C++ Declaring arrays in class and declaring 2d arrays in class - c++

Question

I'm new with using classes and I encountered a problem while delcaring an array into a class. I want to initialize a char array for text limited to 50 characters and then replace the text with a function.
#ifndef MAP_H
#define MAP_H
#include "Sprite.h"
#include <SFML/Graphics.hpp>
#include <iostream>
class Map : public sprite
{
private:
char mapname[50];
int columnnumber;
int linenumber;
char casestatematricia[];
public:
void setmapname(char newmapname[50]);
void battlespace(int column, int line);
void setcasevalue(int col, int line, char value);
void printcasematricia();
};
#endif
By the way I could initialize my 2d array like that
char casestatematricia[][];
I want later to make this 2d array dynamic where I enter a column number and a line number like that
casestatematricia[linenumber][columnnumber]
to create a battlefield.
this is the cpp code so that you have an idea of what I want to do.
#include "Map.h"
#include <SFML/Graphics.hpp>
#include <iostream>
using namespace sf;
void Map::setmapname(char newmapname[50])
{
this->mapname = newmapname;
}
void Map::battlespace(int column, int line)
{
}
void Map::setcasevalue(int col, int line, char value)
{
}
void Map::printcasematricia()
{
}
thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Consider following common practice on this one.
Most (e.g. numerical) libraries don't use 2D arrays inside classes.
They use dynamically allocated 1D arrays and overload the () or [] operator to access the right elements in a 2D-like fashion.
So on the outside you never can tell that you're actually dealing with consecutive storage, it looks like a 2D array.
In this way arrays are easier to resize, more efficient to store, transpose and reshape.

Answer 2

Just a proposition for your problem:
class Map : public sprite
{
private:
std::string mapname;
int columnnumber;
int linenumber;
std::vector<char> casestatematricia;
static constexpr std::size_t maxRow = 50;
static constexpr std::size_t maxCol = 50;
public:
Map():
casestatematricia(maxRow * maxCol, 0)
{}
void setmapname(std::string newmapname)
{
if (newmapname.size() > 50)
{
// Manage error if you really need no more 50 characters..
// Or just troncate when you serialize!
}
mapname = newmapname;
}
void battlespace(int col, int row);
void setcasevalue(int col, int row, char value)
{
// check that col and line are between 0 and max{Row|Column} - 1
casestatematricia[row * maxRow + col] = value;
}
void printcasematricia()
{
for (std::size_t row = 0; row < maxRow; ++row)
{
for (std::size_t col = 0; col < maxCol; ++col)
{
char currentCell = casestatematricia[row * maxRow + col];
}
}
}
};
For access to 1D array like a 2D array, take a look at Access a 1D array as a 2D array in C++.
When you think about serialization, I guess you want to save it to a file. Just a advice: don't store raw memory to a file just to "save" time when your relaunch your soft. You just have a non portable solution! And seriously, with power of your computer, you don't have to be worry about time to load from file!
I propose you to add 2 methods in your class to save Map into file
void dump(std::ostream &os)
{
os << mapname << "\n";
std::size_t currentRow = 0;
for(auto c: casestatematricia)
{
os << static_cast<int>(c) << " ";
++currentRow;
if (currentRow >= maxRow)
{
currentRow = 0;
os << "\n";
}
}
}
void load(std::istream &is)
{
std::string line;
std::getline(is, line);
mapname = line;
std::size_t current_cell = 0;
while(std::getline(is, line))
{
std::istringstream is(line);
while(!is.eof())
{
char c;
is >> c;
casestatematricia[current_cell] = c;
++current_cell;
}
}
}
This solution is only given for example. They doesn't manage error and I have choose to store it in ASCII in file. You can change to store in binary, but, don't use direct write of raw memory. You can take a look at C - serialization techniques (just have to translate to C++). But please, don't use memcpy or similar technique to serialize

Answer 3

I hope I get this right. You have two questions. You want know how to assign the value of char mapname[50]; via void setmapname(char newmapname[50]);. And you want to know how to create a dynamic size 2D array.
I hope you are comfortable with pointers because in both cases, you need it.
For the first question, I would like to first correct your understanding of void setmapname(char newmapname[50]);. C++ functions do not take in array. It take in the pointer to the array. So it is as good as writing void setmapname(char *newmapname);. For better understanding, go to Passing Arrays to Function in C++
With that, I am going to change the function to read in the length of the new map name. And to assign mapname, just use a loop to copy each of the char.
void setmapname(char *newmapname, int length) {
// ensure that the string passing in is not
// more that what mapname can hold.
length = length < 50 ? length : 50;
// loop each value and assign one by one.
for(int i = 0; i < length; ++i) {
mapname[i] = newmapname[i];
}
}
For the second question, you can use vector like what was proposed by Garf365 need to use but I prefer to just use pointer and I will use 1D array to represent 2d battlefield. (You can read the link Garf365 provide).
// Declare like this
char *casestatematricia; // remember to initialize this to 0.
// Create the battlefield
void Map::battlespace(int column, int line) {
columnnumber = column;
linenumber = line;
// Clear the previous battlefield.
clearspace();
// Creating the battlefield
casestatematricia = new char[column * line];
// initialise casestatematricia...
}
// Call this after you done using the battlefield
void Map::clearspace() {
if (!casestatematricia) return;
delete [] casestatematricia;
casestatematricia = 0;
}
Just remember to call clearspace() when you are no longer using it.
Just for your benefit, this is how you create a dynamic size 2D array
// Declare like this
char **casestatematricia; // remember to initialize this to 0.
// Create the battlefield
void Map::battlespace(int column, int line) {
columnnumber = column;
linenumber = line;
// Clear the previous battlefield.
clearspace();
// Creating the battlefield
casestatematricia = new char*[column];
for (int i = 0; i < column; ++i) {
casestatematricia[i] = new char[line];
}
// initialise casestatematricia...
}
// Call this after you done using the battlefield
void Map::clearspace() {
if (!casestatematricia) return;
for(int i = 0; i < columnnumber; ++i) {
delete [] casestatematricia[i];
}
delete [][] casestatematricia;
casestatematricia = 0;
}
Hope this help.
PS: If you need to serialize the string, you can to use pascal string format so that you can support string with variable length. e.g. "11hello world", or "3foo".