Error Iterating Through Members of a Struct in Vector - c++

I have a struct and two vectors in my .h file:
struct FTerm {
int m_delay;
double m_weight;
};
std::vector<FTerm> m_xterms;
std::vector<FTerm> m_yterms;
I've already read in a file to populate values to m_xterms and m_yterms and I'm trying to iterate through those values:
vector<FTerm>::iterator terms;
for (terms = m_xterms.begin(); terms < m_xterms.end(); terms++)
{
int delaylength = m_xterms->m_delay * 2; // Assume stereo
double weight = m_xterms->m_weight;
}
Although I'm pretty sure I have the logic wrong, I currently get the error Error expression must have a pointer type. Been stuck at this for a while, thanks.

Change
int delaylength = m_xterms->m_delay * 2;
double weight = m_xterms->m_weight;
to
int delaylength = terms->m_delay * 2;
// ^^^^^
double weight = terms->m_weight;
// ^^^^^
as you want to access values through
vector<FTerm>::iterator terms;
within the loop
for (terms = m_xterms.begin(); terms < m_xterms.end(); terms++)
// ^^^^^
"Although I'm pretty sure I have the logic wrong, ..."
That can't be answered, unless you give more context about the requirements for the logic.

Along with the problem πάντα ῥεῖ pointed out, your code currently has a problem that it simply doesn't accomplish anything except wasting some time.
Consider:
for (terms = m_xterms.begin(); terms < m_xterms.end(); terms++)
{
int delaylength = m_xterms->m_delay * 2; // Assume stereo
double weight = m_xterms->m_weight;
}
Both delaylength and weight are created upon entry to the block, and destroyed on exit--so we create a pair of values, then destroy them, and repeat for as many items as there are in the vector--but never do anything with the values we compute. They're just computed, then destroyed.
Assuming you fix that, I'd also write the code enough differently that this problem simply isn't likely to happen to start with. For example, let's assume you really wanted to modify each item in your array, instead of just computing something from it and throwing away the result. You could do that with code like this:
std::transform(m_xterms.begin(), m_xterms.end(), // Source
m_xterms.begin(), // destination
[](FTerm const &t) { return {t.m_delay * 2, t.m_weight}; });// computation
Now the code actually accomplishes something, and it seems a lot less likely that we'd end up accidentally writing it incorrectly.
Bottom line: standard algorithms are your friends. Unlike human friends, they love to be used.

Related

Which is the best way to index through a for loop?

I am trying to do a product operand on the values inside of a vector. It is a huge mess of code.. I have posted it previously but no one was able to help. I just wanna confirm which is the correct way to do a single part of it. I currently have:
vector<double> taylorNumerator;
for(a = 0; a <= (constant); a++) {
double Number = equation involving a to get numerous values;
taylorNumerator.push_back(Number);
for(b = 0; b <= (constant); b++) {
double NewNumber *= taylorNumerator[b];
}
This is what I have as a snapshot, it is very short from what I actually have. Someone told me it is better to do vector.at(index) instead. Which is the correct or best way to accomplish this? If you so desire I can paste all of the code, it works but the values I get are wrong.
When possible, you should probably avoid using indexes at all. Your options are:
A range-based for loop:
for (auto numerator : taylorNumerators) { ... }
An iterator-based loop:
for (auto it = taylorNumerators.begin(); it != taylorNuemrators.end(); ++it) { ... }
A standard algorithm, perhaps with a lambda:
#include <algorithm>
std::for_each(taylorNumerators, [&](double numerator) { ... });
In particular, note that some algorithms let you specify a number of iterations, like std::generate_n, so you can create exactly n items without counting to n yourself.
If you need the index in the calculation, then it can be appropriate to use a traditional for loop. You have to watch for a couple pitfalls: std::vector<T>::size() returns a std::vector<T>::size_type which is typically identical to std::size_type, which is (1) unsigned and (2) quite possibly larger than an int.
for (std::size_t i = 0; i != taylorNumerators.size(); ++i) { ... }
Your calculations probably deal with doubles or some numerical type other than std::size_t, so you have to consider the best way to convert it. Many programmers would rely on implicit conversions, but that can be dangerous unless you know the conversion rules very well. I'd generally start by doing a static cast of the index to the type I actually need. For example:
for (std::size_t i = 0; i != taylorNumerators.size(); ++i) {
const auto x = static_cast<double>(i);
/* calculation involving x */
}
In C++, it's probably far more common to make sure the index is in range and then use operator[] rather than to use at(). Many projects disable exceptions, so the safety guarantee of at() wouldn't really be available. And, if you can check the range once yourself, then it'll be faster to use operator[] than to rely on the range-check built into at() on each index operation.
What you have is fine. Modern compilers can optimize the heck out of the above such that the code is just as fast as the equivalent C code of accessing items direclty.
The only optimization for using vector I recommend is to invoke taylorNumerator.reserve(constant) to allocate the needed storage upfront instead of the vector resizing itself as new items are added.
About the only worthy optimization after that is to not use vector at all and just use a static array - especially if constant is small enough that it doesn't blow up the stack (or binary size if global).
double taylorNumerator[constant];

Passing a QVector pointer as an argument

1) I want to pass a the pointer of a QVector to a function and then do things with it. I tried this:
void MainWindow::createLinearVector(QVector<float> *vector, float min, float max )
{
float elementDiff=(max-min)/(vector->size()-1);
if(max>min) min -= elementDiff;
else min += elementDiff;
for(int i=0; i< vector->size()+1 ; i++ )
{
min += elementDiff;
*(vector+i) = min; //Problematic line
}
}
However the compiler gives me "no match for operator =" for the *(vector+i) = min; line. What could be the best way to perform actions like this on a QVector?
2) The function is supposed to linearly distribute values on the vector for a plot, in a way the matlab : operator works, for instance vector(a:b:c). What is the simpliest and best way to perform such things in Qt?
EDIT:
With help from here the initial problem is solved. :)
I also improved the metod in itself. The precision could be improved a lot by using linear interpolation instead of multiple additions like above. With multiple addition an error is accumulating, which is eliminated in large part by linear interpolation.
Btw, the if statement in the first function was unecessary and possible to remove by just rearranging stuff a little bit even in the multiple addition method.
void MainWindow::createLinearVector(QVector<double> &vector, double min, double max )
{
double range = max-min;
double n = vector.size();
vector[0]=min;
for(int i=1; i< n ; i++ )
{
vector[i] = min+ i/(n-1)*range;
}
}
I considered using some enchanced loop for this, but would it be more practical?
With for instance a foreach loop I would still have to increment some variable for the interpolation right? And also make a conditional for skipping the first element?
I want to place a float a certain place in the QVector.
Then use this:
(*vector)[i] = min; //Problematic line
A vector is a pointer to a QVector, *vector will be a QVector, which can be indiced with [i] like any QVector. However, due to precedence, one needs parentheses to get the order of operations right.
I think, first u need use the Mutable iterator for this stuff: Qt doc link
Something like this:
QMutableVectorIterator<float> i(vector);
i.toBack();
while (i.hasPrevious())
qDebug() << i.{your code}
Right, so it does not make much sense to use a QVector pointer in here. These are the reasons for that:
Using a reference for the method parameter should be more C++'ish if the implicit sharing is not fast enough for you.
Although, most of the cases you would not even need a reference when just passing arguments around without getting the result back in the same argument (i.e. output argument). That is because *QVector is implicitly shared and the copy only happens for the write as per documentation. Luckily, the syntax will be the same for the calling and internal implementation of the method in both cases, so it is easy to change from one to another.
Using smart pointers is preferable instead of raw pointers, but here both are unnecessarily complex solutions in my opinion.
So, I would suggest to refactor your code into this:
void MainWindow::createLinearVector(QVector<float> &vector, float min, float max)
{
float elementDiff = (max-min) / (vector.size()-1);
min += ((max>min) ? (-elementDiff) : elementDiff)
foreach (float f, vector) {
min += elementDiff;
f = min;
}
}
Note that I fixed up the following things in your code:
Reference type parameter as opposed to pointer
"->" member resolution to "." respectively
Ternary operation instead of the unnatural if/else in this case
Qt's foreach instead of low-level indexing in which case your original point becomes moot
This is then how you would invoke the method from the caller:
createLinearVector(vector, fmin, fmax);

Creating objects in a loop

Here is a method creating a Clustering object and returning it by value.
Clustering ClusteringGenerator::makeOneClustering(Graph& G) {
int64_t n = G.numberOfNodes();
Clustering zeta(n);
cluster one = zeta.addCluster();
for (node v = G.firstNode(); v <= n; ++v) {
zeta.addToCluster(one, v);
}
return zeta;
}
This loop calls the method multiple times and adds the pointer to the return value to a vector.
int z = 3
for (int i = 0; i < z; ++i) {
// FIXME: why is zeta the same each iteration?
Clustering zeta = clusterGen.makeOneClustering(G);
DEBUG(&zeta);
clusterings.push_back(&zeta);
}
The output of the DEBUG statement is
0x7fff4ff894d0
0x7fff4ff894d0
0x7fff4ff894d0
So this means that &zeta is the same pointer in each iteration. Why?
How can I get the desired result (create one Clustering object per iteration and remember it in a vector)?
Because zeta is an automatic variable (the one in the loop, well the other one is a local variable, too, but there's nothing inherently wrong with ClusteringGenerator::makeOneClustering), which doesn't exist anymore once the current loop iteration ends (and zeta's destructor has been called). The compiler is thus free to reuse its underlying storage for further variables (like the zeta from the next loop iteration), and would be pretty stupid not to do so.
Likewise is your code error-prone, since it stores the address of a local variable in a container, although this variable doesn't exist anymore after the push_back, like described above.
To solve this, well, either just use a std::vector<Clustering> and put those things in by value, or, if you really need to store pointers (maybe because you don't use/profit from C++11's move semantics and fear the copying overhead), then allocate those loop objects dynamically, to prevent them from being destroyed automatically. But in the latter case (whose usage you should thoroughly overthink anyway, given that the Clustering seems to be copyable pretty well) you should rather use some kind of smart pointer to care for proper destruction of the dynamically allocated objects.
you could define
std::vector<Clustering> clusterings;
and then use
clusterings.push_back(clusterGen.makeOneClustering(G));
if you are using c++11 and Clustering is movable you not even generating a copy. This solution is faster and you dont have to deal with raw pointers.
Thats because you are printing out the address of the variable you created, and it is always the same. The same thing with the vector. You are storing the address and not the actual value. If you want to store the value, try using this.
clustering.push_back(zeta);
Now you are storing the value and not the address....
Clustering * ClusteringGenerator::makeOneClustering(Graph& G) {
int64_t n = G.numberOfNodes();
Clustering * zeta = new Clustering(n);
cluster one = zeta.addCluster();
for (node v = G.firstNode(); v <= n; ++v) {
zeta.addToCluster(one, v);
}
return zeta;
}
This loop calls the method multiple times and adds the pointer to the return value to a vector.
int z = 3
for (int i = 0; i < z; ++i) {
// FIXME: why is zeta the same each iteration?
Clustering * zeta = clusterGen.makeOneClustering(G);
DEBUG(zeta);
clusterings.push_back(zeta);
}

passing a vector between functions via pointers

It was suggested to me to use pointers to add a vector that I wanted to pass from some existing function to another function. I am really stuck on how to get the information back out of that pointer though. I've tried a number of things I've read here and there so let me demonstrate what I'm talking about.
primary program:
std::vector<float> * dvertex=NULL;
track.calculate(irrelevant stuff, dvertex)
secondary program (track, calculate)
track::caclulate(irrelevant stuff, vector<float> * dvertex)
{
...
vector<float> pos;
... pos filled after some calculations
if(! (dvertex==NULL))
{
dvertex = &pos1;
}
back to primary, unless I messed up something above, here's some things I've tried
1
(*dvertex).at(0)
float z = (*dvertex).at(0)
2
(*dvertex)[0]
and a bunch of stuff that just plain didn't compile. I'm quite stuck as I'm not sure how to get the specific values out of that vector in the main program. I even thought it might be the if(! (dvertex==NULL)) bit, so I changed it to if(dvertex==NULL) but still no joy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
*Edit/Update*Thanks so much everyone for the help, but I fear I'm still doing it wrong.
So following the suggestions that I just pass a reference: I did this:
primary
std::vector<float> dvertex;
track.calculate( foo, &dvertex);
secondary stayed the same (with !Null check)
primary
std::cout<<dvertex[0]<<std:endl;
(among other attempts to actually use the data)
Thanks a lot for any thoughts on what I'm still doing improperly. Everything compiles, the program just freezes when it gets to a point that the data from dvertex is used.
Edit:Final fix
in the secondary program I needed
*dvertex = pos1;
instead of
dvertex = &pos1;
I'm not sure why these didn't compile for you, because they're valid as long as the pointer is valid and not null:
void f(std::vector<int>* v)
{
if( v != 0 ) {
int n = (*v)[0]; // ok
int m = (*v).at(0); // ok
int o = v->at(0); // ok
}
}
But never mind that. Use a reference if you must change the vector, and a const reference if you must not. There's rarely if ever a need to take a container by pointer.
Also, I suggest you check pointers against 0, not NULL, because sometimes NULL is defined as (void*)0 as per C compilers. But some people may argue otherwise here.
If you're going to modify the vector, you probably just want to pass it by reference. If you do use a pointer, however, you need to define a vector in main, and then pass the address of that vector:
void calculate(std::vector<float> *vertex_array) {
vertex_array->pushback(1.0f);
vertex_array->pushback(2.0f);
}
int main() {
std::vector<float> vertexes;
calculate(&vertexes);
std::copy(vertexes.begin(), vertexes.end(),
std::ostream_iterator<float>(std::cout, "\n"));
return 0;
}
See my note above, but for your scenario to work, you need
std::vector<float> * dvertex=NULL;
to be
std::vector<float> * dvertex = new std::vector<float>();

c++ variable declaration

Im wondering if this code:
int main(){
int p;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++){
p = ...;
}
return 0
}
is exactly the same as that one
int main(){
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++){
int p = ...;
}
return 0
}
in term of efficiency ?
I mean, the p variable will be recreated 10 times in the second example ?
It's is the same in terms of efficiency.
It's not the same in terms of readability. The second is better in this aspect, isn't it?
It's a semantic difference which the code keeps hidden because it's not making a difference for int, but it makes a difference to the human reader. Do you want to carry the value of whatever calculation you do in ... outside of the loop? You don't, so you should write code that reflects your intention.
A human reader will need to seek the function and look for other uses of p to confirm himself that what you did was just premature "optimization" and didn't have any deeper purpose.
Assuming it makes a difference for the type you use, you can help the human reader by commenting your code
/* p is only used inside the for-loop, to keep it from reallocating */
std::vector<int> p;
p.reserve(10);
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++){
p.clear();
/* ... */
}
In this case, it's the same. Use the smallest scope possible for the most readable code.
If int were a class with a significant constructor and destructor, then the first (declaring it outside the loop) can be a significant savings - but inside you usually need to recreate the state anyway... so oftentimes it ends up being no savings at all.
One instance where it might make a difference is containers. A string or vector uses internal storage that gets grown to fit the size of the data it is storing. You may not want to reconstruct this container each time through the loop, instead, just clear its contents and it may not need as many reallocations inside the loop. This can (in some cases) result in a significant performance improvement.
The bottom-line is write it clearly, and if profiling shows it matters, move it out :)
They are equal in terms of efficiency - you should trust your compiler to get rid of the immeasurably small difference. The second is better design.
Edit: This isn't necessarily true for custom types, especially those that deal with memory. If you were writing a loop for any T, I'd sure use the first form just in case. But if you know that it's an inbuilt type, like int, pointer, char, float, bool, etc. I'd go for the second.
In second example the p is visible only inside of the for loop. you cannot use it further in your code.
In terms of efficiency they are equal.