Applying partially applied template - c++

Having a class like the A, is there a way to apply it to a template like this of B, with T2 set to some type C? But without creating another template class inheriting from A.
template<typename T1, typename T2>
class A
{ };
template<template <typename T1> class T3>
class B
{ };

With C++11 using a template alias works:
template<typename T1, typename T2>
class A
{ };
template<template <typename T1> class T3>
class B
{ };
class C
{ };
template< typename T > using A1 = A< T, C >;
int main()
{
B< A1 > b;
}
without C++11, you are left with what you probably already know:
template< typename T > class A1 : A< T, C > {};

I will propose an alternative solution: do not use template template parameters.
If you write:
template <typename T> struct B {};
Then it can be used with A<int, int> or C<3> or even plain D.
Whilst it is possible to use template template parameters, it is general a bad idea. You should treat the template parameter of a class as an implementation detail and apply the golden rule: do not rely on implementation details.
If you need access to the type, somehow, then use an associated type (aka T::AssociatedType) or a trait (BTraits<T>::AssociatedType).
EDIT: dealing with multiple instantiations of the template template parameter.
Suppose we want to "erase" the template template parameter of such a class:
template <template <typename> class A>
struct Something {
template <typename T>
void doit() { A<T>::doit(); }
};
The C++ standard allocation model is to use an inner rebind structure:
template <typename T>
struct Simple {
template <typename U>
struct rebind { typedef Simple<U> type; };
};
template <typename T0, typename T1>
struct Multi {
template <typename U>
struct rebind { typedef Multi<U, T1> type; };
};
template <typename A>
struct Something {
template <typename T>
void doit() { typedef typename A::rebind<T>::type B; B::doit(); }
};
Note how you can use complex computations in rebind and nothing forces you in blindly passing the type received as parameter.
Whilst another (similar) solution is to ask for a factory (aka, the object passed itself cannot be used but it can build useful objects); for ease of use the C++ containers ask of their allocators that they be both usable in themselves and factories for other types.

Yes, you can do it using C++11's alias template:
template <typename T>
using AA = A<T, C>;
B<AA> b;
Live example

Related

If template parameter AA is a templatized class A<T> itself, is it possible to get the template parameter (T) of this templatized class?

Consider the code below:
template <typename T>
class A{
...
}
template <class U>
class B{
...
}
int main {
B<A<int>> a;
...
}
How can I get the template parameter of A (int in this case) inside B, if A<int> is the template parameter for B?
I could parametrize B as follows, but I feel like I am sending an unnecessary piece of information.
template <class AA, typename T>
class B { ... }
The reason I do not simply use template <typename T> for class B is that I have a pointer to class A inside B, and I want to use the template parameter class AA to see if that pointer is const or not, hence have the correct type for the member pointer in B.
There are several ways, depending of that you might change:
Quick way, specialize B
template <class> class B;
template <class T>
class B<A<T>>
{
// Use directly T
//...
};
Add info in A directly (as std containers do with value_type)
template <typename T>
struct A
{
using my_type = T;
};
// Then in `B<U>`, use `typename U::my_type`
Use external traits to extract information from A (as std::iterator_traits) (that also allows to handle built-in types):
template <typename T>
struct ATrait;
template <typename T>
struct ATrait<A<T>>
{
using my_type = T;
};
// Possibly a generic one
template <template <typename> class C, typename T>
struct ATrait<C<T>>
{
using my_type = T;
};
// Then in `B<U>`, use `typename ATrait<U>::my_type`
I think the following does what you want:
#include<type_traits>
template<class>
class A{};
template<class>
struct get_inner;
template<template<class> class TT, class T>
struct get_inner<TT<T>> {
using outer = TT<T>;
using inner = T;
};
template<class TT>
struct B {
using A = TT;
using inner = typename get_inner<std::decay_t<A>>::inner;
};
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
static_assert(std::is_const_v<typename B<const A<int>>::A>);
static_assert(!std::is_const_v<typename B<A<int>>::A>);
}
Note the std::decay_t, it wouldn't work with the const parameter directly (hence we cannot just specialize B in this way). Maybe decay_t is a bit strong but it works^^
Try this
template <typename X> class B;
template <template <typename> class XX, typename T>
class B<XX<T>>
{
// your implementation
};
B<A<int>> a;

Template struct that may or may not have a member

Is it possible to have a struct which may or may not have a member? Something like this:
template <typename T, typename A = some_type_with_size_0>
struct s {
T t;
A aux;
};
To be specific, if I asked for s<int, int> I would get a struct with two ints, but if I asked for s<int> I would get a struct with only an int.
In C++20, it will be possible to do what you're trying to do directly:
template <typename T, typename A = some_type_with_size_0>
struct s {
T t;
[[no_unique_address]] A aux;
};
See https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/attributes/no_unique_address.
In C++17, there's no straightforward way to specify a member that conditionally disappears. You need to write a full-blown partial specialization, like so:
template <typename T, typename A = void>
struct s {
T t;
A aux;
};
template <typename T>
struct s<T, void> {
T t;
};
This unfortunately requires you to repeat yourself in typing out all the common members (in this case only t). To avoid this, we can stick the conditionally present members in a base class:
template <typename T, typename A = void>
struct s : optional_aux<A> {
T t;
};
template <typename A>
struct optional_aux {
A aux;
};
template <>
struct optional_aux<void> { };
In the case where A = void, this base class is empty, so the compiler has discretion to remove it entirely, making sizeof(s<T, void>) potentially equal to sizeof(T). The [[no_unique_address]] attribute basically makes empty base class optimization available for members as well.
You can use a variadic template:
template <typename...> struct Generic;
template <typename T1> struct Generic<T1> {
T1 field1;
};
template <typename T1, typename T2> struct Generic<T1, T2> {
T1 field1;
T2 field2;
};

Simple concept check

Say I have a simple template like this:
template<typename T>
class A {};
And I want to specify that the type-parameter T is of some unrelated type X<U> where U is not known (or unspecifyable).
Is there a way how to express that as a concept?
Is there a way how to express that as a concept?
You don't need a concept, class template specialization works just fine in your case.
As an example, you can do this:
template<typename T>
class A;
template<typename U>
class A<X<U>> { /* ... */ };
This way, unless A is instantiated with a type of the form X<U> (where U is unknown), you'll get a compile-time error because the primary template isn't defined. In other terms, it won't work for all the types but X<U> (for each U), where the latter matches the class template specialization that has a proper definition.
Note that I assumed X is a known type. That's not clear from your question.
Anyway, if it's not and you want to accept types of the form X<U> for each X and each U, you can still do this:
template<typename T>
class A;
template<template<typename> class X, typename U>
class A<X<U>> { /* ... */ };
As a minimal, working example:
template<typename>
struct S {};
template<typename>
class A;
template<typename U>
class A<S<U>> {};
int main() {
A<S<int>> aSInt;
A<S<double>> aSDouble;
// A<char> aChar;
}
Both A<S<int>> and A<S<double>> are fine and the example compiles. If you toggle the comment, it won't compile anymore for A<char> isn't defined at all.
As a side note, if you don't want to use class template specialization and you want to simulate concepts (remember that they are not part of the standard yet and they won't be at least until 2020), you can do something like this:
#include<type_traits>
template<typename>
struct X {};
template<typename>
struct is_xu: std::false_type {};
template<typename U>
struct is_xu<X<U>>: std::true_type {};
template<typename T>
struct A {
static_assert(is_xu<T>::value, "!");
// ...
};
int main() {
A<X<int>> aXInt;
A<X<double>> aXDouble;
// A<char> aChar;
}
That is, given a generic type T, static assert its actual type by means of another structure (is_xu in the example) that verifies if T is of the form X<U> (for each U) or not.
My two cents: the class template specialization is easier to read and understand at a glance.
template <typename T, template <typename> class C>
concept bool Template = requires (T t) { {t} -> C<auto>; };
Now given a class template:
template <typename T>
struct X {};
a type template parameter can be constrained using:
template <typename T> requires Template<T, X>
class A {};
or:
template <Template<X> T>
class A {};
DEMO
This will work also for types derived from X<U>.

Altering template template parameters in C++

I would like to design a class that creates internal types that are variants of types passed as template parameters. Something like the following, non-functional example:
template <typename T>
class BaseClass
{
public:
typedef T InternalType;
std::vector<InternalType> storage;
};
template <typename Base>
class Injector
{
public:
typedef std::pair<typename Base::InternalType, typename Base::InternalType> RefinedType;
Base<RefinedType> refinedStorage;
};
typedef Injector<BaseClass<int> > InjectedInt; // Should store vector<pair<int, int> >
Since Base is a fully-specified type, Base<RefinedType> refinedStorage; will fail to compile. Simply using a template template parameter won't work, as the refined type needs to be based on the nested template's parameter as well as its base type.
How can I implement this pattern of creating types based on both the fully-specified and base types of a template parameter?
EDIT: I would like this to be an arbitrary-depth composite, with multiple injector types performing a cascade of transformations. Thus, passing both the template template parameter and the base parameter becomes pretty unwieldy (particularly when it comes to dealing with the base case of the composite), and an ideal solution would use the more direct syntax.
I was able to achieve this by explicitly 're-declaring' the general template inside itself:
template <typename T>
class BaseClass
{
public:
typedef T InternalType;
std::vector<InternalType> storage;
template<class T2>
using Recur = BaseClass<T2>;
};
template <typename Base>
class Injector
{
public:
typedef std::pair<typename Base::InternalType, typename Base::InternalType> RefinedType;
typename Base::template Recur<RefinedType> refinedStorage;
};
typedef Injector<BaseClass<int> > InjectedInt; // Should store vector<pair<int, int> >
You could introduce a rebind template:
template <typename From, typename To>
struct rebind_1st;
template <template <typename... > class Cls, typename A0, typename... Args, typename To>
struct rebind_1st<Cls<A0, Args...>, To> {
using type = Cls<To, Args...>;
};
template <typename From, typename To>
using rebind_1st_t = typename rebind_1st<From, To>::type;
With which your Injector becomes:
template <typename Base>
class Injector
{
public:
typedef std::pair<typename Base::InternalType,
typename Base::InternalType> RefinedType;
rebind_1st_t<Base, RefinedType> refinedStorage;
};
There is no need for a rebinding template, that over-complicates the situation. Simply have a template template type:
template<typename>
struct Injector;
template<typename T, template<typename> class Base>
struct Injector<Base<T>>{
using refined_type = std::pair<typename Base::InternalType, typename Base::InternalType>;
Base<refined_type> refined_storage;
};
You'll have to use a template specialization to get a concrete type from a template template.
This is used like so:
using injector_int = Injector<Base<int>>;
int main(){
injector_int i;
}
here's a live example
You can provide an external rebinder:
template <class Bound, class U>
struct rebinder;
template <template <class> class Binder, class B, class U>
struct rebinder<Binder<B>, U>
{
typedef Binder<U> type;
};
// Usage:
template <typename Base>
class Injector
{
public:
typedef std::pair<typename Base::InternalType, typename Base::InternalType> RefinedType;
typename rebinder<Base, RefinedType>::type refinedStorage;
};
[Live example]

Generalized Mixins

I was writing some code where I have a class that can accept mixins as variadic template parameters. However, I also need the mixins to be able to access the base class through the CRTP idiom. Here's a minimal example that cannot quite do what I want:
template <template <class> class... Mixins>
class Foo : Mixins<Foo<Mixins...>>... {};
However, a mixin that I might pass to Foo will, in general, have several template parameters, like so:
template <class Derived, class Type1, class Type2>
class Bar
{
Derived& operator()()
{
return static_cast<Derived&>(*this);
}
};
How can I change Foo so that I can have it inherit from a number of base classes, where I control the template parameters accepted by each base class? If I hand Foo a list of template-template parameters, along with a list of arguments to pass to them, then I don't see how I would be able to associate each template-template parameter with its arguments. So far, I thought of something like this, but I don't know how I would proceed.
template <template <class...> class T,
template <class...> class... Ts>
class Foo : /* How do I retrieve the arguments? */
I am not quite sure I understood the problem, so please let me rephrase it so that we can start on the right foot.
You need to thread the derived type to the base classes, in a typical CRTP use case, while at the same time passing other template parameter to the various base classes.
That is, a typical base class will be:
template <typename Derived, typename X, typename Y>
struct SomeBase {
};
And you want need to create your type so that you can control the X and Y and at the same time pass the complete Derived class.
I think I would use the apply trick to generate the base class on the fly, from an adapter provided in the argument list of the Derived class.
template <typename Derived, typename X, typename Y>
struct SomeBase {};
template <typename X, typename Y>
struct SomeBaseFactory {
template <typename Derived>
struct apply { typedef SomeBase<Derived, X, Y> type; };
};
// Generic application
template <typename Fac, typename Derived>
struct apply {
typedef typename Fac::template apply<Derived>::type type;
};
Then, you would create the type as:
typedef MyFoo< SomeBaseFactory<int, float> > SuperFoo;
Where Foo is defined as:
template <typename... Args>
struct Foo: apply<Args, Foo<Args...>>::type... {
};
And just because it's been a while since I trudged so deeply in templates, I checked it worked.
Of course, the Factory itself is not really a specific to a given type, so we can reuse the wrapper approach you had experimented:
template <template <typename...> class M, typename... Args>
struct Factory {
template <typename Derived>
struct apply { typedef M<Derived, Args...> type; };
};
And yes, it works too.
If I understand your question correctly, you should create template aliases that reduce each mixin to a single template parameter.
template <typename Derived>
using BarIntFloat = Bar<Derived, Int, Float>;
template <typename Derived>
using BazQux = Baz<Derived, Qux>;
typedef Foo<BarIntFloat, BazQux> MyFoo;
Here's a solution I came up with. There may be a more elegant way to do this, but I couldn't think of any. One caveat is that all of the mixins used need to first be nested in the wrapper struct, along with their respective arguments.
template <template <class...> class Mixin, class... Args>
struct wrapper
{
typedef Mixin<Args...> type;
};
template <class... Args>
struct test
{
};
template <class Arg, class... Args>
struct test<Arg, Args...> : Arg::type, test<Args...>
{
};
template <class T>
class mixin1 {};
template <class T1, class T2>
class mixin2 {};
template <class T1, class T2, class T3>
class mixin3 {};
int main()
{
test<wrapper<mixin1, int>, wrapper<mixin2, int, float>> foo;
return 0;
}
#void-pointer
This is basic omission of variadic templates. User cannot get i-th type from T... or get i-th value from values...
Here is a link from going native 2012 lecture by Andrei Alexandrescu:
template <typename... Ts>
void fun(const Ts&... vs) {}
• Ts is not a type; vs is not a value!
typedef Ts MyList; // error!
Ts var; // error!
auto copy = vs; // error!
So Ts/vs should be some kind of tuple.