As you will soon see, I am not a c++ developer and for this problem I am working on c++ is my only option. I don't mind learning, so just some guidance would be appreciated.
I have a panel class as follows:
class Panel {
... // Methods that implement Panel
virtual void draw() = 0;
... // Other methods to implement Panel
}
And I want two varieties of it so I create two interfaces
class Foo {
virtual void foo() = 0;
}
class Bar: public Foo {
virtual void bar() = 0;
}
I want to pass the implementing class of Foo to other classes and have them only be able to call the method foo, and the same for Bar.
In other languages I could create the class that implements Foo as:
class FooPanel : public Panel, implements Foo{ ... }
or
class BarPanel : public Panel, implments Bar { ... }
then I can pass into a method:
//method(..., foo* pFoo, ...); the signature
method(..., (Foo*)&barPanel, ...);
The only way I can see to accomplish this in c++ is to:
class FooPanel : public Panel {
virtual void foo() = 0;
}
then one has to pass the entire Panel and the implementer is capable of calling and Panel method.
Where can I look to get an idea of how this can be done?
What other languages (such as java) call "interfaces" is just an abstract base class in C++. So if you just replace the implements keyword with public virtual, it will work as you expect:
class FooPanel : public Panel, public virtual Foo { ... }
class BarPanel : public Panel, public virtual Bar { ... }
Related
For explain my problem, I wrote some example.
class Product {
public:
Product(Module& module, Config module_cfg) : module_(module) {
module_.SetConfig(module_cfg);
}
void Work() {
module_.Work();
}
private:
Module& module_;
};
class Module {
public:
void SetConfig(Config cfg) {
cfg_ = cfg;
}
virtual void Work() = 0;
protected:
Config cfg_;
};
class ModuleA : public Module {
void Work() override {
cfg_.GetSomething(); // use config
}
};
"Product" has a "Module" as composition.
"Module" works with "Config".
"Module" is parent class of "ModuleA".
I want to encapsulate "SetConfig()" method from "ModuleA"!!
On the other words, is there way to hide user functions from an inherited class?
You can make the function private, not public (or protected).
Then, derived classes won't be able to access it.
Of course, nobody else (except the base class the function's in) will be able to access it either. But it doesn't make sense to permit "global" access without permitting access from derived classes.
If you do want SetConfig to be public, then just don't call it from the derived class if you don't want to. If you do it by mistake, fix the mistake.
Hmm... I'm trying to break down my problem...
There is a library with some classes that do almost what I want. I can't change classes of the library so I want to derive them and change what I need.
In this case there is a derived class in the library with two subclasses. Now I derive the class and the subclasses.
In the second sub-class there is a virtual method witch modifies a protected variable from the first sub-class.
I want to override the virtual method with a new virtual method which calls the old virtual wethod an then modify the protected variable again.
Why am I getting the error in mySubClass2 while accessing fResponse?
How can I solve my problem?
class libraryClass : pulic someLibraryBaseClass {
protected:
libraryClass::librarySubClass2 lookUpFunction(int ID) {
//some magic to find the obj
return obj;
}
public:
class librarySubClass2;
class librarySubClass1 {
public:
librarySubClass1(libraryClass baseObj) {
myBaseObj = baseObj;
}
void someCallingFunction(int ID) {
libraryClass::librarySubClass2 obj = myBaseObj->lookUpFunction(ID)
obj->someHandleFunction(this)
cout << fResponse;
}
protected:
friend class librarySubClass2;
unsigned char fResponse[200];
private:
libraryClass myBaseObj;
};
class librarySubClass2 {
protected:
virtual void someHandleFunction(libraryClass::librarySubClass1* obj) {
snprintf((char*)obj->fResponse, sizeof obj->fResponse, "Some Text...\r\n"
}
};
};
class myDerivedClass : public libraryClass {
public:
class mySubClass2 : public libraryClass::librarySubClass2;
class mySubClass1 : public libraryClass::librarySubClass1 {
protected:
friend class mySubClass2;
};
class mySubClass2 : public libraryClass::librarySubClass2 {
protected:
virtual void someHandleFunction(libraryClass::librarySubClass1* obj) {
libraryClass:librarySubClass2::someHandleFuntion(obj);
snprintf((char*)obj->fResponse, sizeof obj->fResponse, "Add some more Text...\r\n"
}
};
};
Edit: Forgot * in Method of mySubClass2
Possible solution:
class mySubClass2 : public libraryClass::librarySubClass2 {
protected:
virtual void someHandleFunction(libraryClass::librarySubClass1* obj) {
libraryClass:librarySubClass2::someHandleFuntion(obj);
myDerivedClass::mySubClass1* nowMyObj = (myDerivedClass::mySubClass*) obj;
snprintf((char*)nowMyObj->fResponse, sizeof nowMyObj->fResponse, "Add some more Text...\r\n"
}
};
Now I derive the class and the subclasses.
In your example code, you're only deriving the main class and not the subclass. You have to inherit also the subclass:
class libraryClass : pulic someLibraryBaseClass
{
class librarySubClass1 : public someLibraryBaseClass::someLibrarySubClass1 { };
// ....
};
But that can be done only if the subclass is accessible (protected/public).
As far as I can tell you wonder why you can't access obj->fResponse in
void mySubClass2::someHandleFunction(libraryClass::librarySubClass1 obj) { ... }
Well, obj is of type librarySubClass1 which inherits its share of fResponse from the common ancestor. However, that is the share of a relative of mySubClass2, not yours as you are mySubClass2! You can only access the fResponse member of objects which are known to be of type mySubClass which actually happens to be known to be not the case for a librarySubClass1 object.
Getting access to librarySubClass::fResponse is as if you got free access to your uncle's inheritance from your grandparents. Unless you have a very unusual family sharing its wealth freely among all family members, you probably won't have access to your uncle's inheritance either.
Because fResponse in mySubClass2 is treated as protected and at that point it is outside of libraryClass, it only worked on librarySubClass2 because it is inside libraryClass.
There probably is a fairly simple and straight-forward answer for this, but for some reason I can't see it.
I need to restrict calling methods from a class only to some methods implemented by derived classes of some interface.
Say I have
class A{
public:
static void foo();
};
class myInterface{
public:
virtual void onlyCallFooFromHere() = 0;
}
class myImplementation : public myInterface{
public:
virtual void onlyCallFooFromHere()
{
A::foo(); //this should work
}
void otherFoo()
{
A::foo(); //i want to get a compilation error here
}
}
So I should be able to call A::foo only from the method onlyCallFooFromHere()
Is there a way to achieve this? I'm open to any suggestions, including changing the class design.
EDIT:
So... I feel there's a need to further explain the issue. I have a utility class which interacts with a database (mainly updates records) - class A.
In my interface (which represents a basic database objects) I have the virtual function updateRecord() from which I call methods from the db utility class. I want to enforce updating the database only in the updateRecord() function of all extending classes and nowhere else. I don't believe this to be a bad design choice, even if not possible. However, if indeed not possible, I would appreciate a different solution.
Change the class design - what you want is impossible.
I am unsure of what you are trying to achieve with so little details and I am unable to comment further.
[Disclaimer: this solution will stop Murphy, not Macchiavelli.]
How about:
class DatabaseQueryInterface {
public:
~virtual DatabseQueryInterface() = 0;
virtual Query compileQuery() const = 0; // or whatever
virtual ResultSet runQuery(const Query&) const = 0; // etc
};
class DatabaseUpdateInterface : public DatabaseQueryInterface {
public:
virtual Update compileUpdate() const = 0; // whatever
};
class DatabaseObject {
public:
virtual ~DatabaseObject() = 0;
protected:
virtual void queryRecord(const DatabaseQueryInterface& interface) = 0;
virtual void updateRecord(const DatabaseUpdateInterface& interface) = 0;
};
class SomeConcreteDatabaseObject : public DatabaseObject {
protected:
virtual void updateRecord(const DatabaseUpdateInterface& interface) {
// gets to use interface->compileUpdate()
}
virtual void queryRecord(const DatabaseQueryInterface& interface) {
// only gets query methods, no updates
}
};
So the basic idea is that your DatabaseObject base class squirrels away a private Query object and a private Update object and when it comes time to call the protected members of the subclass it hands off the Update interface to the updateRecord() method, and the Query interface to the queryRecord() method.
That way the natural thing for the subclasses is to use the object they are passed to talk to the database. Of course they can always resort to dirty tricks to store away a passed-in Update object and try to use it later from a query method, but frankly if they go to such lengths, they're on their own.
You could split your project into different TUs:
// A.h
class A
{
public:
static void foo();
};
// My.h
class myInterface
{
public:
virtual void onlyCallFooFromHere() = 0;
}
class myImplementation : public myInterface
{
public:
virtual void onlyCallFooFromHere();
void otherFoo();
};
// My-with-A.cpp
#include "My.h"
#include "A.h"
void myImplementation::onlyCallFooFromHere() { /* use A */ }
// My-without-A.cpp
#include "My.h"
void myImplementation::otherFoo() { /* no A here */ }
You probably know this, but with inheritance, you can have public, protected, and private member access.
If a member is private in the base class, the derived cannot access it, while if that same member is protected, then the derived class can access it (while it still isn't public, so you're maintaining encapsulation).
There's no way to stop specific functions from being able to see whats available in their scope though (which is what you're asking), but you can design your base class so that the derived classes can only access specific elements of it.
This could be useful because class B could inherit from class A as protected (thus getting its protected members) while class C could inherit from the same class A as public (thus not getting access to its protected members). This will let you get some form of call availability difference at least -- between classes though, not between functions in the same class.
This could work.
class myInterface;
class A {
private:
friend class myInterface;
static void foo();
};
class myInterface {
public:
virtual void onlyCallFooFromHere() {callFoo();}
protected:
void callFoo() {A::foo();}
};
Though at this point I think I'd just make A::foo a static of myInterface. The concerns aren't really separate anymore.
class myInterface {
protected:
static void foo();
};
Is there a reason foo is in A?
For example, when creating a class library, I would like to specify an internal API and a public API for each classes, so I can hide some details from the user. The internal API would be used by other classes in the library, and the public API would be used by the library user.
Is it possible?
In C++, interface could mean many things. It could mean pure virtual functions that you implement in the derived classes, as in the following example,
class Interface
{
public:
virtual void f() = 0 ;
};
class Implementation : public Interface
{
public:
virtual void f() {}
};
--
Or it could mean just public functions in your class:
class A
{
public:
void f() {} //public function - an interface that the outside world can
//use to talk to your class.
};
You can use either of these and can make use of access-specifiers ( public, protected, private) to make your interfaces public or internal/private!
Kind of.
Some libraries use friend classes/functions for this. Each class declares other classes as friends if they need access to more than the "public" interface:
class Car {
friend class Mechanic;
private:
Engine engine;
};
class Mechanic {
// something involving Car::engine...
};
It's not very pretty, but it works.
Another approach that might work for you is the pimpl (pointer-to-implementation) idiom:
class CarImpl; // declaration only
class Car {
private:
CarImpl *impl;
public:
CarImpl *getImpl(); // doesn't strictly belong in the pimpl pattern
// methods that simply call the corresponding methods on impl
};
The internal interface can be accessed through a getImpl() call. You would put the CarImpl declaration in a header file that is clearly marked as internal, so clients won't access it. For example, you could put such headers in a subdirectory called internal.
The obvious drawback is that the Car class has a bunch of trivial methods that you have to implement.
A third approach, that I do not recommend, is inheritance:
class Car {
public:
virtual void start() = 0;
static Car *create();
};
And in an internal header:
class CarImpl : public Car {
public:
virtual void start();
};
The Car class only exposes the public interface; to get access to the internal interface, internal code needs to do a downcast to CarImpl. This is ugly.
You can use many tricks to grant friendship or an "extended" interface to a given few, however it is soon cumbersome.
The simplest way to separate the external interface from the internal interface... is to have two interfaces, thus two classes.
If you take a peek at the set of Design Patterns proposed by the GoF, you'll notice the Proxy pattern.
You can use this by not exposing the class to the exterior of your library, but instead exposing a Proxy, in which you wrap the class, and which only exposes a subset of its interface.
class MyClass
{
public:
void foo();
void bar();
void printDebugInfo();
void test();
};
class MyClassProxy
{
public:
MyClassProxy(std::unique_ptr<MyClass> ptr): _ptr(ptr) {}
void foo() { _ptr->foo(); }
void bar() { _ptr->bar(); }
private:
std::unique_ptr<MyClass> _ptr;
};
I personally find this design rather clean. No down-casting, No subtle inheritance trick, No friendship list longer than my arm.
I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but if you have an abstract class defined:
class Loggable { ... };
You can inherit from it privately, like this:
class User : private Loggable { ... };
The class User now has the members of Loggable, but they are private.
Please see the C++ FAQ lite.
There is a number of ways to approach this. One is runtime polymorphism:
struct widget {
virtual debug_info diagnose() = 0;
virtual void draw() = 0;
};
struct window {
virtual void draw() = 0;
};
struct view : public window, public widget {
void draw();
debug_info diagnose(); // internal
};
Or with compile-time polymorphism:
struct view {
void draw();
debug_info diagnose(); // internal
};
template<class W>
void do_it(W window)
{
widget.draw();
}
template<class W>
void diagnose_it(W widget)
{
debug_info d = widget.diagnose();
}
Another approach is to expose private members to specific functions or classes:
struct widget {
virtual void draw() = 0;
};
struct view : public widget {
friend void diagnose_widget(widget w);
void draw();
private:
debug_info diagnose();
};
// internal
debug_info diagnose_widget(widget w)
{
debug_info d = w.diagnose();
}
A C++ class has 3 levels of protection: public, protected and private. Public things are accessible to everybody, protected only to descendant -- and then for themselves and not for other descendants --, private for the class and its friend.
Thus friendship is the only way to grant more than public access to a class/function which isn't a descendant, and it grants full access, which isn't always convenient.
An heavy solution which I've used with success was to write a wrapper which was a friend of the main class, and then provided additional access to its own friends (which were the only one able to construct the wrapper). I'm not really recommending it, it is tedious, but it could be useful if you have such a need.
class Main {
public:
...
private: // but wrapped
void foo();
protected:
...
private: // and not wrapped
void bar();
};
class Wrapper {
pubic:
void foo() { wrapped.foo(); }
private:
Wrapper(Main& m) : wrapped(ma) {}
Main& wrapped;
friend void qux(Main&);
};
void qux(Main& m) {
Wrapper mwrapped(m)
mwrapped.foo();
// still can't access bar
}
I'm used to using Objective-C protocols in my code; they're incredible for a lot of things. However, in C++ I'm not sure how to accomplish the same thing. Here's an example:
Table view, which has a function setDelegate(Protocol *delegate)
Delegate of class Class, but implementing the protocol 'Protocol'
Delegate of class Class2, also implementing 'Protocol'
setDelegate(objOfClass) and setDelegate(objOfClass2) are both valid
In Obj-C this is simple enough, but I can't figure out how to do it in C++. Is it even possible?
Basically, instead of "Protocol" think "base class with pure virtual functions", sometimes called an interface in other languages.
class Protocol
{
public:
virtual void Foo() = 0;
};
class Class : public Protocol
{
public:
void Foo() { }
};
class Class2 : public Protocol
{
public:
void Foo() { }
};
class TableView
{
public:
void setDelegate(Protocol* proto) { }
};