Trouble implementing min Heaps in C++ - c++

Question

I'm trying to implement a minheap in C++. However the following code keeps eliciting errors such as :
heap.cpp:24:4: error: cannot convert 'complex int' to 'int' in assignment
l=2i;
^
heap.cpp:25:4: error: cannot convert 'complex int' to 'int' in assignment
r=2i+1;
^
heap.cpp: In member function 'int Heap::main()':
heap.cpp:47:16: error: no matching function for call to 'Heap::heapify(int [11], int&)'
heapify(a,i);
^
heap.cpp:47:16: note: candidate is:
heap.cpp:21:5: note: int Heap::heapify(int)
int heapify(int i) //i is the parent index, a[] is the heap array
^
heap.cpp:21:5: note: candidate expects 1 argument, 2 provided
make: * [heap] Error 1
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
#define HEAPSIZE 10
class Heap
{
int a[HEAPSIZE+1];
Heap()
{
for (j=1;j<(HEAPISZE+1);j++)
{
cin>>a[j];
cout<<"\n";
}
}
int heapify(int i) //i is the parent index, a[] is the heap array
{
int l,r,smallest,temp;
l=2i;
r=2i+1;
if (l<11 && a[l]<a[i])
smallest=l;
else
smallest=i;
if (r<11 && a[r]<a[smallest])
smallest=r;
if (smallest != i)
{
temp = a[smallest];
a[smallest] = a[i];
a[i]=temp;
heapify(smallest);
}
}
int main()
{
int i;
for (i=1;i<=HEAPSIZE;i++)
{
heapify(a,i);
}
}
}

Answer 1

Ultimately, the problem with this code is that it was written by someone who skipped chapters 1, 2 and 3 of "C++ for Beginners". Lets start with some basics.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
#define HEAPSIZE 10
Here, we have included the C++ header for I/O (input output). A fine start. Then, we have issued a directive that says "Put everything that is in namespace std into the global namespace". This saves you some typing, but means that all of the thousands of things that were carefully compartmentalized into std:: can now conflict with names you want to use in your code. This is A Bad Thing(TM). Try to avoid doing it.
Then we went ahead and used a C-ism, a #define. There are times when you'll still need to do this in C++, but it's better to avoid it. We'll come back to this.
The next problem, at least in the code you posted, is a misunderstanding of the C++ class.
The 'C' language that C++ is based on has the concept of a struct for describing a collection of data items.
struct
{
int id;
char name[64];
double wage;
};
It's important to notice the syntax - the trailing ';'. This is because you can describe a struct and declare variables of it's type at the same time.
struct { int id; char name[64]; } earner, manager, ceo;
This declares a struct, which has no type name, and variables earner, manager and ceo of that type. The semicolon tells the compiler when we're done with this statement. Learning when you need a semicolon after a '}' takes a little while; usually you don't, but in struct/class definition you do.
C++ added lots of things to C, but one common misunderstanding is that struct and class are somehow radically different.
C++ originally extended the struct concept by allowing you to describe functions in the context of the struct and by allowing you to describe members/functions as private, protected or public, and allowing inheritance.
When you declare a struct, it defaults to public. A class is nothing more than a struct which starts out `private.
struct
{
int id;
char name[64];
double wage;
};
class
{
public:
int id;
char name[64];
double wage;
};
The resulting definitions are both identical.
Your code does not have an access specifier, so everything in your Heap class is private. The first and most problematic issue this causes is: Nobody can call ANY of your functions, because they are private, they can only be called from other class members. That includes the constructor.
class Foo { Foo () {} };
int main()
{
Foo f;
return 0;
}
The above code will fail to compile, because main is not a member of Foo and thus cannot call anything private.
This brings us to another problem. In your code, as posted, main is a member of Foo. The entry point of a C++ program is main, not Foo::main or std::main or Foo::bar::herp::main. Just, good old int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) or int main().
In C, with structs, because C doesn't have member functions, you would never be in a case where you were using struct-members directly without prefixing that with a pointer or member reference, e.g. foo.id or ptr->wage. In C++, in a member function, member variables can be referenced just like local function variables or parameters. This can lead to some confusion:
class Foo
{
int a, b;
public:
void Set(int a, int b)
{
a = a; // Erh,
b = b; // wat???
}
};
There are many ways to work around this, but one of the most common is to prefix member variables with m_.
Your code runs afoul of this, apparently the original in C passed the array to heapify, and the array was in a local variable a. When you made a into a member, leaving the variable name exactly the same allowed you not to miss the fact that you no-longer need to pass it to the object (and indeed, your heapify member function no-longer takes an array as a pointer, leading to one of your compile errors).
The next problem we encounter, not directly part of your problem yet, is your function Heap(). Firstly, it is private - you used class and haven't said public yet. But secondly, you have missed the significance of this function.
In C++ every struct/class has an implied function of the same name as the definition. For class Heap that would be Heap(). This is the 'default constructor'. This is the function that will be executed any time someone creates an instance of Heap without any parameters.
That means it's going to be invoked when the compiler creates a short-term temporary Heap, or when you create a vector of Heap()s and allocate a new temporary.
These functions have one purpose: To prepare the storage the object occupies for usage. You should try and avoid as much other work as possible until later. Using std::cin to populate members in a constructor is one of the most awful things you can do.
We now have a basis to begin to write the outer-shell of the code in a fashion that will work.
The last change is the replacement of "HEAPSIZE" with a class enum. This is part of encapsulation. You could leave HEAPSIZE as a #define but you should expose it within your class so that external code doesn't have to rely on it but can instead say things like Heap::Size or heapInstance.size() etc.
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdint> // for size_t etc
#include <array> // C++11 encapsulation for arrays.
struct Heap // Because we want to start 'public' not 'private'.
{
enum { Size = 10 };
private:
std::array<int, Size> m_array; // meaningful names ftw.
public:
Heap() // default constructor, do as little as possible.
: m_array() // says 'call m_array()s default ctor'
{}
// Function to load values from an istream into this heap.
void read(std::istream& in)
{
for (size_t i = 0; i < Size; ++i)
{
in >> m_array[i];
}
return in;
}
void write(std::ostream& out)
{
for (size_t i = 0; i < Size; ++i)
{
if (i > 0)
out << ','; // separator
out << m_array[i];
}
}
int heapify(size_t index)
{
// implement your code here.
}
}; // <-- important.
int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
{
Heap myHeap; // << constructed but not populated.
myHeap.load(std::cin); // read from cin
for (size_t i = 1; i < myHeap.Size; ++i)
{
myHeap.heapify(i);
}
myHead.write(std::cout);
return 0;
}
Lastly, we run into a simple, fundamental problem with your code. C++ does not have implicit multiplication. 2i is the number 2 with a suffix. It is not the same as 2 * i.
int l = 2 * i;
There is also a peculiarity with your code that suggests you are mixing between 0-based and 1-based implementation. Pick one and stick with it.
--- EDIT ---
Technically, this:
myHeap.load(std::cin); // read from cin
for (size_t i = 1; i < myHeap.Size; ++i)
{
myHeap.heapify(i);
}
is poor encapsulation. I wrote it this way to draw on the original code layout, but I want to point out that one reason for separating construction and initialization is that it allows initialization to be assured that everything is ready to go.
So, it would be more correct to move the heapify calls into the load function. After all, what better time to heapify than as we add new values, keeping the list in order the entire time.
for (size_t i = 0; i < Size; ++i)
{
in >> m_array[i];
heapify(i);
}
Now you've simplified your classes api, and users don't have to be aware of the internal machinery.
Heap myHeap;
myHeap.load(std::cin);
myHeap.write(std::cout);