<char*>(data) + offset));
}
DataArrayIterator(void* data, size_t maxSize)
: data{data}, maxSize{maxSize}, size{0}
{
}
};
Compiling the code gives me the error non-class, non-variable partial specialization ‘next<T>’ is not allowed. Is there anything I could do to mimic the same functionality as closely as possible? Or are there more suitable alternatives?
You don't need any partial specialisation in this case, just introduce a function template:
template<typename T>
T& next() {
... // implementation goes here
}
And instantiate the function when needed:
auto i = 8;
// val is an int reference with value of 8
auto& val = DataArrayIterator{ &i, sizeof(i) }.next<int>();
Related
for an embedded system we need a custom vector class, where the capacity is set during compile-time through a template parameter.
Until now we had an array of objects as a member variable.
template<class T, size_t SIZE>
class Vector {
...
T data[SIZE];
}
The problem here of course is that if T isn't a POD, the default constructors of T are called. Is there any way to let data be uninitialized until a corresponding push() call (with placement new inside)? Just using
uint8_t data[SIZE * sizeof(T)];
possibly breaks the alignment of T. We absolutely cannot use dynamic memory, the total container size always needs to be known at compile-time. We also cannot use C++'s alignas specifier since the compiler does not support C++11 yet :(
First I would check if the compiler has support for alignment, ie gcc has __attribute__(aligned(x)), there is likely something similar.
Then if you absolutely have to have aligned uninitialized data without such support, you will have to waste some space
// Align must be power of 2
template<size_t Len, size_t Align>
class aligned_memory
{
public:
aligned_memory()
: data((void*)(((std::uintptr_t)mem + Align - 1) & -Align)) {}
void* get() const {return data;}
private:
char mem[Len + Align - 1];
void* data;
};
And you'd use placement new with it
template<typename T, size_t N>
class Array
{
public:
Array() : sz(0) {}
void push_back(const T& t)
{
new ((T*)data.get() + sz++) T(t);
}
private:
aligned_memory<N * sizeof(T), /* alignment */> data;
size_t sz;
};
Live
The alignment of T can be found with C++11 alignof, check your compiler to see if it supports anything that can be used to find out its alignment. You can also just take a guess from printed pointer values and hope that's enough.
Another way is to use std::vector<> with a custom allocator that allocates on the stack.
This way you would create an empty vector, reserve the required space, which should be equal to the space your allocator allocates for you on the stack, and then populate the vector using vector<>::emplace_back. Your element type can be non-copyable but must be movable in this case.
E.g.:
#include <vector>
struct X {
X(int, int);
// Non-copyable.
X(X const&) = delete;
X& operator=(X const&) = delete;
// But movable.
X(X&&);
X& operator=(X&&);
};
template<class T, std::size_t N>
struct MyStackAllocator; // Implement me.
int main() {
std::vector<X, MyStackAllocator<X, 10>> v;
v.reserve(10);
v.emplace_back(1, 2);
v.emplace_back(3, 4);
}
Information about how to implement an allocator is widely available, for example, search YouTube for "c++ allocator".
You are going to have to use placement new along with a union trick to get the alignment properly set.
// use `std::max_align_t` and `std::aligned_storage` when you have it
// since don't have access to alignof(), use the presumably max
// alignment value
using MaxAlign = long;
template <typename T, int size>
class UninitializedArray {
union Node {
char data[sizeof(T)];
MaxAlign alignment;
};
Node aligned_data[size];
bool initialized;
public:
UninitializedArray() : initialized(false) {}
void initialize() {
for (int i = 0; i < static_cast<int>(size); ++i) {
new (&this->aligned_data[i].data) T();
}
this->initialized = true;
}
~UninitializedArray() {
if (this->initialized) {
for (int i = 0; i < static_cast<int>(size); ++i) {
T* ptr = reinterpret_cast<T*>(&this->aligned_data[i].data);
ptr->~T();
}
}
}
T& operator[](int index) {
if (!this->initialized) {
this->initialize();
}
T* ptr = reinterpret_cast<T*>(&this->aligned_data[i].data);
return *ptr;
}
};
And then use it like this
UninitializedArray<Something, 5> arr;
arr[0].do_something();
If you ever get C++17 working, then you can use std::array and std::optional to make this easy
std::optional<std::array<T, N>> optional_array;
// construct the optional, this will construct all your elements
optional_array.emplace();
// then use the value in the optional by "treating" the optional like
// a pointer
optional_array->at(0); // returns the 0th object
well i cant find how do this, basically its a variable union with params, basic idea, (writed as function)
Ex1
union Some (int le)
{
int i[le];
float f[le];
};
Ex2
union Some
{
int le;
int i[le];
float f[le];
};
obs this don't works D:
maybe a way to use an internal variable to set the lenght but don't works too.
Thx.
No, this is not possible: le would need to be known at compile-time.
One solution would be to use a templated union:
template <int N> union Some
{
int i[N];
float f[N];
};
N, of course, is compile-time evaluable.
Another solution is the arguably more succinct
typedef std::vector<std::pair<int, float>> Some;
or a similar solution based on std::array.
Depending on your use case you could try to simulate a union.
struct Some
{
//Order is important
private:
char* pData;
public:
int* const i;
float* const f;
public:
Some(size_t len)
:pData(new char[sizeof(int) < sizeof(float) ? sizeof(float) : sizeof(int)])
,i ((int*)pData)
,f ((float*)pData)
{
}
~Some()
{
delete[] pData;
}
Some(const Some&) = delete;
Some& operator=(const Some&) = delete;
};
Alternative solution using templates, unique_ptr and explicit casts:
//max_size_of<>: a recursive template struct to evaluate the
// maximum value of the sizeof function of all types passed as
// parameter
//The recursion is done by using the "value" of another
// specialization of max_size_of<> with less parameter types
template <typename T, typename...Args>
struct max_size_of
{
static const std::size_t value = std::max(sizeof(T), max_size_of<Args...>::value);
};
//Specialication for max_size_of<> as recursion stop
template <typename T>
struct max_size_of<T>
{
static const std::size_t value = sizeof(T);
};
//dataptr_auto_cast<>: a recursive template struct that
// introduces a virtual function "char* const data_ptr()"
// and an additional explicit cast operator for a pointer
// of the first type. Due to the recursion a cast operator
// for every type passed to the struct is created.
//Attention: types are not allowed to be duplicate
//The recursion is done by inheriting from of another
// specialization of dataptr_auto_cast<> with less parameter types
template <typename T, typename...Args>
struct dataptr_auto_cast : public dataptr_auto_cast<Args...>
{
virtual char* const data_ptr() const = 0; //This is needed by the cast operator
explicit operator T* const() const { return (T*)data_ptr(); } //make it explicit to avoid unwanted side effects (manual cast needed)
};
//Specialization of dataptr_auto_cast<> as recursion stop
template <typename T>
struct dataptr_auto_cast<T>
{
virtual char* const data_ptr() const = 0;
explicit operator T* const() const { return (T*)data_ptr(); }
};
//union_array<>: inherits from dataptr_auto_cast<> with the same
// template parameters. Also has a static const member "blockSize"
// that indicates the size of the largest datatype passed as parameter
// "blockSize" is used to determine the space needed to store "size"
// elements.
template <typename...Args>
struct union_array : public dataptr_auto_cast<Args...>
{
static const size_t blockSize = max_size_of<Args...>::value;
private:
std::unique_ptr<char[]> m_pData; //std::unique_ptr automatically deletes the memory it points to on destruction
size_t m_size; //The size/no. of elements
public:
//Create a new array to store "size" elements
union_array(size_t size)
:m_pData(new char[size*blockSize])
,m_size(size)
{
}
//Copy constructor
union_array(const union_array<Args...>& other)
:m_pData(new char[other.m_size*blockSize])
,m_size(other.m_size)
{
memcpy(m_pData.get(), other.m_pData.get(), other.m_size);
}
//Move constructor
union_array(union_array<Args...>&& other)
:m_pData(std::move(other.m_pData))
,m_size(std::move(other.m_size))
{
}
union_array& operator=(const union_array<Args...>& other)
{
m_pData = new char[other.m_size*blockSize];
m_size = other.m_size;
memcpy(m_pData.get(), other.m_pData.get(), other.m_size);
}
union_array& operator=(union_array<Args...>&& other)
{
m_pData = std::move(other.m_pData);
m_size = std::move(other.m_size);
}
~union_array() = default;
size_t size() const
{
return m_size;
}
//Implementation of dataptr_auto_cast<>::data_ptr
virtual char* const data_ptr() const override
{
return m_pData.get();
}
};
int main()
{
auto a = union_array<int, char, float, double>(5); //Create a new union_array object with enough space to store either 5 int, 5 char, 5 float or 5 double values.
((int*)a)[3] = 3; //Use as int array
auto b = a; //copy
((int*)b)[3] = 1; //Change a value
auto c = std::move(a);// move a to c, a is invalid beyond this point
// std::cout << ((int*)a)[3] << std::endl; //This will crash as a is invalid due to the move
std::cout << ((int*)b)[3] << std::endl; //prints "1"
std::cout << ((int*)c)[3] << std::endl; //prints "3"
}
Explanation
template <typename T, typename...Args>
struct max_size_of
{
static const std::size_t value = std::max(sizeof(T), max_size_of<Args...>::value);
};
template <typename T>
struct max_size_of<T>
{
static const std::size_t value = sizeof(T);
};
max_size_of<> is used to get the largest sizeof() value of all types passed as template paremeters.
Let's have a look at the simple case first.
- max_size_of<char>::value: value will be set to sizeof(char).
- max_size_of<int>::value: value will be set to sizeof(int).
- and so on
If you put in more than one type it will evaluate to the maximum of the sizeof of these types.
For 2 types this would look like this: max_size_of<char, int>::value: value will be set to std::max(sizeof(char), max_size_of<int>::value).
As described above max_size_of<int>::value is the same as sizeof(int), so max_size_of<char, int>::value is the same as std::max(sizeof(char), sizeof(int)) which is the same as sizeof(int).
template <typename T, typename...Args>
struct dataptr_auto_cast : public dataptr_auto_cast<Args...>
{
virtual char* const data_ptr() const = 0;
explicit operator T* const() const { return (T*)data_ptr(); }
};
template <typename T>
struct dataptr_auto_cast<T>
{
virtual char* const data_ptr() const = 0;
explicit operator T* const() const { return (T*)data_ptr(); }
};
dataptr_auto_cast<> is what we use as a simple abstract base class.
It forces us to implement a function char* const data_ptr() const in the final class (which will be union_array).
Let's just assume that the class is not abstract and use the simple version dataptr_auto_cast<T>:
The class implements a operator function that returns a pointer of the type of the passed template parameter.
dataptr_auto_cast<int> has a function explicit operator int* const() const;
The function provides access to data provided by the derived class through the data_ptr()function and casts it to type T* const.
The const is so that the pointer isn't altered accidentially and the explicit keyword is used to avoid unwanted implicit casts.
As you can see there are 2 versions of dataptr_auto_cast<>. One with 1 template paremeter (which we just looked at) and one with multiple template paremeters.
The definition is quite similar with the exception that the multiple parameters one inherits dataptr_auto_cast with one (the first) template parameter less.
So dataptr_auto_cast<int, char> has a function explicit operator int* const() const; and inherits dataptr_auto_cast<char> which has a function explicit operator char* const() const;.
As you can see there is one cast operator function implemented with each type you pass.
There is only one exception and that is passing the same template parameter twice.
This would lead in the same operator function being defined twice within the same class which doesn't work.
For this use case, using this as a base class for the union_array, this shouldn't matter.
Now that these two are clear let's look at the actual code for union_array:
template <typename...Args>
struct union_array : public dataptr_auto_cast<Args...>
{
static const size_t blockSize = max_size_of<Args...>::value;
private:
std::unique_ptr<char[]> m_pData;
size_t m_size;
public:
//Create a new array to store "size" elements
union_array(size_t size)
:m_pData(new char[size*blockSize])
,m_size(size)
{
}
//Copy constructor
union_array(const union_array<Args...>& other)
:m_pData(new char[other.m_size*blockSize])
,m_size(other.m_size)
{
memcpy(m_pData.get(), other.m_pData.get(), other.m_size);
}
//Move constructor
union_array(union_array<Args...>&& other)
:m_pData(std::move(other.m_pData))
,m_size(std::move(other.m_size))
{
}
union_array& operator=(const union_array<Args...>& other)
{
m_pData = new char[other.m_size*blockSize];
m_size = other.m_size;
memcpy(m_pData.get(), other.m_pData.get(), other.m_size);
}
union_array& operator=(union_array<Args...>&& other)
{
m_pData = std::move(other.m_pData);
m_size = std::move(other.m_size);
}
~union_array() = default;
size_t size() const
{
return m_size;
}
virtual char* const data_ptr() const override
{
return m_pData.get();
}
};
As you can see union_array<> inherits from dataptr_auto_cast<> using the same template arguments.
So this gives us a cast operator for every type passed as template paremeter to union_array<>.
Also at the end of union_array<> you can see that the char* const data_ptr() const function is implemented (the abstract function from dataptr_auto_cast<>).
The next interesting thing to see is static const size_t blockSize which is initilialized with the maximum sizeof value of the template paremeters to union_array<>.
To get this value the max_size_of is used as described above.
The class uses std::unique_ptr<char[]> as data storage, as std::unique_ptr automatically will delete the space for us, once the class is destroyed.
Also std::unique_ptr is capable of move semantics, which is used in the move assign operator function and the move constructor.
A "normal" copy assign operator function and a copy constructor are also included and copy the memory accordingly.
The class has a constructor union_array(size_t size) which takes the number of elements the union_array should be able to hold.
Multiplying this value with blockSize gives us the space needed to store exactly size elements of the largest template type.
Last but not least there is an access method to ask for the size() if needed.
C++ requires that the size of a type be known at compile time.
The size of a block of data need not be known, but all types have known sizes.
There are three ways around it.
I'll ignore the union part for now. Imagine if you wanted:
struct some (int how_many) {
int data[how_many];
};
as the union part adds complexity which can be dealt with separately.
First, instead of storing the data as part of the type, you can store pointers/references/etc to the data.
struct some {
std::vector<int> data;
explicit some( size_t how_many ):data(how_many) {};
some( some&& ) = default;
some& operator=( some&& ) = default;
some( some const& ) = default;
some& operator=( some const& ) = default;
some() = default;
~some() = default;
};
here we store the data in a std::vector -- a dynamic array. We default copy/move/construct/destruct operations (explicitly -- because it makes it clearer), and the right thing happens.
Instead of a vector we can use a unique_ptr:
struct some {
std::unique_ptr<int[]> data;
explicit some( size_t how_many ):data(new int[how_many]) {};
some( some&& ) = default;
some& operator=( some&& ) = default;
some() = default;
~some() = default;
};
this blocks copying of the structure, but the structure goes from being size of 3 pointers to being size of 1 in a typical std implementation. We lose the ability to easily resize after the fact, and copy without writing the code ourselves.
The next approach is to template it.
template<std::size_t N>
struct some {
int data[N];
};
this, however, requires that the size of the structure be known at compile-time, and some<2> and some<3> are 'unrelated types' (barring template pattern matching). So it has downsides.
A final approach is C-like. Here we rely on the fact that data can be variable in size, even if types are not.
struct some {
int data[1]; // or `0` in some compilers as an extension
};
some* make_some( std::size_t n ) {
Assert(n >= 1); // unless we did `data[0]` above
char* buff = new some[(n-1)*sizeof(int) + sizeof(some)]; // note: alignment issues on some platforms?
return new(buff) some(); // placement new
};
where we allocate a buffer for some of variable size. Access to the buffer via data[13] is practically legal, and probably actually so as well.
This technique is used in C to create structures of variable size.
For the union part, you'll want to create a buffer of char with the right size std::max(sizeof(float), sizeof(int))*N, and expose functions:
char* data(); // returns a pointer to the start of the buffer
int* i() { return reinterpret_cast<int*>(data()); }
float* f() { return reinterpret_cast<float*>(data()); }
you may also need to properly initialize the data as the proper type; in theory, a char buffer of '\0's may not correspond to defined float values or ints that are zero.
I would like to suggest a different approach: Instead of tying the number of elements to the union, tie it outside:
union Some
{
int i;
float f;
};
Some *get_Some(int le) { return new Some[le]; }
Don't forget to delete[] the return value of get_Some... Or use smart pointers:
std::unique_ptr<Some[]> get_Some(int le)
{ return std::make_unique<Some[]>(le); }
You can even create a Some_Manager:
struct Some_Manager
{
union Some
{
int i;
float f;
};
Some_Manager(int le) :
m_le{le},
m_some{std::make_unique<Some[]>(le)}
{}
// ... getters and setters...
int count() const { return m_le; }
Some &operator[](int le) { return m_some[le]; }
private:
int m_le{};
std::unique_ptr<Some[]> m_some;
};
Take a look at the Live example.
It's not possible to declare a structure with dynamic sizes as you are trying to do, the size must be specified at run time or you will have to use higher-level abstractions to manage a dynamic pool of memory at run time.
Also, in your second example, you include le in the union. If what you were trying to do were possible, it would cause le to overlap with the first value of i and f.
As was mentioned before, you could do this with templating if the size is known at compile time:
#include <cstdlib>
template<size_t Sz>
union U {
int i[Sz];
float f[Sz];
};
int main() {
U<30> u;
u.i[0] = 0;
u.f[1] = 1.0;
}
http://ideone.com/gG9egD
If you want dynamic size, you're beginning to reach the realm where it would be better to use something like std::vector.
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
union U {
int i;
float f;
};
int main() {
std::vector<U> vec;
vec.resize(32);
vec[0].i = 0;
vec[1].f = 42.0;
// But there is no way to tell whether a given element is
// supposed to be an int or a float:
// vec[1] was populated via the 'f' option of the union:
std::cout << "vec[1].i = " << vec[1].i << '\n';
}
http://ideone.com/gjTCuZ
I get this error:
error C2229: class 'GenerateRandNum<int [],int>' has an illegal zero-sized array
In my main, I call my random generator function to input into a empty data set
I call the method in my main like so:
//declare small array
const int smallSize = 20;
int smallArray[smallSize];
// call helper function to put random data in small array
GenerateRandNum <int[], int> genData(smallArray, smallSize);
genData.generate();
Header file
template <class T, class B>
class GenerateRandNum
{
public:
T data;
B size;
GenerateRandNum(T list, B length)
{
data = list;
size = length;
}
void generate();
};
File with method definition
template<class T, class B>
void GenerateRandNum<T, B> ::generate()
{
for (B i = 0; i < size; i++)
{
data[0] = 1 + rand() % size;
}
}
Pointers and arrays are not the same in C/C++. They are two very different things. However, arrays decay into pointers. Most notably in function declarations: The declaration
void foo(int array[7]);
is defined to be equivalent to
void foo(int* array);
That said, all the GenerateRandNum constructor gets, is a int* because that's what T = int [] decays to in the function declaration context. The data member of GenerateRandNum, however, is of type int [] (no decay here), which your compiler assumes to be a zero sized array. Consequently, when you try to assign a pointer to the array, your compiler complains.
You have two options to fix this:
You use an std::vector<> instead, as Marco A. suggests.
You declare your GenerateRandNum class as:
template <class T>
class GenerateRandNum {
public:
T* data;
size_t size;
GenerateRandNum(T* list, size_t length) {
data = list;
size = length;
}
void generate();
};
Note:
I have removed the template parameter for the size type: size_t is guaranteed to be suitable for counting anything in memory, so there is absolutely no point in using anything different. Templating this parameter only obfuscates your code.
There are some problems with your approach:
The first array template parameter can't have its dimension deduced from the argument as n.m. noted, you would need to specify it explicitly:
GenerateRandNum<int[20], int>
There no point in doing
data = list
since in your code sample these are two arrays and you can't assign them directly. You can either copy the memory or specialize your routines/template
You should really consider using a vector of integers, e.g.
template <class T, class B>
class GenerateRandNum
{
public:
T data;
B size;
GenerateRandNum(T list, B length) {
data = list;
size = length;
}
void generate();
};
template<class T, class B>
void GenerateRandNum<T, B> ::generate()
{
srand((unsigned int)time(NULL)); // You should initialize with a seed
for (B i = 0; i < size; i++) {
data[i] = 1 + rand() % size; // I believe you wanted data[i] and not data[0]
}
}
int main(){
//declare small array
const int smallSize = 20;
std::vector<int> smallArray(smallSize);
// call helper function to put random data in small array
GenerateRandNum <std::vector<int>, int> genData(smallArray, smallSize);
genData.generate();
}
Example
I fixed two issues in the code above, take a look at the comments.
I need to create a template because I don't know what it's an array of. And it needs to be of the size that's passed in the constructor. So here is what I got and I got all sorts of errors. I am a beginner to C++ so any help is appreciated :)
template <typename T, int N>
class Array
{
public:
T& operator[](int index)
{
return data[index];
}
private:
int size;
T *data[N];
};
I think you understand what I'm trying to do. I also need to overload the subscript operator, as you can see. Not sure if I need a reference or a pointer or what. I did have a constructor but it wasn't working properly.
Here's a corrected version with a sample main as well:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
template <typename T, int N>
class Array
{
public:
T& operator[](int index)
{
// add check for array index out of bounds i.e. access within 0 to N-1
return data[index];
}
Array() {
data = new T[size = N];
}
~Array() {
if (data)
delete [] data;
}
private:
int size;
T *data;
};
int main(void) {
Array<int, 4> a;
a[0] = 5;
cout << a[0] << endl;
return 0;
}
From what I can see your template is containing an array of pointers, which from what I read and from your [] operator implementation is not what you intend to do. So first you should remove the * from :
T *data[N];
You should probably initialize the size of your template from your constructor, thus you should change :
T *data[N];
to :
T* data;
and :
template <typename T, int N>
to :
template<typename T>
Now that changes the implementation a bit, you should now write a constructor like that :
template<typename T>
Array(int n) {
data = new T[n];
}
and now you should also add a destructor like that :
~Array() {
delete[] data;
}
and there you go :)
However if you want to keep the size as an argument of the template your constructor go like :
template<typename T, int N>
Array() {
}
and the declaration of data :
T data[N];
As said in comments, you may want to use std::array in "real life" conditions, but as a training, implementing your own Array is a good thing to do, that's a training most computer schools do after all.
How might I initialise a std::vector from an array of structs, where the struct contains a union of different types. In other words, the array is used to store a number of values of a specific type, which can be int, char* etc.
This is my solution so far but I'm looking for a better approach:
The convert function returns a vector<int> if it stores ints or a vector<std::string> if it stores char*.
The Value type below is a struct containing a union called value. The Container class below points to a buffer of such Values.
// union member getter
class Getter
{
public:
void operator()(int8_t& i, const Value& value)
{
i = value.value.i;
}
void operator()(std::string& s, const Value& value)
{
s = std::string(value.value.s);
}
...
};
template<class T>
std::vector<T> convert(Container* container)
{
std::vector<T> c;
c.reserve(container->nrOfValues);
Getter g;
for(int i=0;i<container->nrOfValues;i++)
{
T value;
g(value, container->values[i]);
c.push_back(value);
}
return c;
}
Your problem is the union gives a different name to each value, which causes the need for a function that converts a name to a type, such as Getter::operator() returning a type and getting a named member of the union.
There isn't much you can do with this. You can save a variable declaration and a copy/string constructor on each item, but that's about it.
If you can't modify the original struct, you could initialize the vector with a length set of default value (which must be passed in), then iterate through using the getter as:
vector<T> v(length, defaultValue);
typename vector<T>::iterator iter = vec.begin();
for(int index = 0; *iter != vec.end() && index < length; ++iter, ++index) {
converter(*iter, array[index]);
}
Notice that this starts getting cumbersome in iterating the index and the iterator and verifying both are still valid in case of an accident...
If you can modify the original struct:
class Ugly { // or struct, it doesn't matter
public:
union {
char* s;
int i;
} value;
Ugly(char* s) {
value.s = s;
}
Ugly (const int& i) {
value.i = i;
}
operator std::string() const {
return std::string(value.s);
}
operator int() const {
return value.i;
}
};
Then your for loop becomes:
for(int i=0;i<container->nrOfValues;i++)
{
c.push_back(container->values[i]);
}
Note: You might create the vector and pass it as an argument to the copy function since it involves copying the data over during the return.
If you like some template magic, you could do it slightly different way:
// Source union to get data from
union U
{
int i;
char* s;
double d;
};
// Conversion type template function (declared only)
template <class T> T convert(const U& i_u);
// Macro for template specializations definition
#define FIELD_CONV(SrcType, DestField)\
template <> SrcType convert(const U& i_u)\
{ auto p = &DestField; return i_u.*p; }
// Defining conversions: source type -> union field to get data from
FIELD_CONV(int, U::i)
FIELD_CONV(std::string, U::s)
FIELD_CONV(double, U::d)
// Get rid of macro that not needed any more - just for macro haters ;-)
#undef FIELD_CONV
// Usage
template<class T> std::vector<T> convert(Container* container)
{
std::vector<T> c;
c.reserve(container->nrOfValues);
for(int i = 0; i < container->nrOfValues; ++i)
c.push_back(convert<T>(container->values[i]));
return c;
}
The advantage of this approach - it is short, simple and easy to extend. When you add new field to union you just write another FIELD_CONV() definition.
Compiled example is here.