Why won't this work? C++ - c++

I've recently started learning the basics of C++ by going through the book written on the language by Bjarne Stroustrup, and I've ran into a problem at the section where he goes over creating structures using Vector.
The error produced says that the variable or field 'vector_init' declared void,
'Vector' was not declared in this scope, 'v' was not declared in this scope, and expected primary-expression before 'int'
using namespace std;
int main(int argc, char const *argv[])
{
struct Vector {
int sz; // number of elements
double* elem; // pointer to elements
};
Vector my_first_vector;
return 0;
}
void vector_init(Vector& v, int s)
{
v.elem = new double[s]; // allocate an array of s doubles
v.sz = s;
}

The error message means exactly what it says; you've declared the struct Vector within the scope of main. Outside of main, no other functions know what Vector is. To fix this, move your definition of struct Vector to outside the main block.

You should move :
struct Vector {
int sz; // number of elements
double* elem; // pointer to elements
};
outside and above main

There are a few problems with your code... below is a fix that allows it to compile: you need to declare the struct Vector outside the main.
using namespace std; // <~ this is bad practice. Try to not use it (or minimize its scope)
struct Vector {
int sz; // number of elements
double* elem; // pointer to elements
};
int main(int argc, char const *argv[])
{
Vector my_first_vector;
return 0;
}
void vector_init(Vector& v, int s)
{
v.elem = new double[s]; // allocate an array of s doubles (also leaks memory)
v.sz = s;
}
I hope you plan to write a vector_clear method which will delete [] v.elem. Otherwise your program is going to leak memory.

Related

How to initialize C-style char array and int array via member initialization list through constructor?

Code-1
#include <iostream>
#include <cstring>
class A
{
private:
int p[5];
char str[20];
public:
A(int *q, char *s)
{
for(int i=0; i<=4; i++)
{
p[i]=*q;
q++;
}
strcpy(str,s);
}
};
int main()
{
int r[5]={2, 3, 5, 7, 11};
char ch[]="bonaparte";
A a1(r, ch);
return 0;
}
Output ( Runs smoothly but just gives warning )
Clang-Tidy: Constructor does not initialize
these fields: p, str
Why this warning is coming. I know that I am assigning in constructor not initializing but When I create simple class which just have int type variable and If I assign that in this same way it didn't give such warning ?
Code-2
#include <iostream>
#include <cstring>
class A
{
private:
int p[5];
char str[20];
public:
A(int *q, char *s): // just not getting how we can do this initialization
{
}
};
int main()
{
int r[5]={2, 3, 5, 7, 11};
char ch[]="bonaparte";
A a1(r, ch);
return 0;
}
Is there any way to initialize int type or C-style char array via member initialization list through constructor.
I know that I can replace char array with string but I want to know a way for C-style char array.
Arrays in C++ are not the friendliest bit of the language.
Specialy not when you let them decay to pointers (size information is lost).
So I prefer to use std::array, std::vector and std::string since these standard library classes help you prevent all sort of memory bugs.
About your initialization question, yes you can only assign in the body of the constructor. This is another reason I like std::array/std::vector better you can use them in the initializer. I also consider ::strcpy to be a left over from 'C' not to be used anymore in current C++. Have fun learning more C++ :)
#include <iostream>
//#include <cstring> // <== don't use this. (If you want to use strings in C++ use <string>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
// try to learn not to use what is called
// "magic numbers" in your source code!
// define numbers you are going to use
//
const std::size_t int_array_size = 5;
const std::size_t string_array_size = 20;
// we don't know the length of the string yet, but we can let
// the compiler figure it out and we make a templated constructor
class A
{
public:
// pass arrays in by const, you're not supposed to
// change their content.
A(const int (&p)[int_array_size], const char (&str)[string_array_size])
{
// I always use std::size_t for indices in arrays (not supposed to be <0)
for (/*int*/ std::size_t i = 0; i < int_array_size; i++) m_p[i] = p[i];
// don't use ::strcpy it's not "safe". It depends on correct input
// like the string having a trailing 0
for (std::size_t i = 0; i < string_array_size; i++) m_str[i] = str[i];
}
private:
int m_p[int_array_size];
char m_str[string_array_size];
};
// this is one way I would code it.
// using C++ with variable length array (so I use std::vector, for fixed length use std::array)
class B
{
public:
B(const std::vector<int>& p, const std::string& str) :
m_p{ p },
m_str{ str }
{
}
private:
std::vector<int> m_p; // or std::array<int,int_array_size>
std::string m_str;
};
int main()
{
// I prefer to use aggregate initialization (https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/aggregate_initialization)
int r[int_array_size]{ 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 };
// The next line is defined behavior. C++ standard says all remaining
// values of ch after bonaparte will be 0
char ch[string_array_size]{ "bonaparte" };
A a1(r, ch);
B b1{ {1,2,3}, "hello world!" };
return 0;
}

Indexing matrix element member of struct

I'm trying to index an element from a matrix, which has been declared by creating a vector of vectors inside a struct.
Here's my code:
#include <vector>
using namespace std;
const int MAX_DIM = 1000;
struct TestStruct{
int MAX_DIM;
vector<vector<int> > matrix (int MAX_DIM, vector<int>(int MAX_DIM));
};
int main(){
TestStruct ts;
ts.MAX_DIM = 100;
ts.matriz[0][0] = 1;
return 0;
}
While compiling I've recieved the following error:
test.cpp:14:17: error: invalid types ‘<unresolved overloaded function type>[int]’ for array subscript
mierda.matriz[0][0] = 1;
Btw, do you know any other "cleaner" way to declare the matrix (without using anything else than vector from the class Vector)?
Thanks in advance!
The problem in your code and your logic is that you think the line:
vector<vector<int> > matrix (int MAX_DIM, vector<int>(int MAX_DIM));
Creates a matrix inside your struct.
In fact, you just declared a function named matrix that returns a vector<vector<int>. To have a member object inside your struct, you need to delete the parentheses, as such:
vector<vector<int> > matrix;
I assume you want to first specify the MAX_DIM value and then create a matrix based on that value. I would either recommend creating a constructor that takes an int as argument to assign that value to MAX_DIM and then create a matrix based on that value, or to create an initialise() function that needs to be called before you access the matrix.
First, preferable solution:
using namespace std;
const int MAX_DIM = 1000;
struct TestStruct{
TestStruct(int MD){
MAX_DIM = MD;
matrix = vector<vector<int>>(MD, vector<int>(MD));
}
int MAX_DIM;
vector<vector<int>> matrix;
};
int main(){
TestStruct ts(100); // matrix 100 by 100
ts.matrix[0][0] = 1; // works
return 0;
}
Or, if you don't want to deal with constructors:
using namespace std;
const int MAX_DIM = 1000;
struct TestStruct{
int MAX_DIM;
vector<vector<int>> matrix;
void initialise(){
matrix = vector<vector<int>>(MAX_DIM, vector<int>(MAX_DIM));
}
};
int main(){
TestStruct ts;
ts.MAX_DIM = 100; // specify the size
ts.initialise(); // construct the matrix
ts.matrix[0][0] = 1; // works again
return 0;
}
Note that the first solution requires less code and is more readable inside the main function. If you choose the second one, it will be easy to forget to either assign value to MAX_DIM or to call initialise().

Segmentation Fault query

C++ newbie here. This may be stupid but I am getting segmentation fault while assigning value to struct in a class. Any pointers?
#include <iostream>
#include<string>
using namespace std;
struct s { std::string s;};
class A {
public:
A(){}
~A(){}
struct s *ss[10];
};
int main(){
A a;
a.ss[0]->s = "test";
cout<<a.ss[0]->s<<endl;
return 0;
}
The pointer a.ss[0] is not allocated.
You could for example allocate it in the constructor of class A, like this:
A(){ ss[0] = new s; }
I'm not sure what the purpose of your code is.
P.S.: Don't forget to delete the allocated memory once it is not needed anymore. For example:
~A(){ delete ss[0]; }
Alternatively, as LogicStuff pointed out, you can rewrite the array of pointers to a regular array, like this:
struct s ss[10];
struct s *ss[10];
What this line declares is an array of 10 pointers to struct s, not 10 objects of type struct s. Those 10 pointers point nowhere, to make them useful you have to actually allocate memory for and create those object (and clean them up when you're done).
This is where constructors and destructors come in handy:
class A {
public:
A()
{
for(int i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
ss[i] = new s;
}
}
~A()
{
for(int i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
delete ss[i];
}
}
struct s *ss[10];
};
Now each of those 10 pointers in your array point to valid struct s objects, so you can safely access them:
A a;
a.ss[0]->s = "test";
When you say
/*struct*/ s *ss[10]; // P.S. you don't need "struct" here as in C
the compiler understands that it should reserve space in your class for 10 pointers to objects of type s. It doesn't make sure that those pointers point to anything valid, though.
Actually, the safest thing would be to avoid raw arrays entirely and use a vector. Your life will be much easier.
struct A {
// note no need to declare default ctor and dtor here
std::vector<s> ss{10}; // initialize with 10 default-constructed strings
};
// then in main()
A a;
a.ss[0].s = "test";
s* p = &ss[0]; // if you need a pointer; fine so long as vector doesn't change

beginner question about arrays in structs in C++

I would like to create a struct and use it inside an other struct as an array. My problem is that I don't know how big array I would like to allocate, I will only know once I am in a function. I mean I would like to use [] instead of a pre-determined constant, like 10000.
I think if you look at my code it would be self-explanatory. Can you help me how to make this code work? Moreover it would help me a lot if you could tell me what is the name of the topic I am asking about (is it dynamic arrays?) and that where can I find articles/tutorials about this topic.
Here is the code with my broken way of thinking about arrays in structs.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
struct keyframe {
bool a;
int b;
int c;
};
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe keyframes[];
};
int main() {
keyframe_file my_file;
my_file.num_views = 1;
my_file.num_keyframes = 6;
my_file.keyframes = new keyframe[my_file.num_keyframes];
my_file.keyframes[0].a = true;
my_file.keyframes[0].b = 5;
my_file.keyframes[0].c = 9;
return 0;
}
Use a std::vector.
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
std::vector<keyframe> keyframes;
};
int main() {
keyframe_file frame;
frame.keyframes.resize(...);
}
If it suits your purpose, an STL container (std::vector) is easily one of the best options - the less memory management you have to worry about, the better.
In any case, look at the struct definition Nawaz posted above - that's exactly how it should be. Dynamic arrays in C++ are simply pointers. You have, however, allocated the memory properly in your code, but you haven't freed it (so it's leaking). Since you allocated with new [] you will need to
delete [] my_file.keyframes;
in order to free the memory properly.
Resizing is another issue: with a smart implementation, array resizing can be an amortized O(1) operation which is nice. When you resize, it will always take you O(n) since you need to copy all the elements into a new array of different size, but if you do it half as much, it becomes O(1). That is, double the array each time you need to resize. Here is a very quick example
void resize()
{
if(numOfElementsInArray == sizeOfArray)
{
ArrayType * arr = new ArrayType[sizeOfArray*2]; // Allocate a double size array
for(int i=0;i<sizeOfArray;++i)
currentArray[i] = arr[i];
delete [] currentArray; // Free memory in old array
currentArray = arr; // Set the array to our new one
sizeOfArray *= 2; // Double the size
}
}
NOTE: The example above does not take into account space complexity; that said, if you have 5000 elements, and remove all but 5, this method with not shrink it (which is probably what you will want to do for all practical purposes)
Your code appears to be almost correct, except for two things:
keyframes needs to be a keyframe* rather than a keyframe[]
You forgot to delete the memory you allocated
That is incomplete type. In C++, array must be provided with size, and the size must be known at compile time itself.
You're using new, with which you should be using pointer.
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe *keyframes;
};
But std::vector<keyframe> is still a better choice, as #DeadMG already suggested.
By the way, the first two members are const in the struct, that means, they cannot be assigned value, as you're doing in your code. They must be initialized with values you want them to hold. That implies, now with vector, you've to include a constructor, to initialize the struct, as the struct is no more a POD.
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views; //const member
const int num_keyframes; //const member
std::vector<keyframe> keyframes;
keyframe_file(int nviews, int nkeyframes)
: num_views(nviews), num_keyframes(nkeyframes), keyframes(nkeyframes){}
};
keyframe_file my_file(1,6); //done!
The suggested "Vector" is they safest way to do it.
But if it is only about making your code work (without resizing and stuff) the following should be working:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
struct keyframe {
bool a;
int b;
int c;
};
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe* keyframes;
};
int main()
{
keyframe_file my_file = {1, 6}; // initialization needed bcause of 'const int'
my_file.keyframes = new keyframe[my_file.num_keyframes];
for (int i = 0; i < my_file.num_keyframes; i++)
{
my_file.keyframes[i].a = true;
my_file.keyframes[i].b = 5 + i;
my_file.keyframes[i].c = 9 - i;
}
return 0;
}
somewhere in your code, when you are done using the array you have to call delete [] my_file.keyframes; as already mentioned.
There's a basic rule when using dynamic arrays in c++, especially when using it inside structs or classes, and it's to delete what you no longer need.
If you want to make your struct dynamic, it's easy, just replace the [] with * and the array will become dynamic, but it's not over yet, there is a lot of work.
You have to construct the array and destory it, and destoroying it is possible and useful noly with destructors, like this:
struct keyframe_file
{
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe* keyframes;
~keyframe_file() // this is the destructor
{
delete[] keyframes;
}
};
Yet even that code isn't going to work at all, since you are assigning values to constants in variable my_file after creating it, it's illegal in c++, you should then use classes instead.
Using classes with dynamic arrays is very easy and interesting and makes your code very good, you don't have to know too much to do that, just learn what is a constructor, an initializer, destructor, private and public and go on with the following code:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
struct keyframe
{
bool a;
int b,c;
};
class keyframe_file
{
public:
keyframe_file(int NV, int NKF):num_keyframes(NKF),num_views(NV)
{
keyframes = new keyframe[num_keyframes];
}
~keyframe_file()
{
delete[] keyframes;
}
private:
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe* keyframes;
};
int main()
{
keyframe_file my_file(1,6);
return 0;
}
This code works very well, it allows you to assign value to the constants num_views and num_keyframes for one time when creating the object (variable) my_file.
Remember, you are a C++ programmer, be proud of that, and use classes instead of structs and dynamic arrays instead of static ones.
Hope that's useful.
Use pointers and apply to your structure!
int *p;
p = new int;
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
struct keyframe {
bool a;
int b;
int c;
};
struct keyframe_file {
const int num_views;
const int num_keyframes;
keyframe *keyframes;
};
int main() {
keyframe_file my_file;
my_file.num_views = 1;
my_file.num_keyframes = 6;
for (int i = 0; i < my_file.num_keyframes; i++){
my_file.keyframes = new keyframe; //<---
}
my_file.keyframes[0].a = true;
my_file.keyframes[0].b = 5;
my_file.keyframes[0].c = 9;
return 0;
}

initialize a const array in a class initializer in C++

I have the following class in C++:
class a {
const int b[2];
// other stuff follows
// and here's the constructor
a(void);
}
The question is, how do I initialize b in the initialization list, given that I can't initialize it inside the body of the function of the constructor, because b is const?
This doesn't work:
a::a(void) :
b([2,3])
{
// other initialization stuff
}
Edit: The case in point is when I can have different values for b for different instances, but the values are known to be constant for the lifetime of the instance.
With C++11 the answer to this question has now changed and you can in fact do:
struct a {
const int b[2];
// other bits follow
// and here's the constructor
a();
};
a::a() :
b{2,3}
{
// other constructor work
}
int main() {
a a;
}
Like the others said, ISO C++ doesn't support that. But you can workaround it. Just use std::vector instead.
int* a = new int[N];
// fill a
class C {
const std::vector<int> v;
public:
C():v(a, a+N) {}
};
It is not possible in the current standard. I believe you'll be able to do this in C++0x using initializer lists (see A Brief Look at C++0x, by Bjarne Stroustrup, for more information about initializer lists and other nice C++0x features).
std::vector uses the heap. Geez, what a waste that would be just for the sake of a const sanity-check. The point of std::vector is dynamic growth at run-time, not any old syntax checking that should be done at compile-time. If you're not going to grow then create a class to wrap a normal array.
#include <stdio.h>
template <class Type, size_t MaxLength>
class ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller {
private:
size_t length;
public:
ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller() : length(0) {
}
virtual ~ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller() {
}
virtual void Fill(Type *array) = 0;
protected:
void add_element(Type *array, const Type & element)
{
if(length >= MaxLength) {
// todo: throw more appropriate out-of-bounds exception
throw 0;
}
array[length] = element;
length++;
}
};
template <class Type, size_t Length>
class ConstFixedSizeArray {
private:
Type array[Length];
public:
explicit ConstFixedSizeArray(
ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller<Type, Length> & filler
) {
filler.Fill(array);
}
const Type *Array() const {
return array;
}
size_t ArrayLength() const {
return Length;
}
};
class a {
private:
class b_filler : public ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller<int, 2> {
public:
virtual ~b_filler() {
}
virtual void Fill(int *array) {
add_element(array, 87);
add_element(array, 96);
}
};
const ConstFixedSizeArray<int, 2> b;
public:
a(void) : b(b_filler()) {
}
void print_items() {
size_t i;
for(i = 0; i < b.ArrayLength(); i++)
{
printf("%d\n", b.Array()[i]);
}
}
};
int main()
{
a x;
x.print_items();
return 0;
}
ConstFixedSizeArrayFiller and ConstFixedSizeArray are reusable.
The first allows run-time bounds checking while initializing the array (same as a vector might), which can later become const after this initialization.
The second allows the array to be allocated inside another object, which could be on the heap or simply the stack if that's where the object is. There's no waste of time allocating from the heap. It also performs compile-time const checking on the array.
b_filler is a tiny private class to provide the initialization values. The size of the array is checked at compile-time with the template arguments, so there's no chance of going out of bounds.
I'm sure there are more exotic ways to modify this. This is an initial stab. I think you can pretty much make up for any of the compiler's shortcoming with classes.
ISO standard C++ doesn't let you do this. If it did, the syntax would probably be:
a::a(void) :
b({2,3})
{
// other initialization stuff
}
Or something along those lines. From your question it actually sounds like what you want is a constant class (aka static) member that is the array. C++ does let you do this. Like so:
#include <iostream>
class A
{
public:
A();
static const int a[2];
};
const int A::a[2] = {0, 1};
A::A()
{
}
int main (int argc, char * const argv[])
{
std::cout << "A::a => " << A::a[0] << ", " << A::a[1] << "\n";
return 0;
}
The output being:
A::a => 0, 1
Now of course since this is a static class member it is the same for every instance of class A. If that is not what you want, ie you want each instance of A to have different element values in the array a then you're making the mistake of trying to make the array const to begin with. You should just be doing this:
#include <iostream>
class A
{
public:
A();
int a[2];
};
A::A()
{
a[0] = 9; // or some calculation
a[1] = 10; // or some calculation
}
int main (int argc, char * const argv[])
{
A v;
std::cout << "v.a => " << v.a[0] << ", " << v.a[1] << "\n";
return 0;
}
Where I've a constant array, it's always been done as static. If you can accept that, this code should compile and run.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
class a {
static const int b[2];
public:
a(void) {
for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
printf("b[%d] = [%d]\n", i, b[i]);
}
}
};
const int a::b[2] = { 4, 2 };
int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
a foo;
return 0;
}
You can't do that from the initialization list,
Have a look at this:
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/initialization-lists-c++.html
:)
A solution without using the heap with std::vector is to use boost::array, though you can't initialize array members directly in the constructor.
#include <boost/array.hpp>
const boost::array<int, 2> aa={ { 2, 3} };
class A {
const boost::array<int, 2> b;
A():b(aa){};
};
How about emulating a const array via an accessor function? It's non-static (as you requested), and it doesn't require stl or any other library:
class a {
int privateB[2];
public:
a(int b0,b1) { privateB[0]=b0; privateB[1]=b1; }
int b(const int idx) { return privateB[idx]; }
}
Because a::privateB is private, it is effectively constant outside a::, and you can access it similar to an array, e.g.
a aobj(2,3); // initialize "constant array" b[]
n = aobj.b(1); // read b[1] (write impossible from here)
If you are willing to use a pair of classes, you could additionally protect privateB from member functions. This could be done by inheriting a; but I think I prefer John Harrison's comp.lang.c++ post using a const class.
interestingly, in C# you have the keyword const that translates to C++'s static const, as opposed to readonly which can be only set at constructors and initializations, even by non-constants, ex:
readonly DateTime a = DateTime.Now;
I agree, if you have a const pre-defined array you might as well make it static.
At that point you can use this interesting syntax:
//in header file
class a{
static const int SIZE;
static const char array[][10];
};
//in cpp file:
const int a::SIZE = 5;
const char array[SIZE][10] = {"hello", "cruel","world","goodbye", "!"};
however, I did not find a way around the constant '10'. The reason is clear though, it needs it to know how to perform accessing to the array. A possible alternative is to use #define, but I dislike that method and I #undef at the end of the header, with a comment to edit there at CPP as well in case if a change.