Wrapping a unique_ptr with custom class in a container - c++

I took my first C++ class in 1990, long before your newfangled exceptions, STL and whatnot. Now I am writing a custom C++ container and I decided I would use this as an opportunity to learn some C++11 techniques and concepts, especially unique_ptr. Unfortunately I am having some trouble with the move semantics (I think) when inserting an element. Here is a very stripped down version of the code I am trying to get to compile:
#include <vector>
#include <memory>
struct Key {
int k_;
Key() : k_(0){};
explicit Key(int k) : k_(k){};
Key(const Key &o) : k_(o.k_) {}
Key(Key &&o) { k_ = std::move(o.k_); }
Key &operator=(const Key &o) {
k_ = o.k_;
return *this;
}
Key &operator=(Key &&o) {
k_ = std::move(o.k_);
return *this;
}
int get() const { return k_; }
};
template <class T> class CustomContainer {
public:
typedef std::pair<Key, std::unique_ptr<Key>> Record;
CustomContainer() {}
~CustomContainer(){};
bool insert(const Record &record) {
objects.emplace_back(std::move(record));
return true;
}
std::vector<Record> objects;
};
int main() {
CustomContainer<Key> q;
q.insert(CustomContainer<Key>::Record(Key(1), std::unique_ptr<Key>(new Key(1))));
}
I am inserting a pointer to a Key object to keep the code simple. In my actual application, Key is a little more complicated, T is not Key, and the Custom container has many more member functions, but this is enough to highlight the problem. When I just have a unique_ptr object in the vector, everything appears to work just fine. As soon as I add the pair, I get:
/usr/bin/../lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.9/../../../../include/c++/4.9/ext/new_allocator.h:120:23: error: call to
implicitly-deleted copy constructor of 'std::pair<Key, std::unique_ptr<Key, std::default_delete<Key> > >'
{ ::new((void *)__p) _Up(std::forward<_Args>(__args)...); }
^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
.
.
simple.cc:33:13: note: in instantiation of function template specialization 'std::vector<std::pair<Key,
std::unique_ptr<Key, std::default_delete<Key> > >, std::allocator<std::pair<Key, std::unique_ptr<Key,
std::default_delete<Key> > > > >::emplace_back<const std::pair<Key, std::unique_ptr<Key,
std::default_delete<Key> > > >' requested here
objects.emplace_back(std::move(record));
^
simple.cc:41:5: note: in instantiation of member function 'CustomContainer<Key>::insert' requested here
q.insert(CustomContainer<Key>::Record(Key(1), std::unique_ptr<Key>(new Key(1))));
I tried the same thing with a custom class instead of a pair and got the same error. I can't seem to get the compiler to call the move constructor instead of the copy constructor no matter how many std::move()s I add. What am I missing?

you're passing a const ref to a unique_ptr and then trying to copy from it (you can only move from a non-const). Pass the entire object and then move from that. Since you're initialising with a temporary (r-value reference), there will be an implicit move at the call site.
patch to fix your code is here:
template <class T> class CustomContainer {
public:
...
bool insert(Record record) { // <-- FIXED
...
}
};

Related

Initialize static std::map with non copyable value in a uniformed inline initialization

I'd like to initialize a static std::map where the value is not copyable. I'll call my class ValueClass. ValueClass has an std::unique_ptr as private member and I even ensure that ValueClass is not copyable by extending non_copyable that looks like the following:
class non_copyable {
public:
non_copyable() = default;
protected:
virtual ~non_copyable() = default;
private:
non_copyable(const non_copyable&) = delete;
non_copyable& operator=(const non_copyable&) = delete;
};
Now I'm trying to define a std::map using my class as value:
static std::map<int, ValueClass> value_classes = {
{0, ValueClass()},
{1, ValueClass() }
};
I get compilation error as initializer_list tries to copy this class.
I've tried to write my own make_map function whole this weekend during many hours to enable initialization without copying but I've failed. I've tried this, that and other but none of them compile with Visual Studio 15.9.4.
How can I initialize static std::map where copy is not forced, and the initialization is uniformed in one function, using Visual Studio compiler?
EDIT:
Here is the simplified version of the real life scenario where I'm trying to get this working (forgive me for lack of naming convention and inconsistency for cases):
#include <iostream>
#include <map>
class non_copyable {
public:
non_copyable() = default;
protected:
virtual ~non_copyable() = default;
private:
non_copyable(const non_copyable&) = delete;
non_copyable& operator=(const non_copyable&) = delete;
};
class InnerValueClass : public non_copyable
{
public:
InnerValueClass(const int inner_number) : inner_number_(inner_number) { }
private:
int inner_number_;
};
class ValueClass : public non_copyable
{
public:
ValueClass(const int number1) : number1_(number1) { }
ValueClass(const bool condition) : condition_(condition), inner_value_(
std::make_unique<InnerValueClass>(5)) { }
private:
int number1_{};
bool condition_{};
std::unique_ptr<InnerValueClass> inner_value_{};
};
/* Inline initialization of std::map copies, this is for initialization of non-copy types*/
template <typename TKey, typename TNonCopyableValue>
class make_map_by_moving
{
typedef std::map<TKey, TNonCopyableValue> map_type;
map_type map_;
public:
make_map_by_moving(const TKey& key, TNonCopyableValue&& val)
{
map_.emplace(key, std::move(val));
}
make_map_by_moving<TKey, TNonCopyableValue>& operator()(const TKey& key, TNonCopyableValue&& val)
{
map_.emplace(key, std::move(val));
return *this;
}
operator const map_type&()
{
return map_;
}
};
static std::map<int, ValueClass> map =
make_map_by_moving<int, ValueClass>
(1, ValueClass(5))
(2, ValueClass(true));
/* It goes on like this for hundreds of lines, so I really appreciate any
solution that leave me with a clean initialization rather than calling
functions on std::map */
int main() { }
Duplicate edit: The solution provided in that question does not work the class structure I have. I'm also looking for a solution to fix make_map_by_moving function in other words an inline initialization, the answer provided there is an imperative solution with function calls.
You cannot do this directly, because initializer_list has const backing for all of its elements - and they have to be copied from the initializer list into the container. That, obviously, requires copying. There's no way to emplace from an initializer list unfortunately.
In C++17, thanks to guaranteed copy elision, you can do this:
std::map<int, non_copyable> get() {
std::map<int, non_copyable> m;
m.emplace(std::piecewise_construct, std::tuple(0), std::tuple());
m.emplace(std::piecewise_construct, std::tuple(1), std::tuple());
return m;
}
std::map<int, non_copyable> value_classes = get();
This code performs no copies on non_copyable. We emplace construct inside of the map, and then beacuse get() is a prvalue, there is no copy/move from get() into value_classes. The m within get() is the object value_classes.
A slightly sneaker approach would be to abuse try_emplace() for this:
std::map<int, non_copyable> get() {
std::map<int, non_copyable> m;
m.try_emplace(0);
m.try_emplace(1);
return m;
}
try_emplace() takes the key type by itself (so you can just pass an int) and then the arguments for the value for emplacing separately, which makes for a much less verbose way of accomplishing this.
I think you need to create the object with insert_or_assign in a function and then return it:
std::map<int, ValueClass> populate()
{
std::map<int, ValueClass> value_classes;
value_classes.insert_or_assign(std::make_pair(0, ValueClass());
return value_classes;
}
And your initialization becomes:
std::map<int, ValueClass> value_classes = populate();
But then, this class has a virtual destructor, which means that you want actually may actually be a std::map<int, std::unique_ptr<ValueClass>> and not a map of actual objects (not sure what these objects are going to be used for?).
Edit after the question edit:
In this case, Barrys suggestion is the one to follow, usingemplace`:
std::map<int, ValueClass> populate()
{
std::map<int, ValueClass> value_classes;
value_classes.emplace(1, 5);
return value_classes;
}
Also include functional.
You simply can not use initializer_list to move an object from a non-copyable object.
Your class deletes the copy constructor & assignment operator. When you try to initialize your map or any other container with an initializer_list the initializer_list strictly forces you to reference an LValue and forbids RValue move or forward semantics.
Here is a very nice blog article that explains all of the details: knatten.org as well as a similar Q/A found here.

C++ type punning with classes

I am writing some C++ code which wraps the std::unordered_map type, where I want to hide the underlying type and present it as another type. More specifically, I want to wrap the std::pair from the std::unordered_map with another type. For the sake of argument, lets suppose the wrapper looks like this...
template <typename ActualT >
class wrapper final
{
private:
ActualT actual_;
public:
//Some constructors...
typename ActualT::first_type & get_first()
{
return actual_.first;
}
typename ActualT::second_type & get_second()
{
return actual_.second;
}
};
My reasoning is that since the wrapper class only has a member which is the exact type which it is wrapping, converting a reference from the original type to the wrapper type should be fine, but the type compatibility for structs states that the members should have the same type and name for the types to be compatible. Would using type-punning in this fashion potentially cause undefined behaviour or alignment issues?
using my_map = std::unordered_map < int, int >;
my_map m;
//Do some inserts...
reinterpret_cast<wrapper<typename my_map::value_type>&>(*m.find(10)).get_second() = 1.0;
I want client code to be allowed to access the entries of a map without knowing about the pair which is returned by the map. I also want to write a custom forward iterator, hence I need to return a reference to the entry. Would converting the reference to the pair to a reference to a class which act as a wrapper be considered dangerous?
Is there perhaps a better approach to accomplishing this?
This absolutely is undefined behaviour.
Seriously rethink your priorities.
Some free functions of the form
const my_map::key_type & MeaningfulNameHere(my_map::reference)
will go a long way to giving you meaningful names.
If you must wrap the standard library with different names, just use a non-explicit constructor, and store references.
template <typename Map>
class entry final
{
private:
typename Map::reference ref;
public:
entry(Map::reference ref) : ref(ref) {}
const typename Map::key_type & key()
{
return ref.first;
}
typename Map::mapped_type & value()
{
return ref.second;
}
};
If you really need the iterator to dereference to entry you can. But you can just implicitly instantiate entrys from the Map::references returned by Map::iterator::operator*, you don't need a custom iterator.
template <typename Map>
class entry_iterator
{
private:
typename Map::iterator it;
entry<Map> entry;
public:
entry<Map>& operator*() { return entry; }
entry_iterator operator++() { ++it; entry = *it; return *this; }
// etc
}
So you could clean this up, but I wouldn't suggest it:
#include <unordered_map>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
template <class Key, class Value>
class wrapper
{
public:
explicit wrapper(std::pair<const Key, Value>& kvp)
: _key{kvp.first}
, _value{kvp.second}
{}
const Key& key() const { return _key; }
Value& value() { return _value; }
private:
const Key& _key;
Value& _value;
};
int main()
{
unordered_map<int,int> m;
m[1] = 1;
m[3] = 3;
auto it = m.find(1);
wrapper w{*it};
w.value() = 30;
std::cout << w.key() << " -> " << w.value() << '\n';
}
The above effectively hides the pair from users of your class. It doesn't deal with exceptions (find() returning end() for example), and makes no guarantees about lifetimes. It's marginally better than what you have because it doesn't require a reinterpret_cast to an unrelated type.
However, map, unordered_map, set, etc. storing returning iterators as pairs is just part of library -- it's the canonical form and I don't see the benefit of shielding people from it.

Make a safe Reader/Writer vector

Inspired by this code, I am trying to implement a Reader/Writer vector that can safely call push_back() concurrently by threads.
Once this class is in place, I might then create method erase() by calling std::swap(), which swaps the target item and the last item and then erase the last item in the collection. In this way, I assume that the performance should be fair because deleting an item in the middle of collection does not invoke moving all items following the target item in the collection.
Unfortunately, the following code:
#include <vector>
#include <boost/thread/shared_mutex.hpp> //shared_mutex
#include <memory> //shared_ptr
#include <utility> //swap()
template <class T>
class readers_writer_vector
{
std::shared_ptr<boost::shared_mutex> pm;
std::vector<T> data;
public:
readers_writer_vector() :
pm(new std::shared_ptr<boost::shared_mutex>){}
void push_back(const T& item){
boost::unique_lock<boost::shared_mutex> lock(*pm); //wrong design
data.push_back(item);
}
};
int main()
{
readers_writer_vector<int> db;
db.push_back(1);
return 0;
}
yields the following compilation errors:
/usr/include/c++/4.9/bits/shared_ptr_base.h:871:39: error: cannot convert ‘std::shared_ptr<boost::shared_mutex>*’ to ‘boost::shared_mutex*’ in initialization
: _M_ptr(__p), _M_refcount(__p)
// g++ -std=c++11 -Iboost -lboost t.cpp
How do I fix it? Please!
EDIT:
The implementation task is far more complicated than I thought. It didn't take too long before I encountered the problem #Danh had warned. Now I get these errors:
t.cpp:28:8: note: ‘i::i(const i&)’ is implicitly deleted because the default definition would be ill-formed:
struct i {
^
t.cpp:28:8: error: use of deleted function ‘readers_writer_vector<T>::readers_writer_vector(const readers_writer_vector<T>&) [with T = z]’
t.cpp:13:2: note: declared here
readers_writer_vector(readers_writer_vector const&) = delete;
with this version:
template <class T>
class readers_writer_vector
{
booster::shared_mutex m;
std::vector<T> data;
public:
readers_writer_vector() = default;
readers_writer_vector(readers_writer_vector const&) = delete;
void push_back(const T& item){
booster::unique_lock<booster::shared_mutex> lock(m);
data.push_back(item);
}
typename std::vector<T>::reference back(){
return data.back();
}
};
struct z {
int zipcode;
std::string address;
};
struct i {
int id;
readers_writer_vector<z> zipcodes;
};
int main()
{
readers_writer_vector<i> db;
db.push_back(i());
auto &ii=db.back();
ii.id=1;
ii.zipcodes.push_back(z());
auto &zz=ii.zipcodes.back();
zz.zipcode=11;
zz.address="aa";
return 0;
}
In addition to fixing the existing errors, I will have to implement iterators for readers_writer_vector to make this class useful.
I am pondering whether or not I should continue...
Because pm is std::shared_ptr<boost::shared_mutex> not std::shared_ptr<boost::shared_mutex>*. You can use this:
readers_writer_vector() :
pm(std::make_shared<boost::shared_mutex>()){}
Anyway, why do you need pointer/smart pointer? This is better fit:
template <class T>
class readers_writer_vector
{
boost::shared_mutex pm;
std::vector<T> data;
public:
void push_back(const T& item){
boost::unique_lock<boost::shared_mutex> lock(pm);
data.push_back(item);
}
};
You're initialising pm with the wrong type; you effectively have
std::shared_ptr<> pm = new std::shared_ptr<>;
You can't assign a shared pointer from a pointer to shared pointer.
Replace the initialiser with
pm(new boost::shared_mutex)
or make the mutex a member directly, rather than using shared pointer.

std::priority_queue parameterised Comparison struct

I am working with std::priority_queue for the first time for a University assignment. The assignment is a simulation of process scheduling. I would like to pass a parameter to my Comparison struct constructor to initialise and I thought I saw it on another forum, but I'm unable to find the source again. I looked on SO before posting but I didn't see anything similar.
Here is my priority_queue:
/* schedules.hpp / .cpp */
#include "process.hpp"
namespace my = procschedassignment;
int tick = 0;
std::priority_queue<my::Process, _
std::vector<my::Process>,
PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext(tick) > rq;
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
line 100 - compiler errors are here
// ...
Here is my Comparison struct:
/* prioritise_process.hpp / .cpp */
#include "process.hpp"
namespace my = procschedassignment;
struct PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext {
public:
explicit PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext(int const& cpu_time)
: cpu_time_(cpu_time) {};
bool PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext::operator()(my::Process const& lhs,
my::Process const& rhs) {
bool ret;
if (lhs.wait_time() > cpu_time_) {
ret = (lhs.ResponseRatio() > rhs.ResponseRatio());
} else if (rhs.wait_time() > cpu_time_) {
ret = (lhs.ResponseRatio() < rhs.ResponseRatio());
}
return ret;
};
private:
const int cpu_time_;
};
The compiler errors I get with this code are:
../src/schedules.cpp:100: error: ‘time’ cannot appear in a constant-expression
../src/schedules.cpp:100: error: template argument 3 is invalid
../src/schedules.cpp:100: error: invalid type in declaration before ‘;’ token
Is it possible to have a parameterised Comparison struct with std::priority_queue?
I am new to STL so I apologise that I don't have a better understanding of what's happening here.
You are trying to pass an object as template-parameter. This will not work. You should provide your comparator as argument to the constructor, and the type of the comparator as template-argument.
// declare type
typedef std::priority_queue<my::Process,
std::vector<my::Process>,
PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext > process_queue;
// ^^^ just a type, no object ^^^
// create object
process_queue rq(PrioritiseHighestResponseRatioNext(tick));

Building boost::options from a string/boost::any map

I have a map which represents a configuration. It's a map of std::string and boost::any.
This map is initialized at the start and I'd like the user to be able to override these options on the command line.
What I'd love to do is build the program options from this map using the options_description::add_option() method. However, it takes a template argument po::value<> whereas all I have is boost::any.
So far, I just have the shell of the code. m_Config represents my configuration class, and getTuples() returns a std::map<std::string, Tuple>. TuplePair is a typedef of std::pair<std::string, Tuple> and the Tuple contains the boost::any I am interested in.
po::options_description desc;
std::for_each(m_Config.getTuples().begin(),
m_Config.getTuples().end(),
[&desc](const TuplePair& _pair)
{
// what goes here? :)
// desc.add_options() ( _pair.first, po::value<???>, "");
});
Is there a way to build it this way, or do I need to resort to doing it myself?
Thanks in advance!
boost::any is not applicable to your problem. It performs the most basic form of type erasure: storage and (type-safe) retrieval, and that's it. As you've seen, no other operations can be performed. As jhasse points out, you could just test every type you want to support, but this is a maintenance nightmare.
Better would be to expand upon the idea boost::any uses. Unfortunately this requires a bit of boiler-plate code. If you'd like to try it, there's a new Boost library being discussed right now on the mailing list (titled "[boost] RFC: type erasure") that is essentially a generalized type erasure utility: you define the operations you'd like your erased type to support, and it generates the proper utility type. (It can simulate boost::any, for example, by requiring the erased type be copy-constructible and type-safe, and can simulate boost::function<> by additionally requiring the type be callable.)
Aside from that, though, your best option is probably to write such a type yourself. I'll do it for you:
#include <boost/program_options.hpp>
#include <typeinfo>
#include <stdexcept>
namespace po = boost::program_options;
class any_option
{
public:
any_option() :
mContent(0) // no content
{}
template <typename T>
any_option(const T& value) :
mContent(new holder<T>(value))
{
// above is where the erasure happens,
// holder<T> inherits from our non-template
// base class, which will make virtual calls
// to the actual implementation; see below
}
any_option(const any_option& other) :
mContent(other.empty() ? 0 : other.mContent->clone())
{
// note we need an explicit clone method to copy,
// since with an erased type it's impossible
}
any_option& operator=(any_option other)
{
// copy-and-swap idiom is short and sweet
swap(*this, other);
return *this;
}
~any_option()
{
// delete our content when we're done
delete mContent;
}
bool empty() const
{
return !mContent;
}
friend void swap(any_option& first, any_option& second)
{
std::swap(first.mContent, second.mContent);
}
// now we define the interface we'd like to support through erasure:
// getting the data out if we know the type will be useful,
// just like boost::any. (defined as friend free-function)
template <typename T>
friend T* any_option_cast(any_option*);
// and the ability to query the type
const std::type_info& type() const
{
return mContent->type(); // call actual function
}
// we also want to be able to call options_description::add_option(),
// so we add a function that will do so (through a virtual call)
void add_option(po::options_description desc, const char* name)
{
mContent->add_option(desc, name); // call actual function
}
private:
// done with the interface, now we define the non-template base class,
// which has virtual functions where we need type-erased functionality
class placeholder
{
public:
virtual ~placeholder()
{
// allow deletion through base with virtual destructor
}
// the interface needed to support any_option operations:
// need to be able to clone the stored value
virtual placeholder* clone() const = 0;
// need to be able to test the stored type, for safe casts
virtual const std::type_info& type() const = 0;
// and need to be able to perform add_option with type info
virtual void add_option(po::options_description desc,
const char* name) = 0;
};
// and the template derived class, which will support the interface
template <typename T>
class holder : public placeholder
{
public:
holder(const T& value) :
mValue(value)
{}
// implement the required interface:
placeholder* clone() const
{
return new holder<T>(mValue);
}
const std::type_info& type() const
{
return typeid(mValue);
}
void add_option(po::options_description desc, const char* name)
{
desc.add_options()(name, po::value<T>(), "");
}
// finally, we have a direct value accessor
T& value()
{
return mValue;
}
private:
T mValue;
// noncopyable, use cloning interface
holder(const holder&);
holder& operator=(const holder&);
};
// finally, we store a pointer to the base class
placeholder* mContent;
};
class bad_any_option_cast :
public std::bad_cast
{
public:
const char* what() const throw()
{
return "bad_any_option_cast: failed conversion";
}
};
template <typename T>
T* any_option_cast(any_option* anyOption)
{
typedef any_option::holder<T> holder;
return anyOption.type() == typeid(T) ?
&static_cast<holder*>(anyOption.mContent)->value() : 0;
}
template <typename T>
const T* any_option_cast(const any_option* anyOption)
{
// none of the operations in non-const any_option_cast
// are mutating, so this is safe and simple (constness
// is restored to the return value automatically)
return any_option_cast<T>(const_cast<any_option*>(anyOption));
}
template <typename T>
T& any_option_cast(any_option& anyOption)
{
T* result = any_option_cast(&anyOption);
if (!result)
throw bad_any_option_cast();
return *result;
}
template <typename T>
const T& any_option_cast(const any_option& anyOption)
{
return any_option_cast<T>(const_cast<any_option&>(anyOption));
}
// NOTE: My casting operator has slightly different use than
// that of boost::any. Namely, it automatically returns a reference
// to the stored value, so you don't need to (and cannot) specify it.
// If you liked the old way, feel free to peek into their source.
#include <boost/foreach.hpp>
#include <map>
int main()
{
// (it's a good exercise to step through this with
// a debugger to see how it all comes together)
typedef std::map<std::string, any_option> map_type;
typedef map_type::value_type pair_type;
map_type m;
m.insert(std::make_pair("int", any_option(5)));
m.insert(std::make_pair("double", any_option(3.14)));
po::options_description desc;
BOOST_FOREACH(pair_type& pair, m)
{
pair.second.add_option(desc, pair.first.c_str());
}
// etc.
}
Let me know if something is unclear. :)
template<class T>
bool any_is(const boost::any& a)
{
try
{
boost::any_cast<const T&>(a);
return true;
}
catch(boost::bad_any_cast&)
{
return false;
}
}
// ...
po::options_description desc;
std::for_each(m_Config.getTuples().begin(),
m_Config.getTuples().end(),
[&desc](const TuplePair& _pair)
{
if(any_is<int>(_pair.first))
{
desc.add_options() { _pair.first, po::value<int>, ""};
}
else if(any_is<std::string>(_pair.first))
{
desc.add_options() { _pair.first, po::value<std::string>, ""};
}
else
{
// ...
}
});
// ...
If you have more than a handful of types consider using typelists.