C++ Auto Executing Function? - c++

While solving Leetcode Problems I have encountered a problem solution (where generally we get access to only the solution class, not the main) where I have found this statement after class declaration & definition. I am acquainted with the inside content like cin.tie sync_with_stdio etc. But what is the auto speedup with [](){//}() is doing. Is it a self-executing function. Any help will be highly appreciated.
auto speedup=[](){
std::ios::sync_with_stdio(false);
cin.tie(nullptr);
cout.tie(nullptr);
return nullptr;
}();
Thanks in advance.

From the [] to the } is a lambda expression, also known as an anonymous function. It was introduced in C++11. It evaluates to a pointer to a function which takes no arguments and executes the code in the given function body, then returns nullptr.
That statement is calling this lambda function and placing its return value in speedup. Since the lambda expression didn't give an explicit return type, I'm pretty sure the return type, and thus the type of the speedup variable, is nullptr_t.

Related

calling a function inside header file [duplicate]

I have couple questions regarding some C++ rules.
Why am I able to call a function/method from outside the class in the namespace when I include the return type? (look at the namespace test2::testclass2 in the code below) i.e. this works:
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
whereas this doesn't: - (it doesn't even compile - compiler throws that this is function redeclaration)
testclass1::foo<int>(2);
C++ complains that it is a function redeclaration. Is that so?
This line:
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
gets called first before anything else. Is this because static methods get created always first before anything else in C++?
Where can I find those rules? I have a few C++ books at home, so if someone would be kind enough to either point out a book (and chapter or page) or direct me to a website I would greatly appreciate it.
Here below is the sample (partial) code that I tested at home with Visual Studio 2008:
class testclass1
{
public:
testclass1(void);
~testclass1(void);
template<class A> static bool foo(int i)
{
std::cout <<"in static foo";
return true;
}
};
namespace test2
{
class testclass2
{
public:
testclass2(void);
~testclass2(void);
};
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
}
EDIT:
A few people mentioned that I need to call this inside the function and this will work without any problem.
I understand that; the only reason I asked this question is because I saw this code somewhere (in someone's elses project) and was wondering how and why this works. Since I never really seen anyone doing it before.
Also, this is used (in multiple places) as a way to call and instantiate a large number of classes like this via those function calls (that are outside). They get called first before anything else is instantiated.
C++ is not Python. You write statements in functions and execution starts from the main method. The reason bool b = ... happens to work is that it's defining the global variable b and the function call is merely the initialization expression.
Definitions can exist outside functions while other statements can only exist inside a function body.
Why am I able to call a function/method from outside the class in the namespace when I include the return type? (look at the namespace test2::testclass2)
Your declaration of b is not inside a function, so you are declaring a global variable. If you were inside a function's scope, your second statement would work, but outside a function it makes no sense.
This also answers your second question.
Of course, you wouldn't be allowed to call it this way (i.e. not as a method of an object) if it weren't a static member function.
You can find the rules on e.g. Koenig lookup and template in the standard documentation -- good luck with navigating that! You're not mentioning which compiler you are testing, but I'm not entirely sure it's compliant!
As Mehrdad points out, you're declaring and initializing a global variable within the test2 namespace: this has nothing to do with static methods.
if you write this inside a function like below then it works without a problem. As mentioned above, you need to call these functions from within a function unless you are using the function to initialize a global variable ...
int main()
{
testclass1::foo<int>(2);
return 0;
}
1. First, a helpful correction: you said "...when I include the return type". I think you might be misunderstanding what the <int> part of testclass1::foo<int>(2) does. It doesn't (necessarily) specify the return type, it just provides a value for the template argument "A".
You could have chosen to use A as the return type, but you have the return type hard-coded to "bool".
Basically, for the function as you have written it you will always need to have the <> on it in order to call it. C++ does allow you to omit the <args> off the function when the type can be deduced from the function arguments; in order to get it to do that you have to use the type argument A in your function arguments. For instance if you declared the function this way instead then you could call it without the <>:
template<class A> static bool foo(A i);
In which case it you could call "foo(2)" and it would deduce A to be "int" from the number two.
On the other hand there isn't any way to make it deduce anything based on what you assign the function to. For template argument deduction it only looks at the arguments to the function, not what is done with the result of calling the function. So in:
bool b = testclass1::foo(2);
There is no way to get it to deduce "bool" from that, not even if you made A the return type.
So why doesn't the compiler just tell you "you needed to use <> on the function"? Even though you declared foo once as a template function, you could have also overloaded it with a non-template version too. So the compiler doesn't just automatically assume that you're trying to call a template function when you leave the <> off the call. Unfortunately having NOT assumed you were calling template-foo and not seeing any other declaration for foo, the compiler then falls back on an old C style rule where for a function that takes an int and returns an int, in a very old dialect of C you didn't need to declare that kind of before using it. So the compiler assumed THAT was what you wanted - but then it notices that template-foo and old-crufty-C-foo both take an int parameter, and realizes it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. So then it says you can't declare foo. This is why C++ compilers are notorious for giving bad error messages - by the time the error is reported the compiler may have gone completely off the rails and be talking about something that is three or four levels removed from your actual code!
2. Yes you're exactly right.
3. I find that the C++ references and whitepapers that IBM makes available online are the most informative. Here's a link to the section about templates: C++ Templates

How to declare a C++ variable should be mutated

Recently, I had a bug where, we changed the function from
void update_waypoint_heading(const double new_observation, waypoint)
{
// ....
waypoint.heading = default_heading_deg * waypoint.some_magic_number
}
// Call the function and the function will calculate new heading and mutate heading in waypoint
update_waypoint_heading(new_observation, waypoint);
to
double update_waypoint_heading(const double new_observation, waypoint)
{
// ....
return default_heading_deg * waypoint.some_magic_number
}
// Here the caller is supposed to be responsible for mutation
waypoint.heading = update_waypoint_heading(new_observation, waypoint);
We had a bug where we changed the function but did not change the caller. So we ended with
update_waypoint_heading(new_observation, waypoint);
Where update_waypoint_heading started to return the new heading. But it never got set to the waypoint. This was also perfectly legal for the compiler.
Is it possible to declare a parameter as mutant (like the opposite of const), where it will throw a compiler error if it does not get mutated. So that I can catch these cases at compile time
No, and it wouldn't make much sense either.
You pass an argument into a function, and want a keyword to mandate that the calling scope then assigns the result of that function into some part of the same thing you passed as an argument?
This is very convoluted.
If a function returns a result that ought to be used, then that is documented by its return type. If it modifies its by-reference arguments, then that should also be documented. Do not switch from one to the other after you've already got code using that function!
HOWEVER! There is the nodiscard attribute which will prevent the result of calling the function from simply being, well, discarded. That would have flagged this case up, and may be what you're really looking for.
You'll need a nice C++17 compiler to use it.
I still think this is a bit leaky, though. It's not up to your function to decide what the calling scope does with its result. Just don't change function semantics! Write a new function with a new name if you need to. "Update" is no longer a good descriptive name for what it does anyway.

Accessing external context within lambdas

This might be a pretty nooby question, but I wasn't able to figure it out by myself.
So, I am trying to pass a lambda into the following function:
wiringPiISR(int pin, int mode, void (*function)())
... what results in this:
wiringPiISR(Pin::BELL, INT_EDGE_RISING, [] {});
... and seems to work, so I obviously can use a lambda instead of pointing to a function.
But what I actually want to do is something like that, with capturing this to access the function onInterrupt(Pin pin) in the outer context:
wiringPiISR(Pin::BELL_1, INT_EDGE_RISING, [this] {
onInterrupt(Pin::BELL_1);
});
wiringPiISR(Pin::BELL_2, INT_EDGE_RISING, [this] {
onInterrupt(Pin::BELL_2);
});
... what results in this error message:
No matching function for call to wiringPiISR
I'm not very experienced in using c++-lambdas, I know closures from many other languages, but they obviously seem to work different in c++. This capturing seems to modify the signature of the closure, but I have no idea how to fix this, or even if there is a possible solution without pointing to an "actual" function.
Thank you in advance
C++ lambdas are only convertible to function pointers if there is no capture (and you are capturing this as stated).
Also refer to the draft C++11 standard section 5.1.2:
The closure type for a lambda-expression with no lambda-capture has a
public non-virtual non-explicit const conversion function to pointer
to function having the same parameter and return types as the closure
type’s function call operator.
As a solution, you could use std::function instead of the function pointer.

Why can't I use constexpr with lambda function?

I need an explanation for this. How does lambda differ from others function to it don't be allowed? Is this a nonsense to be not part of C++ standard? for example, I wanted to write a "nested" function in C++ but like it isn't possible to do directly I do use lambda instead of. This function does a very small job: take a single int parameter and multiply with some values and returns. This values are locals to where lambda function is defined and all them are constexpr and know at run-time for this reason I do want to let the compiler put a const value instead of call the function. It's very often used function (that's why I write this as function) and I don't want this beging computed at run-time.
It is because the standard list lambda as non constant expression : "5.19 Constant expressions" … "is a core constant expression unless it involves one of the following as a potentially evaluated subexpression" … "— a lambda-expression (5.1.2);"
That is enough for any compiler to reject constexpr function with a lambda involved.

C++ - calling methods from outside the class

I have couple questions regarding some C++ rules.
Why am I able to call a function/method from outside the class in the namespace when I include the return type? (look at the namespace test2::testclass2 in the code below) i.e. this works:
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
whereas this doesn't: - (it doesn't even compile - compiler throws that this is function redeclaration)
testclass1::foo<int>(2);
C++ complains that it is a function redeclaration. Is that so?
This line:
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
gets called first before anything else. Is this because static methods get created always first before anything else in C++?
Where can I find those rules? I have a few C++ books at home, so if someone would be kind enough to either point out a book (and chapter or page) or direct me to a website I would greatly appreciate it.
Here below is the sample (partial) code that I tested at home with Visual Studio 2008:
class testclass1
{
public:
testclass1(void);
~testclass1(void);
template<class A> static bool foo(int i)
{
std::cout <<"in static foo";
return true;
}
};
namespace test2
{
class testclass2
{
public:
testclass2(void);
~testclass2(void);
};
bool b = testclass1::foo<int>(2);
}
EDIT:
A few people mentioned that I need to call this inside the function and this will work without any problem.
I understand that; the only reason I asked this question is because I saw this code somewhere (in someone's elses project) and was wondering how and why this works. Since I never really seen anyone doing it before.
Also, this is used (in multiple places) as a way to call and instantiate a large number of classes like this via those function calls (that are outside). They get called first before anything else is instantiated.
C++ is not Python. You write statements in functions and execution starts from the main method. The reason bool b = ... happens to work is that it's defining the global variable b and the function call is merely the initialization expression.
Definitions can exist outside functions while other statements can only exist inside a function body.
Why am I able to call a function/method from outside the class in the namespace when I include the return type? (look at the namespace test2::testclass2)
Your declaration of b is not inside a function, so you are declaring a global variable. If you were inside a function's scope, your second statement would work, but outside a function it makes no sense.
This also answers your second question.
Of course, you wouldn't be allowed to call it this way (i.e. not as a method of an object) if it weren't a static member function.
You can find the rules on e.g. Koenig lookup and template in the standard documentation -- good luck with navigating that! You're not mentioning which compiler you are testing, but I'm not entirely sure it's compliant!
As Mehrdad points out, you're declaring and initializing a global variable within the test2 namespace: this has nothing to do with static methods.
if you write this inside a function like below then it works without a problem. As mentioned above, you need to call these functions from within a function unless you are using the function to initialize a global variable ...
int main()
{
testclass1::foo<int>(2);
return 0;
}
1. First, a helpful correction: you said "...when I include the return type". I think you might be misunderstanding what the <int> part of testclass1::foo<int>(2) does. It doesn't (necessarily) specify the return type, it just provides a value for the template argument "A".
You could have chosen to use A as the return type, but you have the return type hard-coded to "bool".
Basically, for the function as you have written it you will always need to have the <> on it in order to call it. C++ does allow you to omit the <args> off the function when the type can be deduced from the function arguments; in order to get it to do that you have to use the type argument A in your function arguments. For instance if you declared the function this way instead then you could call it without the <>:
template<class A> static bool foo(A i);
In which case it you could call "foo(2)" and it would deduce A to be "int" from the number two.
On the other hand there isn't any way to make it deduce anything based on what you assign the function to. For template argument deduction it only looks at the arguments to the function, not what is done with the result of calling the function. So in:
bool b = testclass1::foo(2);
There is no way to get it to deduce "bool" from that, not even if you made A the return type.
So why doesn't the compiler just tell you "you needed to use <> on the function"? Even though you declared foo once as a template function, you could have also overloaded it with a non-template version too. So the compiler doesn't just automatically assume that you're trying to call a template function when you leave the <> off the call. Unfortunately having NOT assumed you were calling template-foo and not seeing any other declaration for foo, the compiler then falls back on an old C style rule where for a function that takes an int and returns an int, in a very old dialect of C you didn't need to declare that kind of before using it. So the compiler assumed THAT was what you wanted - but then it notices that template-foo and old-crufty-C-foo both take an int parameter, and realizes it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. So then it says you can't declare foo. This is why C++ compilers are notorious for giving bad error messages - by the time the error is reported the compiler may have gone completely off the rails and be talking about something that is three or four levels removed from your actual code!
2. Yes you're exactly right.
3. I find that the C++ references and whitepapers that IBM makes available online are the most informative. Here's a link to the section about templates: C++ Templates