How to provide a callable object protected access like lambda in C++? - c++

I have a lambda that I need to convert into a callable object so that I can specialize the call operator. My impression has always been that a lambda with an void(auto) signature was equivalent to a callable struct roughly like this:
struct callable {
Foo & capture;
template< typename T >
void operator()( T arg ) { /* ... */ }
}
However, a lambda can access private and protected members when it is declared within a member function.
Here's a simplified example:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class A {
protected:
void a() { cout << "YES" << endl; }
};
class B : public A {
public:
void call1();
void call2();
};
struct callable {
B * mB;
void operator()() {
// This does not compile: 'void A::a()' is protected within this context
// mB->a();
}
};
void B::call1() {
// but then how does this access a() ?!
[&]() { a(); }();
}
void B::call2() {
callable c{ this };
c();
}
int main()
{
B b;
b.call1();
b.call2();
}
Is there any way to emulate that behavior in a callable struct, without declaring it in the header and making it a friend class? That seems problematic because I'm going to have a lot of different callables. I'm also just curious about it, because I was under the impression that lambdas were functionally identical to declaring a struct with a call operator.
Access rights of a lambda capturing this seems to say that the lambda has the same access as a local class. But in my case, I need to emulate a generic lambda, and local classes can't have template member functions.

You can still capture this and &B::a
struct callable {
B* mB;
void (A::*m)();
void operator()() const {
(mB->*m)();
}
};
void B::call2() {
callable c{ this, &B::a };
c();
}
Demo

You can make the struct callable a friend of B without providing a definition for it. Such a declaration doesn't even make the name visible until the real declaration is encountered:
class B : public A {
// ...
friend struct callable;
}
// ERROR: callable isn't visible here:
// callable *foo;
This can be extended to hack in a large number of friends with one declaration if brevity is really important:
class B : public A {
// ...
template<int> friend struct callable;
};
// In implementation:
template<>
struct callable<0> { /* ... */ };
template<>
struct callable<1> { /* ... */ };

Related

Function pointer inside class point to that class's member function

I am familiar with the function pointer to class member issue, which requires the signature to be ClassName::*FuncPtr, but I have this nuanced problem where I need the function pointer to be to a containing class member:
class F
{
public:
class Container;
typedef void (Container::*FuncPtr)();
F(FuncPtr fp) : m_fp(fp) {}
void Execute() { (*this.*m_fp)(); }
private:
FuncPtr m_fp;
};
class Container
{
public:
Container() : fps(&Container::Func) { }
void Func() { }
private:
F fps;
};
So, basically I want to create an object Container, which will send in its constructor a pointer to one of its member functions to the F object it contains, which should store that function pointer.
You need to move the forward declaration class Container; outside of F. Inside of F, it is declaring F::Container, which is a different type than Container.
Also, (*this.*m_fp)() (alternatively (this->*m_fp)()) won't work at all, as m_fp is expecting a Container object on the left side of .* (or ->*), but this is pointing at an F object instead. So Container will have to pass its this pointer to F's constructor to be stored along with m_fp.
Try this:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
class Container;
class F
{
public:
typedef void (Container::*FuncPtr)();
F(Container &c, FuncPtr fp) : m_c(c), m_fp(fp) {}
void Execute() { (m_c.*m_fp)(); }
private:
Container& m_c;
FuncPtr m_fp;
};
class Container
{
public:
Container() : fps(*this, &Container::Func) { }
void Func() { ... }
private:
F fps;
};
Online Demo

Using std::bind and std::function to use a class member function as callback for another class member routine

This may have been explored before, but I am not certain how it works out, and how t should in my particular case..
Essentially I have a class, with a callback defined as :
class Foo
{
public:
using someCallbackName = std::function<void(int)>;
void someFunc();
Foo(int, someCallBackName);
private :
someCallbackName m_callBack;
}
void Foo::someFunc()
{
m_callBack(1);
}
I used to call this in main() or by just referencing function of similar signature..
void someOtherFunction(int x)
{
cout << x;
}
int main()
{
Foo::someCallbackName callBack = someOtherFunction;
Foo foo(5, callBack);
}
I decided though, that I may need someOtherFunction as a class member, and put it as part of a class. However, using class member function someOtherFunction as a callback required making it static, which worked fine, but which would mean it wouldn't have access to non-static class members, which sort of defeated the purpose to put it in a class.
I tried using :
C++ callback using class member
and the struct access as given in :
https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/functional/bind
..but it does not seem to work, the std::bind to
Foo::someCallbackName callBack = std::bind(not_sure_what_to_use_here);
keeps giving errors saying no suitable conversion, which makes me think that somewhere the signature of callback or mechanism of using std::bind in the code is erroneous.
Keeping class Foo as is, how can m_callBack call someOtherFunction ?
You can "bind" the callback to a non-static member function of a particular object by using labmda:
class X {
public:
void someOtherFunction(int x) const { std::cout << x; }
};
int main()
X x;
Foo::someCallbackName callBack = [&x](int i){ x.someOtherFunction(i); };
Foo foo(5, callBack);
foo.someFunc();
}
Live demo: https://wandbox.org/permlink/fUmrnD6xn1xr7zn0.
To avoid dangling references after x is destroyed, you can employ shared pointers, as follows (note it is captured by value):
Foo::someCallbackName callBack;
{
auto ptr_x = std::make_shared<X>();
callBack = [ptr_x](int i){ ptr_x->someOtherFunction(i); };
}
Foo foo(5, callBack);
foo.someFunc();
Live demo: https://wandbox.org/permlink/23euPcuDUsDENdRe.
As #Daniel Langr said, you can use a lambda function.
Otherwise if you want to use a callback that is a member function you need to bind it to an object.
#include <functional>
#include <iostream>
class Foo
{
public:
using someCallbackName = std::function<void(int)>;
void someFunc();
Foo(int, someCallbackName);
private:
someCallbackName m_callBack;
};
class Bar
{
public:
void someOtherFunction(int x);
};
Foo::Foo(int i, someCallbackName cb)
{
m_callBack = cb;
someFunc();
}
void Foo::someFunc()
{
m_callBack(1);
}
void Bar::someOtherFunction(int x)
{
std::cout << x;
}
int main()
{
Bar bar;
Foo::someCallbackName callBack = std::bind(&Bar::someOtherFunction, &bar, std::placeholders::_1);
Foo foo(5, callBack);
}
Be careful about the lifetime of barwhen doing this.
Oone way to adress the lifetime issue is to make Foo responsible for the lifetime of Bar (this design pattern is called a composition).
#include <functional>
#include <iostream>
// If you declare both class in different files you may need to look into "forward declaration"
class Bar
{
public:
void someOtherFunction(int x);
};
class Foo
{
public:
using someCallbackName = std::function<void(int)>;
void someFunc();
Foo(int, someCallbackName);
private:
someCallbackName m_callBack;
Bar bar;
};
Foo::Foo(int i)
{
m_callBack = std::bind(&Bar::someOtherFunction, &bar, std::placeholders::_1);;
someFunc();
}
// someOtherFunction and someFunc are left unchanged
int main()
{
Foo foo(5);
}

How to get a C++ template class to invoke another class' methods?

I have class A that needs to invoke the member functions of template class B. Searching around I found this sample code on this site:
#include <iostream>
template<typename T, typename FType>
void bar(T& d, FType f) {
(d.*f)(); // call member function
}
struct foible
{
void say()
{
std::cout << "foible::say" << std::endl;
}
};
int main(void)
{
foible f;
bar(f, &foible::say); // types will be deduced automagically...
}
That came from this answer:
C++ method name as template parameter
But it doesn't do 100% of what I need. How would the above code be re-written so that:
method bar is a public member of a class and not a stand-alone
function
arguments d and f which are getting passed to method bar are
public members of the same class to which bar is a member,
allowing bar to be of type void (void)
object type foible is a class and not a structure (optional)?
[EDIT 1] My own attempt at the rewrite which meets points 1) and 2) is the following, which is wrong:
#include <iostream>
template<class T, void (T::*FType)()>
class foo {
public:
T obj;
FType f;
void bar(void) {
(obj.*f)(); // call member function
} // end bar
}; // end class foo
struct foible
{
void say()
{
std::cout << "foible::say" << std::endl;
}
};
int main(void)
{
foible f;
foo<foible, void (foible::*)()> c;
c.T = f;
c.Ftype = &foible::say;
c.bar(); // types will be deduced automagically...
}
My goal is to have an object of class type 'A' invoke the methods of object of class type 'B', so that when these methods execute the object of type 'B' can use its 'this' pointer to reference its local data. I want to use function pointers inside class type 'A' so that these only need to be specified once, and I don't want one class to have to be derived from another.
You are making that too complicated. Forget about pointers to methods. Currently there is no reason to use them.
Just do something like this:
template<typename F>
void bar(F f) {
doSomething();
f(someArg);
doSomething();
}
int main(void)
{
foible f;
bar([&f](auto x) { f.someMagicMethod(x); } );
return 0;
}
Note this approach is more flexible and readable than playing around with method pointers.
A step by step solution:
all examples uses the following class and foo function
#include <iostream>
class A
{
public:
void foo(){std::cout<<"foo"<<std::endl;}
};
this sample works without template: just calling the calling A::foo with pointer to A and pointer to A::foo:
class B
{
public:
A *a;
void (A::*p)();
void bar()
{
(a->*p)(); //call A::foo
}
};
int main(void)
{
A a;
B b;
b.a = &a;
b.p = &A::foo;
b.bar();
return 0;
}
The following sample added template class T, the pointer to foo method derived from T.
template <class T>
class C
{
public:
T* t;
void (T::*p)();
C(T &o) : t(&o){}
void bar()
{
(t->*p)();
}
};
int main(void)
{
A a;
C<A> c(a);
c.p = &A::foo;
c.bar();
return 0;
}
in the following, the method pointer was templated too, but I don't see how can it be used since you should know how many argument to give it, but anyway:
template <class T, typename F>
class D
{
public:
T* t;
F p;
D(T &o, F pf) : t(&o),p(pf){}
void bar()
{
(t->*p)();
}
};
int main(void)
{
A a;
D<A, void (A::*)()> d(a, &A::foo);
d.bar();
return 0;
}

C++ initializer list capabilities: call functions without initializing member?

This is a question on the syntax of C++ initializer lists.
Is it possible to call functions from initializer lists without them being arguments to member object constructors?
Code example listed below is paraphrased (paracoded?) from a similar situation at work.
The Situation
A member variable takes a pointer to a singleton as constructor
argument.
The member variable is constructed by initializer list in its containing class' constructor.
The singleton has not been created prior to the containing class being constructed.
The Code
#include <iostream>
#define LOG { std::cout << __PRETTY_FUNCTION__ << std::endl; }
namespace
{
template <class T>
class SingletonService
{
public:
static T* Instance() { LOG; return mpT; }
static void InstallInstance(T* pT) { LOG; mpT = pT; }
static void DeleteInstance() { if (mpT) delete mpT; }
protected:
static T* mpT;
};
template <class T>
T* SingletonService<T>::mpT = NULL;
class OneOfMe
{
public:
OneOfMe() { LOG; };
virtual ~OneOfMe() { };
};
class Container
{
public:
Container(OneOfMe* pObj) { LOG; /* Do something with pObj */ }
virtual ~Container() { }
};
int GenerateNum()
{
return 42;
}
class Baz
{
public:
Baz(int num) : mNum(num) { LOG; }
virtual ~Baz() { }
protected:
int mNum;
};
class Bar
{
public:
Bar() : mBaz(GenerateNum()) { LOG; } // Perfectly OK to call function that is argument to member object's non-default ctor.
virtual ~Bar() { };
protected:
Baz mBaz;
};
class Foo
{
public:
Foo()
: SingletonService<OneOfMe>::InstallInstance(new OneOfMe) // Compile error
, mContainer(SingletonService<OneOfMe>::Instance()) { }
virtual ~Foo() { };
protected:
Container mContainer;
};
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
LOG;
Bar bar;
SingletonService<OneOfMe>::InstallInstance(new OneOfMe); // This works.
Container container(SingletonService<OneOfMe>::Instance()); // And this works.
SingletonService<OneOfMe>::DeleteInstance();
return 0;
}
The compile error
>g++ main.cpp
main.cpp: In constructor ‘<unnamed>::Foo::Foo()’:
main.cpp:45: error: expected class-name before ‘(’ token
main.cpp:45: error: no matching function for call to
‘<unnamed>::Container::Container()’
main.cpp:37: note: candidates are:
<unnamed>::Container::Container(<unnamed>::OneOfMe*)
main.cpp:35: note:
<unnamed>::Container::Container(const<unnamed>::Container&)
main.cpp:45: error: expected ‘{’ before ‘(’ token
The Question
Is it syntactically possible to call a function from a class constructor's initializer list without being an argument to a member object's non-default constructor?
The question is for academic curiosity. I know at least one other solutions is to instantiate the singleton before creating the containing class.
You can utilize the comma operator.
In your example
class Foo
{
public:
Foo()
: mContainer((SingletonService<OneOfMe>::InstallInstance(new OneOfMe),
SingletonService<OneOfMe>::Instance()))
{}
virtual ~Foo();
protected:
Container mContainer;
};
Note the additional parentheses around the two expressions, otherwise these would be interpreted as two instead of one parameter.
Another approach to this particular problem could be to return the singleton from InstallInstance() as well, e.g.
template <class T>
class SingletonService {
public:
static T *InstallInstance(T *pT) { LOG; return mpT = pT; }
};
and then
class Foo {
public:
Foo()
: mContainer(SingletonService<OneOfMe>::InstallInstance(new OneOfMe)) {}
virtual ~Foo();
protected:
Container mContainer;
};
Is it possible to call functions from initializer lists without them being arguments to member object constructors?
Something like this maybe works as intended:
void f() {}
struct S {
S(): i{(f(), 0)} {}
int i;
};
int main() {
S s;
}
The basic idea is to rely on the comma operator. In this case, the value returned by the function (if any) is discarded and not used to initialize a member.
Of course, we still exploit the fact that a data member exists, so maybe it is not exactly what you are looking for.
If you want to get rid completely of data members, you can do something similar with a delegated constructor like in the following example:
void f() {}
class S {
S(int) {}
public:
S(): S{(f(), 0)} {}
};
int main() {
S s{};
}
No matters what's the return type of the invoked function. By means of the comma operator, the int value is used as a tag to dispatch the call to the right compiler and then it is discarded.

Is it possible to pass "this" by default?

Is it possible to pass this by default ?
Here is what I currently have
class A
{
public:
template<typename T>
void dowithT(T t) {}
};
class B
{
public:
A a;
B()
{
//Calling 'dowithT' with 'this'
a.dowithT(this);
}
};
This function requires passing this from the caller of the function every time. So I wondered if there is a way to encapsulate this task, so that you don't need to pass this to dowithT.
I tried to do something like this:
class A
{
public:
// '= this' doesn't compile
template<typename T>
void dowithT(T t = this) {}
};
class B
{
public:
A a;
B()
{
//Calling 'dowithT' without 'this'
a.dowithT();
}
};
Unfortunately, I can't use templates, so my first solution isn't an option.
Is this possible?
Edit: I gave a concrete answer with my own implementation below. Also with a few mor deatils of what I wanted in the end.
TL;DR No, this is not possible.
this is not the same type in every class, you can't generalize it, so no, not possible.
Additionally, what would this be if doWithT() was called from a non-member function? nullptr?
That's why it isn't possible. You have to use a template.
Instead of B having a member of type A, it can inherit from A, and use something like the "curiously recurring template pattern."
If you cannot make class A a template, you can still do it like so:
class A
{
protected:
template <class T>
void dowithT()
{
T* callerthis = static_cast<T*>(this);
// callerthis is the "this" pointer for the inheriting object
cout << "Foo";
}
};
class B : public A
{
public:
B()
{
dowithT<B>();
// Or A::dowithT<B>();
}
};
dowithT() must only be called by an inheriting class (hence I made it protected), with the template parameter the caller's own type, or you'll break everything.
You may achieve exactly what you want by using a private mixin class to provide the dowithT method that takes no arguments:
#include <iostream>
#include <typeinfo>
class A
{
public:
template<typename T>
void dowithT(T* t) {
std::cout << "Hello, World" << typeid(*t).name() << std::endl;
}
};
template<class Owner>
struct calls_a
{
void dowithT()
{
auto p = static_cast<Owner*>(this);
p->a.dowithT(p);
}
};
class B
: private calls_a<B>
{
friend calls_a<B>;
A a;
public:
B()
{
//Calling 'dowithT' with 'this'
dowithT();
}
};
int main()
{
B b;
}
No, it is not possible. There is nothing really special about this when used as an argument to a function taking T* (template or not), it's just a pointer like any other.
this A is different from this B. In your first code, this refers to the caller, while in the second this refers to the callee. Thus what you want to do isnt really possible.
Here's one possibility, which might, or might not suit your needs:
template<typename T>
class A
{
public:
A(T t) : t(t) {}
void dowithT()
{
cout << "Foo";
}
private:
T t;
};
class B
{
public:
A<B*> a;
B() : a(this)
{
a.dowithT();
}
};
You could use a private method in class B that acts as a relay, and use the constant nullptr as a special value for this, if you want to be able to pass other values:
class B
{
public:
A a;
B()
{
//Calling 'dowithT' with 'this'
innerdo();
}
private:
void innerdo(B *p = nullptr) {
if (p == nullptr) p = this;
a.dowithT(p);
}
};
If you only need to pass this it is even simpler
void innerdo() {
a.dowithT(this);
}
After trying out various things you mentioned, I'd like to give my answer/solution to the problem myself to clarify some details:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
#include <functional>
template <typename CallerType>
class AFunctionConstructor{
private:
virtual void abstr()
{}
public:
typedef void(CallerType::*CallerTypeFunc)();
function<void()>* constructFunction(CallerTypeFunc func)
{
CallerType* newMe = dynamic_cast<CallerType*> (this);
return new function<void()>(std::bind(func,newMe));
}
};
class A : public function<void()>
{
protected:
public:
A();
A(function<void()>* func) : function<void()>(*func)
{}
};
// now create ressource classes
// they provide functions to be called via an object of class A
class B : public AFunctionConstructor<B>
{
void foo()
{
cout << "Foo";
}
public:
A a;
B() : a(constructFunction(&B::foo)) {}
};
class C : public AFunctionConstructor < C >
{
void bar()
{
cout << "Bar";
}
public:
A a;
C() : a(constructFunction(&C::bar)) {}
};
int main()
{
B b;
C c;
b.a();
c.a();
cout << endl;
A* array[5];
array[0] = &b.a; //different functions with their ressources
array[1] = &c.a;
array[2] = &b.a;
array[3] = &c.a;
array[4] = &c.a;
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) //this usability i wanted to provide
{
(*(array[i]))();
}
getchar();
return 0;
}
Output :
FooBar
FooBarFooBarBar
This is as far as i can press it down concerning examples. But i guess this is unsafe code. I stumbled across possible other and simpler ways to achieve this (other uses of std::function and lambdas(which i might have tried to reinvent here partially it seems)).
At first I had tried to pass "this" to the bind function in function<void()>*AFunctionConstructor::constructFunction(CallerTypeFunc func)
,though, which i now get through the dynamic upcast.
Additionally the functionality of AFunctionConstructor was first supposed to be implemented in a Constructor of A.