Why does google test sample put tests in an anonymous namespace? - c++

This is NOT a duplicate of Superiority of unnamed namespace over static?
Please read the question carefully before marking it as duplicate. I am not asking why use an unnamed namespace versus static!
I am asking, why are google tests placed inside an unnamed namespace? Is this some convention that google tests follow, and if so, why? The tests work fine whether they are in an unnamed namespace or not, so obviously it is not required.**
I cloned google test from github and built it for my mac. It works fine, but I noticed in the sample test code they give they place the tests in an unnamed namespace. Does anyone know why?
For example, see following file:
googletest/googletest/samples/sample1_unittest.cc
(https://github.com/google/googletest/blob/master/googletest/samples/sample1_unittest.cc#L41)
Part of the file looks like this:
// Step 1. Include necessary header files such that the stuff your
// test logic needs is declared.
//
// Don't forget gtest.h, which declares the testing framework.
#include <limits.h>
#include "sample1.h"
#include "gtest/gtest.h"
namespace {
// Step 2. Use the TEST macro to define your tests.
...
TEST(FactorialTest, Negative) {
// This test is named "Negative", and belongs to the "FactorialTest"
// test case.
EXPECT_EQ(1, Factorial(-5));
EXPECT_EQ(1, Factorial(-1));
EXPECT_GT(Factorial(-10), 0);
}
...
} // namespace
Does anyone know why all the tests are in an unnamed namespace?
I tried removing the unnamed namespace and the sample still worked fine, so clearly it is not necessary for this particular sample.

I think the comment by Mike Kinghan answers the question, especially the part
You don't need to ask a programmer why haven't put stuff into the global namespace. You need to ask why they have.
However, I think its a good idea, pedagogically, to give an example of the kind of horrors that can happen if one doesn't follow good coding practices and as a consequence, violate ODR by mistake.
First, to relate the program below with the question, one needs to know that some of the Google Test macros create new classes. Now, consider the following program
myClass1.h
#ifndef MYCLASS1_H
#define MYCLASS1_H
int f();
#endif /* MYCLASS1_H */
myClass2.h
#ifndef MYCLASS2_H
#define MYCLASS2_H
int g();
#endif /* MYCLASS2_H */
myClass1.cpp
#include "myClass1.h"
class MyClass {
public:
void twice() { val *= 2; }
char val;
};
int f() {
MyClass x;
x.val = 2;
x.twice();
return x.val;
}
myClass2.cpp
#include "myClass2.h"
class MyClass {
public:
void twice() { val *= 2; }
double val;
};
int g() {
MyClass x;
x.val = 3;
x.twice();
return x.val;
}
main.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include "myClass1.h"
#include "myClass2.h"
int main() {
std::cerr << f() << std::endl << g() << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Notice how the class MyClass has two different definitions. With g++ 5.4.0-6ubuntu1~16.04.10, compiling and running the program with
g++ -O3 myClass1.cpp myClass2.cpp main.cpp -o undefined && ./undefined
prints 4 and 6, the expected behavior. However, compiling and running with no optimizations, i.e. with
g++ -O0 myClass1.cpp myClass2.cpp main.cpp -o undefined && ./undefined
prints 4 and 3!
Now, put this bug in a non-trivial program and you might easily loose an afternoon of debugging, especially if the bug laid dormant for a while. On the other hand, wrapping the classes in anonymous namespaces up-front takes no time at all and it prevents the bug. I think this illustrates one of the rationale behind some of the good coding practices: basic risk management.

Related

Registering file handlers in code running prior to main()

I'm looking into ways to prevent unnecessary clutter in setup code in main() as well as various other places. I often have tons of setup code that registers itself with some factory. A standard example is e.g. handlers for various file types.
To avoid having to write this code and instead just make handlers magically work if linked into the application, I figured I could replace the code by something like the following:
test.cc:
int main() {
return 0;
}
loader.h:
#ifndef LOADER_H_
#define LOADER_H_
#include <functional>
namespace loader {
class Loader {
public:
Loader(std::function<void()> f);
};
} // namespace loader
#define REGISTER_HANDLER(name, f) \
namespace { \
::loader::Loader _macro_internal_ ## name(f); \
}
#endif // LOADER_H_
loader.cc:
#include "loader.h"
#include <iostream>
namespace loader {
Loader::Loader(std::function<void()> f) { f(); }
} // namespace loader
a.cc:
#include <iostream>
#include "loader.h"
REGISTER_HANDLER(a, []() {
std::cout << "hello from a" << std::endl;
})
The idea here is that a.cc would in a real application e.g. call some method where it registers it self as a handler for a certain file type. Compiling the code with c++ -std=c++11 test.cc loader.cc a.cc creates a binary that prints "hello from a" while c++ -std=c++11 test.cc loader.cc stays silent.
I'm wondering if there's something subtle that I might need to be careful with? For example, if someone creates complex objects in the lambda that is run here, I assume weird things can happen during cleanup for example in a multithreaded application?
You wrote:
... unnecessary clutter in setup code in main() ...
int main() {
return 0;
}
This is not preventing unnecessary clutter. This is hiding your initializations. They still occur, but now you have to chase after them. That's really not the way to do it. Also, it will force the use of a lot of global state - in many independent global variables, most probably - which is also a bad thing. Instead, consider writing something like:
class my_app_state { /* ... */ };
my_app_state initialize(/* perhaps with argc and argv here? */) {
//
// Your "unnecessary" clutter goes here...
//
return whatever;
}
int main() {
auto app_state = initialize();
//
// do stuff involving the app_state...
//
}
and don't try to "game" the program loader.
This approach is not guaranteed to work:
[basic.start.dynamic]/4 It is implementation-defined whether the dynamic initialization of a non-local non-inline variable with static storage duration is sequenced before the first statement of main or is deferred. If it is deferred, it strongly happens before any non-initialization odr-use of any non-inline function or non-inline variable defined in the same translation unit as the variable to be initialized.
Thus, the initialization of _macro_internal_a may be deferred until something in a.cc is used. And since nothing in a.cc is in fact used, the initialization may not be performed at all.
In practice, linkers tend to discard object files that do not appear to be referenced by anything in the program (especially when those files come from libraries).

C++ - how to forward declare a class in the same file as main() - getting variable uses undefined class error

I'm aware of using function prototypes, and I was under the impression that forward class declarations could serve a similar purpose when main() and a class are in the same file. For example, I would have expected this would compile:
// main.cpp
#include <iostream>
// class prototypes
class MyClass;
int main(void)
{
MyClass myClass;
// do stuff with myClass here
return(0);
}
class MyClass
{
public:
int someInt;
double someDouble;
// more stuff here . . .
};
But on the MyClass myClass; line I'm getting the error 'myClass' uses undefined class 'MyClass'. What am I doing wrong?
P.S. I'm aware that I could cut/paste main() below all the classes it uses and that would fix the error, but I'd prefer to keep main() as the first function or class.
P.P.S. I'm aware that in any substantial size production program main(), .h content, and .cpp content would be in 3 separate files. In this case I'm attempting to write a small example or test program where main and a class(es) are in the same file.
Forward declarations can only be used via pointers or references.
Calling a constructor function doesn't fall into this category.
I'm aware that I could cut/paste main() below all the classes it uses and that would fix the error, but I'd prefer to keep main() as the first function or class.
That's why usually header files are used, instead of placing all the declarations and definitions in the main.cpp file.
I'm aware that in any substantial size production program main(), .h content, and .cpp content would be in 3 separate files. In this case I'm attempting to write a small example or test program where main and a class(es) are in the same file.
You should still stick to that idiom though, everything else would probably end up in a mess.
This doesn't use forward declarations but it partially addresses the spirit of a single main.cpp with your "main" at the top. I find this technique sometimes useful when you want to share something via an online C++ ide where a single file is much easier to deal with, and you want to focus on the action in main rather than implementation detail in helper structs/classes etc.
#include <iostream>
template<typename MyClass,typename MyOtherClass>
int main_()
{
MyClass a;
a.do_foo();
MyOtherClass b;
b.do_bar();
return 0;
}
struct MyClass
{
void do_foo() { std::cout << "MyClass: do_foo called\n"; }
};
struct MyOtherClass
{
void do_bar() { std::cout << "MyOtherClass: do_bar called\n"; }
};
int main()
{
return main_<MyClass,MyOtherClass>();
}

Doxygen and multiple #defines with the same name

This is a small experiment I tried out with Doxygen.
Say I have 6 files:
h1.h:
class A
{
public:
int func1();
}
f1Data.h:
#define val 10
f1.cpp:
#include "h1.h"
#include "f1Data.h"
int A::func1()
{
return val;
}
h2.h:
#include "h1.h"
class B: public A
{
public:
int func2();
};
f2Data.h
#define val 20
f2.cpp
#include "h2.h"
#include "f2Data.h"
int B::func2()
{
return val;
}
When I put GENERATE_XML=yes and CALL_GRAPH=yes in my configuration file and run doxygen, I see a bug in the generated XML file. In particular, I see that among the references of A::func1() the #defined value from f2Data.h is given instead of the #defined value from f1Data.h. This happens only when the name of the macro is same in both the files[In this case, val].
Can anyone tell me if this is a bug with doxygen or incorrect usage of doxygen on my part?
Doxygen makes a couple of assumptions while processing the code:
The headers are properly guarded (so they need to be processed only once).
Public symbol names are unique within a single project.
These are generally good programming practices, but not enforced by C as your example demonstrates.
If you do not adhering two the above rules, the output of doxygen can be incorrect.

Classes included within main() method

If I have some code like
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
...
#include "Class1.H"
#include "Class2.H"
...
}
Generally the main() method is the starting point of every application and the content within main() is to be executed. Am I right in the assumption that the content of all classes included into main() will be executed when main() is started?
greetings
Streight
No, no, NO.
First of all, you don't #include a file within a function. You #include a file at the beginning of a file, before other declarations. OK, you can use #include anywhere, but you really just shouldn't.
Second, #include doesn't execute anything. It's basically just a copy-paste operation. The contents of the #included file are (effectively) inserted exactly where you put the #include.
Third, if you're going to learn to program in C++, please consider picking up one of our recommended texts.
You commented:
I am working with the multiphaseEulerFoam Solver in OpenFoam and
inside the main() of multiphaseEulerFoam.C are classes included. I
assume that the classes have the right structure to be called in
main()
That may be the case, and I don't doubt that the classes have the right structure to be called from main. The problem is main will be malformed after the #includes because you'll have local class definitions and who knows what else within main.
Consider this. If you have a header:
foo.h
#ifndef FOO_H
#define FOO_H
class Foo
{
public:
Foo (const std::string& val)
:
mVal (val)
{
}
private:
std::string mVal;
};
#endif
And you try to include this in main:
main.cpp
int main()
{
#include "foo.h"
}
After preprocessing the #include directive, the resulting file that the compiler will try to compile will look like this:
preprocessed main.cpp
int main()
{
#ifndef FOO_H
#define FOO_H
class Foo
{
public:
Foo (const std::string& val)
:
mVal (val)
{
}
private:
std::string mVal;
};
#endif
}
This is all kinds of wrong. One, you can't declare local classes like this. Two, Foo won't be "executed", as you seem to assume.
main.cpp should look like this instead:
#include "foo.h"
int main()
{
}
#define and #include are just textual operations that take place during the 'preprocessing' phase of compilation, which is technically an optional phase. So you can mix and match them in all sorts of ways and as long as your preprocessor syntax is correct it will work.
However if you do redefine macros with #undef your code will be hard to follow because the same text could have different meanings in different places in the code.
For custom types typedef is much preferred where possible because you can still benefit from the type checking mechanism of the compiler and it is less error-prone because it is much less likely than #define macros to have unexpected side-effects on surrounding code.
Jim Blacklers Answer # #include inside the main () function
Try to avoid code like this. #include directive inserts contents of the file in its place.
You can simulate the result of your code by copy-pasting file content from Class1.H and Class2.H inside the main function.
Includes do not belong into any function or class method body, this is not a good idea to do.
No code will be executed unless you instantiate one of your classes in your header files.
Code is executed when:
Class is instantiated, then it's constructor method is called and the code inside the method is executed.
If there are variables of a class type inside your instantiated class, they will too run their constructors.
When you call a class method.
Try this example:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
class A
{ public:
A() { cout << "A constructor called" << endl; }
};
// A has no instances
class B
{ public:
B() { cout << "B constructor called" << endl; }
void test() { cout << "B test called" << endl; }
} bbb;
// bbb will be new class instance of B
bbb.test(); // example call of test method of bbb instance
B ccc; // another class instance of B
ccc.test(); // another call, this time of ccc instance
}
When you run it, you'll observe that:
there will be no instance of class A created. Nothing will be run from class A.
if you intantiate bbb and ccc, their constructors will be run. To run any other code you must first make a method, for example test and then call it.
This is an openFoam syntax he is correct in saying that open Foam treats #include like calling a function. In OpenFoam using #include Foo.H would run through the code not the class declaration that is done in a different hierarchy level. I would recommend all openFoam related question not be asked in a C++ forum because there is so much stuff built onto C++ in openFoam a lot the rules need to be broken to produce a working code.
You're only including declarations of classes. To execute their code, you need to create class instances (objects).
Also, you shouldn't write #include inside a function or a class method. More often than not it won't compile.

Building fail in Eclipse C/C++ but works well in commandline

[EDIT:]
The problem seems to belong to the functions, that take default-parameters. Without separating in *.h *.cpp and main file it worked as i implemented something like:
void foo(double db;); // deklaration
void foo(double db = 4){ cout << db;} // definition
int main(){
foo(); // usage
return 1;
}
But if I separate deklaration (-> *.h), definition (-> *.cpp) and usage (-> main) compiling suddenly returns an erro telling, there is no function foo(void), as it does not recognize that there is a default parameter. Any suggestions for that?
[/EDIT]
I wrote a c++-program running somehow like:
#include <iostream>
/* other includes */
using namespace std;
class my_class
{
private:
/* variables */
public:
/* function deklarations (just some short ones are only defined not declared) */
};
ostream& operator<<(ostream &out, my_class member);
/* Definition of the member functions and of the not-member-function */
int main()
{
/*some trial codes of member-functions */
return 1;
}
In one total file all compiled well in Eclipse and worked. Now I also wanted to try seperate in a main,class-header and class-cpp file (called them "my_class.h" and my_class.cpp").
For that i put in class-header:
#ifndef MY_CLASS_H_
#define MY_CLASS_H_
#include <iostream>
/* other includes */
using namespace std;
class my_class
{
/* ... */
};
ostream & operator<<(ostream &out, my_class member);
#endif /* MY_CLASS_H_ */
I put in class-cpp:
/* Definition of the member functions and of the not-member-function */
I put in main:
#include <iostream>
#include "my_class.h"
#include "my_class.cpp"
int main()
{
/*some trial codes of member-functions */
return 1;
}
This version is compiling with the g++ command in commandline:
g++ -o main.exe main.cpp
But it does not Compile in Eclipse. There it gives me the Error:
...\my_class.cpp:11.1: error: 'my_class' does not name a type
and same for all other member functions and variables. I tried to follow the instructions from here (I put just "my_class.h" in main and my_class.cpp, but then it did not compile in Eclipse and in command line (of course then with the my_class.cpp included). Eclipse gives me an Error, that makes me believe Eclipse does not see the "my_class.cpp":
...\main.cpp:288:47: error: no matching function for call to 'my_class::foo(...)'
where foo stands for the first member-function declard in the "my_class.cpp" file. First It gave the error for the constructor too, but as I put it's definition directly into the *.h file it worked well. (That's why I think, it does not see the "my_class.cpp" file)
I think I might be missing something very trivial as I am very new to Eclipse, but I don't see it. I tried to make my questions and information as short as possible.
default-parameters need to be declared in the header-file as it contains the declarations and not in the cpp file, which contains the definitions. (An additional mistake was to declare them in the definition). Found some help here. But why did it work, as I implemented it in one whole file?
Answer:
If default-parameter is in the cpp-file, the main file does not see it as
it looks only into the header-file
But if the whole code is included in just one file, the default-value
can be found in the definition too.
To explain myself:
I considered answering my question, because it gives a better overview of the whole question and the question will now not appear as unanswered. After reading this, I think that it is the right way to do so.