c++ how to implement a switch between class members - c++

Question

I am very new to c++ so I am trying to get a feeling of how to do things the right way in c++. I am having a class that uses one of two members. which one gets determined at instantiation. It looks something like
main() {
shared_pointer<A> a = make_shared<A>();
if ( checkSomething ) {
a->setB(make_shared<B>());
} else {
a->setC(make_shared<C>());
}
a->doStuff();
class A {
public:
doStuff() {
/*here I want to do something like call
m_b->doStuff() if this pointer is set and m_c->doStuff() if
that pointer is set.*/
}
setB( B* p ) { m_b = p; }
setC( C* p ) { m_c = p; }
B* m_b;
C* m_c;
}
}
B and C are some classes with doStuff() member function
There are many members like doStuff. Ideally I would avoid checking for nullptr in each of them. What is the best/most efficient/fastest way to create a switch between those two members?
Is there a way to use a static pointer so that I have a member
static **int m_switch;
and do something like
m_switch = condition ? &m_b : &m_c;
and call
*m_switch->doStuff();
Does the compiler here also replace the extra pointer hop because it is a static?
Is there any other smart way to do those switches?

Answer 1

Normally, class A would be an interface class, which both B and C would inherit and implement. But it sounds like you cannot do this for whatever reason.
Since you want to emulate this, you can start by making the interface:
class A_interface
{
public:
virtual void doStuff() = 0;
virtual void doThings() = 0;
virtual void doBeDoBeDo() = 0;
};
And then you make a template wrapper:
template< class T >
class A : public A_interface
{
public:
void doStuff() override { target.doStuff(); }
void doThings() override { target.doThings(); }
void doBeDoBeDo() override { target.doBeDoBeDo(); }
private:
T target;
};
This essentially does half of what your own example class A was trying to do, but now you can use a common interface. All you need to do is construct the correct templated version you want:
std::shared_ptr<A_interface> a;
if( checkSomething ) {
a = std::make_shared<A<B>>();
} else {
a = std::make_shared<A<C>>();
}
a->doStuff();

Answer 2

You need to have both members implement a common interface to use them similarly. But in order to do that, you need to define the interface and relay the calls to the B and C classes.
// existing classes
class B
{
public:
void doStuff() { std::cout << "B"; }
};
class C
{
public:
void doStuff() { std::cout << "C"; }
};
// define your interface
class I
{
public:
virtual void doStuff() = 0;
};
// new classes
class D : public B, public I
{
public:
void doStuff() override { B::doStuff(); }
};
class E : public C, public I
{
public:
void doStuff() override { C::doStuff(); }
};
// your A class
class A
{
public:
D* b = nullptr; // now type D
E* c = nullptr; // now type E
// your toggle
I* getActive()
{
if (b)
return b;
else
return c;
}
// simple doStuff() function
void doStuff()
{
getActive()->doStuff();
}
};
int main()
{
A a;
if (true)
a.b = new D; // need to initialize as D
else
a.c = new E; // need to initialize as E
a.doStuff(); // prints B
}
But typing this up made me realize that defining D and E could get really tiresome and against what you're trying to save. However, you can define a template to create them like #paddy has done.

Answer 3

There's no one-size-fits-all solution for your problem. What to use depends on your particular problem. A few possible answers:
Interfaces
Strategy Pattern
Pointers (to hold a function or class which implements doStuff)
An interface is like a contract. Any class which inherits from the interface must implement its members. For instance,
class IDoesStuff
{
public:
virtual ~IDoesStuff() {};
virtual void DoStuff() = 0;
};
Can now be used by other classes:
class Foo : public IDoesStuff
{
public:
virtual void DoStuff()
{
// ....
}
};
class Bar : public IDoesStuff
{
public:
virtual void DoStuff()
{
// ....
}
};
And now, in general, one may do:
Foo foo;
IDoesStuff *stuffDoer= &foo;
stuffDoer->doStuff();
This can be used in your particular use case as follows:
class A
{
IDoesStuff *stuffDoer; // Initialize this at some point.
public:
void doStuff() { stuffDoer->doStuff(); }
};

Answer 4

First you must change your memebr variables m_b and m_c to std::shared_ptr.
Add a member variable of type std::function(void()) to hold the target function you want to call. In your sample it is do_stuf.
In your setter functions you can bind target function to your std::function and in do_stuf just call std::function.
(You need a C++11 compiler)
class B
{
public:
void doStuff()
{
}
};
class C
{
public:
void doStuff()
{
}
};
class A
{
public:
void doStuff()
{
m_target_function();
}
void setB(std::shared_ptr<B> p)
{
m_b = p;
m_target_function = std::bind(&B::doStuff, m_b.get());
}
void setC(std::shared_ptr<C> p)
{
m_c = p;
m_target_function = std::bind(&C::doStuff, m_c.get());
}
std::shared_ptr<B> m_b;
std::shared_ptr<C> m_c;
std::function<void()> m_target_function;
};
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{
std::shared_ptr<A> a = std::make_shared<A>();
bool use_B = false;
if (use_B)
{
a->setB(std::make_shared<B>());
}
else
{
a->setC(std::make_shared<C>());
}
a->doStuff();
}