How do I properly pass iterator by reference? - c++

I have a game where I check collision between bullets and enemies which I store as 2 vector containers. People say if you're gonna erase an element in the for loop you better use iterators and so I did. But I have a problem now with passing the iterator to a function. The thing is I don't necessarily need to erase the element so it has to be a bit more complex.
This is the way I check collision. "CircularCollision" works fine, no mistakes there.
void ResolveColision(Weapon &weap, Map &map)
{
std::vector<Bullet> bullets = weap.GetBullets();
if (!bullets.empty())
{
for (std::vector<Bullet>::iterator i = bullets.begin(); i != bullets.end(); ++i)
{
std::vector<Enemy> enemies = map.GetEnemies();
if (!enemies.empty())
{
for (std::vector<Enemy>::iterator j = enemies.begin(); j != enemies.end(); ++j)
{
if (CircularCollision((*i), (*j)))
{
weap.DeleteByIndex(i);
map.TakeDamageByIndex(j, weap.GetDamage());
std::cout << "HIT!\n";
}
}
}
}
}
}
Here's the method which is supposed to decrease the health of an enemy:
void Map::TakeDamageByIndex(std::vector<Enemy>::iterator &itr, int damage)
{
(*itr).SetHealth((*itr).GetHealth() - damage);
}
Here's the method which deletes the bullet:
void Weapon::DeleteByIndex(std::vector<Bullet>::iterator &itr)
{
destroySprite((*itr).GetSprite());
bullets.erase(itr);
}
I'm sure it looks horrible and it shouldn't work but I have no idea how to do it properly. Please help!
Also, both methods work properly when the for loops operate with indexes (e.g. bullets[i]), in that case the problem is with "Vector subscript out of range" error.

In DeleteByIndex(), change this:
bullets.erase(itr);
To this:
itr = bullets.erase(itr);
std::vector::erase() returns an iterator to the next remaining element after the element that was erased. That next element is where your outer loop needs to continue from on its next iteration.
As such, you need to change your outer loop from a for to a while instead, or else you will skip elements (in fact, your original code suffers from that problem when you were still using indexes):
void ResolveColision(Weapon &weap, Map &map)
{
std::vector<Bullet> bullets = weap.GetBullets();
std::vector<Bullet>::iterator bullerItr = bullets.begin();
while (bullerItr != bullets.end())
{
std::vector<Enemy> enemies = map.GetEnemies();
bool wasAnyHit = false;
for (std::vector<Enemy>::iterator enemyItr = enemies.begin(); enemyItr != enemies.end(); ++enemyItr)
{
if (CircularCollision(*bulletItr, *enemyItr))
{
wasAnyHit = true;
weap.DeleteByIndex(bulletItr);
map.TakeDamageByIndex(enemyItr, weap.GetDamage());
std::cout << "HIT!\n";
break;
}
}
if (!wasAnyHit)
++bulletItr;
}
}
That being said, I would suggest replacing the inner loop with std::find_if() instead. And renaming DeleteByIndex() and TakeDamageByIndex() since they don't take an index anymore. In fact, I would not pass an iterator to TakeDamage...() at all, pass the actual Enemy object instead. Or better, move TakeDamage() into Enemy itself.
Try something more like this:
void ResolveColision(Weapon &weap, Map &map)
{
auto bullets = weap.GetBullets();
auto bulletItr = bullets.begin();
while (bulletItr != bullets.end())
{
auto enemies = map.GetEnemies();
auto &bullet = *bulletItr;
auto enemyHit = std::find_if(enemies.begin(), enemies.end(),
[&](Enemy &enemy){ return CircularCollision(bullet, enemy); }
);
if (enemyHit != enemies.end())
{
weap.DeleteBulletByIterator(bulletItr);
enemyHit->TakeDamage(weap.GetDamage());
std::cout << "HIT!\n";
}
else
++bulletItr;
}
}
void Enemy::TakeDamage(int damage)
{
SetHealth(GetHealth() - damage);
}
void Weapon::DeleteBulletByIterator(std::vector<Bullet>::iterator &itr)
{
destroySprite(itr->GetSprite());
itr = bullets.erase(itr);
}

A few other comments in addition to Remy Lebeau’s answer.
It’s as efficient to pass a STL iterator by value as by reference, so the only reason you would need to pass one by reference is: when you intend to change the index and you want that change to be visible in the caller’s scope. (For example, a UTF-8 parser needs to consume anywhere from one to four bytes.) Since this code doesn’t need to do that, you’re better off just passing the iterator by value.
In general, if you aren’t modifying the variable you pass by reference, you should pass by const reference instead. In the case of Enemy::TakeDamage(), the only thing you do with the iterator is dereference it, so you might as well just pass in an Enemy& and call it with *i as the parameter.
The algorithm is not very efficient: if you delete a lot of items near the start of the list, you would need to move all remaining items of the array multiple times. This runs in O(N²) time. A std::list, although it has a high overhead compared to std::vector, can delete elements in constant time, and might be more efficient if you have a lot of insertions and deletions that are not at the end. You might also consider moving only the objects that survive to a new list and then destroying the old one. At least this way, you only need to copy once, and your pass runs in O(N) time.
If your containers store smart pointers to the objects, you only have to move the pointers to a new location, not the entire object. This will not make up for the overhead of lots of heap allocations if your objects are small, but could save you a lot of bandwidth if they are large. The objects will still be automatically deleted when the last reference to them is cleared.

You could do something like this:
void delByIndex(vector<int>::iterator &i, vector<int>& a)
{
a.erase(i);
}
int main()
{
vector<int> a {1,5,6,2,7,8,3};
vector<int> b {1,2,3,1};
for(auto i=a.begin();i!=a.end();)
{
bool flag = false;
for(auto j=b.begin();j!=b.end();j++)
{
if(*i==*j)
{
flag = true;
}
}
if(flag)
{
delByIndex(i, a);
}
else
i++;
}
for(auto i:a)
cout << i << " ";
return 0;
}
Be careful when using erase as it will change the size of the vector and also invalidates the vector iterator.

Related

How to remove elements from a vector that uses the vector size in the for loop

I have a game where I shoot bullets at an object and I delete the object that gets hit by the bullet and bullet that are off screen as well.
For example:
std::vector<object> object_list;
for(size_t i = 0; i < object_list.size(); i++)
{
if(object_list[i].hit())
{
object_list.erase(object_list.begin() + i);
}
else
object_list[i].draw();
}
The problem with this is that when i remove an object, the size of the vector decreases so when it check the conditions, it fails and i get an error such as " vector subscript out of range." I could just choose not to render the asteroid by rendering those that haven't been hit, but the problem with that is that the no. of objects increases when hit(splits up) so eventually the program is going to get slower. I've used a similar concept for the off screen bullets but I can't find a way around it. I'm looking for a solution to this or better way of removing elements.
Both object and bullet are classes.
You should split for loop in 2 parts:
remove all "hit" elements:
object_list.erase(std::remove_if(object_list.begin(),
object_list.end(), [](auto&& item) { return item.hit(); }),
object_list.end());
draw remaining:
std::for_each(object_list.begin(), object_list.end(), [](auto&& item) { item.draw(); });
It's safer and more readable.
Same idea as the other answers but this code is a little easier with iterators
for (auto i = object_list.begin(); i != object_list.end(); )
{
if (i->hit())
{
i = object_list.erase(i);
}
else
{
i->draw();
++i;
}
}
vector::erase returns an iterator to the next element, which you can use to continue the loop.
Functional approach using the range-v3 library (C++20)
[...] I'm looking for a solution to this or better way of removing elements.
Using the ranges::actions::remove_if action from the range-v3 library, you can use a functional programming style approach to mutate the object_list container in-place:
object_list |= ranges::actions::remove_if(
[](const auto& obj) { return obj.hit(); });
followed by subsequent ranges:for_each invocation to draw the object:
ranges::for_each(object_list, [](const auto& obj){ obj.draw(); });
DEMO.
You could do something like this:
for (size_t i = 0; i < object_list.size(); )
{
if (object_list[i].hit())
object_list.erase(object_list.begin() + i)
else
{
object_list[i].draw()
++i;
}
}
Let us say you are at i=5 and that object has been hit, after deleting that element, the obj at i=6 is shifted to i=5, and you haven't checked it, so just add i--; after your erase statement.
Another way to do it would be -
for(size_t i = 0; i < object_list.size();)
{
if(object_list[i].hit())
{
object_list.erase(object_list.begin() + i);
}
else
{
object_list[i].draw();
i++;
}
}
Also, it could possibly be faster to just remove the object from the vector where you execute the code that marks the object as hit, that way you just need to draw all the objects which are left out in the list. Some more background into how you are doing all this would be helpful to decide something specific which would be better :)
The shown code does not fail or give a vector subscript out of range - it just does not consider every object, as it skips over the element after the removed one.
For very short and concise solutions employing concepts from C++11 and later, see the answer by Equod or the one by dfri
For better understanding the issue, and/or if you have to stick to for loops with indices, you basically have two options:
Iterate over the vector in reverse direction (i.e. start at the last element), then items after the current one being shifted is not a problem;
for (int i=object_list.size()-1; i>=0; --i)
{
if (object_list[i].hit())
{
object_list.erase(object_list.begin() + i)
}
else
{
object_list[i].draw()
}
}
Or, if the order is important (as I could imagine with items to draw), and you have to iterate from front to back, then only increase the counter i if you have not erased the current element:
for (int i=0; i<object_list.size(); /* No increase here... */ )
{
if (object_list[i].hit())
{
object_list.erase(object_list.begin() + i);
}
else
{
object_list[i].draw();
++i; // ...just here if we didn't remove the element
}
}
I suspect that std::vector is not the container you want (but, of course, I don't know the entire code). Each call to erase implies reallocation of the right-part of the vector (and then copies of you objects), it could be very costly. And your actual problem is the symptom of a design problem.
From what I see, std::list is probably better:
std::list<object> objects;
// ...
for(std::list<object>::iterator it = objects.begin(); it != objects.end();)
{
if(it->hit())
objects.erase(it++); // No object copied
else
{
it->draw();
++it;
}
}

Prevent adding multiple same items to vector in recursion

I got a method that adds adjacent Voxels to a vector. This method uses an vector with all the remaining points (means, they still need to be looked at as they are possible adjacents) and looks on every one of them if it is near enough to be added. If an element is a neighbor it also checks all adjacents of this element to add them too. This happens in a recursive manner.
void remove(std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &vec, pcl::PointXYZ p) {
for (int i = 0; i < vec.size(); i++) {
if (vec[i].x == p.x && vec[i].y == p.y && vec[i].z == p.z) {
vec.erase(vec.begin() + i);
break; // as all points should be unique
}
}
}
void addAdjacents(pcl::PointXYZ start, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &newCluster, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &remainingPoints) {
for (pcl::PointXYZ p : remainingPoints) {
if (distance(p, start) < 0.015) {
newCluster.push_back(p);
remove(remainingPoints, p);
if (remainingPoints.size() > 0)
addAdjacents(p, newCluster, remainingPoints);
}
}
}
The problem is, that many points from the remainingPoints-vector are added to the newCluster multiple times. I thought this wouldn't happen but it seems like internally it makes copies of the vector in the recursion? If a point is removed in a deeper layer the for-loop in the outer execution is somehow still iterating over this (removed) element.
I am fairly new to c++ so I am not sure how to prevent this. Can anyone help me? Thanks!
For sure I can just write a method addToCluster which just checks if the vector has this element before adding it but I thought that maybe there is a more elegant way to prevent this happening in the first place.
Edit:
As I understand I am breaking my iterator in the loop. So I would need to somehow update my iterator after calling addAdjacents. Is this right? Can I do something like that?
You need to separate identifying the points you wish to migrate with erasing them from the input.
template<typename BidirIt>
BidirIt addAdjacentsImpl(pcl::PointXYZ start, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &newCluster, BidirIt first, BidirIt last) {
auto part = std::stable_partition(first, last, [&](auto p){ return distance(p, start) >= 0.015; });
for (auto it = part; it != last; ++it) {
newCluster.push_back(*it);
part = addAdjacentsImpl(*it, newCluster, first, part);
}
return part;
}
This only re-orders the elements, such that those we wish to remove are after those we wish to keep. I've written it as a template because I don't care to name the particular iterator types.
void addAdjacents(pcl::PointXYZ start, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &newCluster, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &remainingPoints) {
auto last = addAdjacentsImpl(start, newCluster, remainingPoints.begin(), remainingPoints.end());
remainingPoints.erase(last, remainingPoints.end());
}
Here
list.erase(list.begin() + i);
You erase an element from the std::vector called list (really not the best name for a vector) which invalidates iterators at and after the erased position. It isnt that obvious, but this erasing happens while addAdjacents iteratates over the same container. Leaving only the broken part in we have
void addAdjacents(pcl::PointXYZ start, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &newCluster, std::vector<pcl::PointXYZ> &remainingPoints) {
for (pcl::PointXYZ p : remainingPoints) {
newCluster.push_back(p);
//remove(remainingPoints, p); // <- calls erase
remainingPoints.erase( remainingPoints.begin() + some_index);
}
}
}
Erasing an element from remainingPoints does break the range-based loop, because under the hood it uses iterators that potentially got invalidated in remove.

List of bullets c++

I'm writing the Contra Game by Directx9 and c++
please help me about list of bullets
i'm trying below code but it's error: vector intertor incompatible
std::vector<Bullet*> bullets
if (mKeyboard->IsKeyPress(DIK_X))
{
Bullet* toShoot = new Bullet(noneType, _position.x, _position.y, RIGHT);
toShoot->Init();
bullets.push_back(toShoot);
}
Update Funtion:
std::vector<Bullet*>::iterator it = bullets.begin();
while ((it) != bullets.end())
{
(*it)->Update(gameTime, c);
if ((*it)->IsLive() == false)
{
bullets.erase(it++);
}
}
Render funtion
std::vector<Bullet*>::iterator it = bullets.begin();
while (it != bullets.end())
{
if ((*it)->IsLive())
{
(*it++)->Render(gr, cx, cy);
}
}
You can't just increment an iterator passed to erase(…). Do this instead:
if (!(*it)->IsLive()) {
it = bullets.erase(it);
} else {
++it;
}
Your Render function has a different bug. It gets stuck on the first non-live bullet, since the increment is inside the if-block. This is one reason for(…) is usually preferable to while(…):
for (auto it = bullets.begin(); it != bullets.end(); ++it) {
if (…) {
…
}
}
In fact, the Update function should be likewise changed, but omit the ++it.
In your Update function, you are calling the erase while iterating over a vector. The problem is that your it iterator can get invalidated if it is being used in the loop at the same time you're erasing from the vector.
The alternative is to use the erase/remove_if idiom:
#include <algorithm>
//...
bullets.erase(std::remove_if(bullets.begin(), bullets.end(),
[&](Bullet& b) { b.Update(gameTime, c); return !b.IsLive(); }),
bullets.end());
The algorithm function remove_if() is called to determine which bullets will be removed by the erase() function. Note that the lambda includes the logic you used to determine if a bullet should be removed.

Vector Collision

I am quite green regarding vectors, and this is my first time actually using them for collision checking. This is for my project, and I am stumped on how to implement the collision. The current Collision check and response codes I have seem to be ... bad design.
This is my code:
for(auto it = ArrayofEntities.begin(); it != ArrayofEntities.end(); it++)
{
CEntity * go = (*it);
for(auto i = ArrayofEntities.begin(); i != ArrayofEntities.end();)
{
//Collision for entities. Collision Event returns the iterator after an element is erased.
CEntity * other = (*i);
if (go != other)
{
if (!theCollision.CheckCollision(go, other, false, false, false, false)) //Checks if it has collided go with other
{
i = go->CollisionEvent(*other, ArrayofEntities); //Run collision code, setting i to the iterator which is returned.
//break;
}
else
{
i++;
}
}
else
{
i++;
}
}
}
CEntity is the base class for all the entities.
My CheckCollision just returns a true or false on the collision, and my collision event runs the collision and returns an iterator (because I might have to destroy things in the vector).
My collision event is below
vector<CEntity*>::iterator bullet::CollisionEvent(CEntity &other, vector<CEntity*> & theArray)
{
case ZOMBIE:
{
other.hp -= power * 0.01;//Effect
int Counter, index, bulletindex;
auto it = theArray.begin();
//Find the bullet and the other in the array.
for (it = theArray.begin(), Counter = 0; it != theArray.end();it++, Counter++)
{
CEntity *go = NULL;
go = (*it);
if (go == &other)
{
index = Counter;
}
if(go->ID == BULLET && go->GetX() == GetX() && go->GetY() == GetY())
{
bulletindex = Counter;
}
}
this->~bullet();//Delete the bullet
theArray.erase(theArray.begin() + bulletindex);
if(other.hp <= 0)
{
other.~CEntity();
it = theArray.erase(theArray.begin() + index); //delete from array.
return it;
}
it = theArray.begin() + index;
return it;
}
}
I have basically done this like how I would do an array. Just check it against itself. The error it gives is "Vector Iterator not Incrementable", on the first for loop after the collision event has been run.
So my question: 1) What am I doing wrong?
2) Is my thinking to do this like checking arrays wrong?
This is my school project, so I have full control of the codes.
I would prefer to have a quick fix over a complete rewriting of all the collision codes, but if it really comes down to it, I will rewrite my codes.
If you look at the implementation of std::remove_if, you'll see that they've solved the issue of iterator invalidation in another way. instead of erasing elements, they move them to the end of the array.
This may be the easiest solution for you as well. Keep an iterator which points after the last "live" entirty. It starts out at .end but as bullets hit things, you swap the entities to the back of your range and decrement that last-live iterator.
Then, when you're done looping over your array, you clean up with a single call to .erase.
And yes, you should use either std::unique_ptr<CEntity> or std::shared_ptr<CEntity> in the collection. In that way, .erase won't just erase the pointer but also the object pointed to.

What is proper way to delete objects that resides in a list that you find while looping that list?

I have a list of Star structs. These structs are in a std::list
I am double looping this list and compairing there locations to detect a collision. When A collision is found I will delete Star with the lowest mass. But how can I delete the Star when I am in the double Loop, and keep the loop going to check for more collisions?
It's worth mentioning that the second loop is a reverse loop.
Here is some code
void UniverseManager::CheckCollisions()
{
std::list<Star>::iterator iStar1;
std::list<Star>::reverse_iterator iStar2;
bool totalbreak = false;
for (iStar1 = mStars.begin(); iStar1 != mStars.end(); iStar1++)
{
for (iStar2 = mStars.rbegin(); iStar2 != mStars.rend(); iStar2++)
{
if (*iStar1 == *iStar2)
break;
Star &star1 = *iStar1;
Star &star2 = *iStar2;
if (CalculateDistance(star1.mLocation, star2.mLocation) < 10)
{
// collision
// get heaviest star
if (star1.mMass > star2.mMass)
{
star1.mMass += star2.mMass;
// I need to delete the star2 and keep looping;
}
else
{
star2.mMass += star1.mMass;
// I need to delete the star1 and keep looping;
}
}
}
}
}
You need to utilize the return value of the erase method like so.
iStar1 = mStars.erase(iStar1);
erase = true;
if (iStar1 == mStars.end())
break; //or handle the end condition
//continue to bottom of loop
if (!erase)
iStar1++; //you will need to move the incrementation of the iterator out of the loop declaration, because you need to make it not increment when an element is erased.
if you don't increment the iterator if an item is erased and check if you deleted the last element then you should be fine.
Since modifying the list invalidates the iterators (so that you cannot increment them), you have to keep safe the iterators before the list is changed.
In the most of the implementation std::list is a dual-linked list, hence a iteration like
for(auto i=list.begin(), ii; i!=list.end(); i=ii)
{
ii = i; ++ii; //ii now is next-of-i
// do stuff with i
// call list.erasee(i).
// i is now invalid, but ii is already the "next of i"
}
The safest way, is to create a list containing all the "collided", then iterate on the "collided" calling list.remove(*iterator_on_collided)
(but inefficient, since has O2 complexity)
You want to use the result of erase() to get the next iterator and advance the loop differently:
If you erase using the outer iterator you clearly can abondon checking this Star against others and break out of the inner loop. Only if the inner loop was complete you'd want to advance the outer iterator because otherwise it would be advanced by the erase().
If you erase using the inner loop you already advanced the iteration, otherwise, i.e. if no star was erased, you need to advance.
Sample code would look somethimg like this:
for (auto oit(s.begin()), end(s.end()); oit != end; )
{
auto iit(s.begin());
while (iit != end)
{
if (need_to_delete_outer)
{
oit = s.erase(oit);
break;
}
else if (need_to_delete_inner)
{
iit = s.erase(iit);
}
else
{
++iit;
}
}
if (iit == end)
{
++oit;
}
}