Pointer Wrapper: dereference operator - c++

Question

I'm pretty new to C++ and as an exercise (and perhaps eventually .Net utility) I'm doing a pointer wrapper (actually in C++/CLI, but this applies to C++ as well). This pointer wrapper (called Apont) currently behaves just like a pointer would, as the test below can show, if lines marked 1. and 2. are commented out:
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
double ia = 10; double ip = 10;
double *p = &ip; // pointer analogy
Apont<double> ^a =
gcnew Apont<double>(ia); // equivalent to what's below, without errors
a = ~ia;/* 1. IntelliSense: expression must have integral or unscoped enum type
error C2440: '=' : cannot convert from 'double' to 'Utilidades::ComNativos::Apont<T> ^'
error C2171: '~' : illegal on operands of type 'double'*/
Console::WriteLine("ip = {0}; *p = {1}; ia = {2}; !a = {3}", ip, *p, ia, !a);
ia = 20; ip = 20;
Console::WriteLine("ip = {0}; *p = {1}; ia = {2}; !a = {3}", ip, *p, ia, !a);
*p = 30; // pointer analogy
a->Valor = 30; // does exacly what's below, without errors
!a = 30;/* 2. IntelliSense: expression must be a modifiable lvalue
error C2106: '=' : left operand must be l-value */
Console::WriteLine("ip = {0}; *p = {1}; ia = {2}; !a = {3}", ip, *p, ia, !a);
//a->Dispose();
Console::ReadKey();
p = nullptr;
return 0;
}
There are two things I don't like here, marked with 1. and 2. in the code comments, before the lines with errors. The operator~ (see 1.) is defined outside Apont, below:
template<typename T> static Apont<T>^% operator ~(T& valor)
{
return gcnew Apont<T>(valor);
}
I think this one has to be defined outside Apont, but I'm not sure. I cannot understand very well the errors it produces (these are, of course, in the use, not in the definition).
To set the value to which the instance of Apont refers I must use a property (the line marked 2. doesn't work, with errors in the setting usage only), Apont::Valor, which is the equivalent to use *p. What I'd like to do is as I use *p to get or set the value it points to, use !a with the same effect on Apont. Here's Apont::operator!()'s current definition:
T operator !()
{
return Valor;
}
As you can see in 2. (comment in the code, before the respective errors), it doesn't work for setting a value. Maybe I should return a reference? Make another operator with the same name, perhaps outside the class? I tried several options, however, I got similar errors, and came out more confused.
The question is: how can I make an operator that behaves like & (in this case, ~) and one that behaves like * (in this case, !, for dereference, but that behaves like Apont::Valor, whose old definition you can see below)?
property T Valor
{
T get()
{
if (pointer != nullptr)
return *pointer;
else if (eliminado && ErroSeEliminado) // means "disposed && ErrorIfDisposed"
throw gcnew ObjectDisposedException("O objeto já foi pelo menos parcialmente eliminadao.");
else if (ErroSeNulo) // means "ErrorIfNull"
throw gcnew NullReferenceException();
else
return 0;
// don't worry, this is not default behavior, it is returned only if you want to ignore all errors and if the pointer is null
}
void set(T valor)
{
*pointer = valor;
}
}

Answer 1

Let me recap in a new answer for clarity.
Solving the ! operator is easy, as I said in my previous answer, just add a reference.
So for the operator ~, the goal was to have it behave like the & operator and call the constructor of the pointer wrapper class.
I don't think that is possible. It is certainly possible for user defined objects, but I don't think it is possible to overload unary operators for builtin types. So there are three solutions depending on what you prefer:
The first one does exactly what you want, but will break for primitive types:
#include <iostream>
template<typename T>
struct A {
T* payload;
A()
: payload(NULL){}
A(T *ptr)
: payload(ptr) {}
T& operator !(){
return *payload;
}
};
// this will not work for primary types
template<typename T>
A<T> operator ~(T &b){
return A<T>(&b);
}
struct B{
int test;
};
int main(){
B b; b.test = 4;
A<B> a;
a = ~b; // I think this is what you want
std::cerr << (!a).test << std::endl;
// this does not work
//int i = 4;
//A<int> a;
//a = ~i;
}
Second solution: use a compound assignment operator. Pros are the side effects are minimal, cons is this is not very intuitive and might break the nice design you had in mind.
#include <iostream>
template<typename T>
struct A {
T* payload;
A() : payload(NULL){}
T& operator !(){
return *payload;
}
};
template<typename T>
A<T>& operator &=(A<T> &a, T& b){ // should be friend of the above
a.payload = &b;
return a;
}
int main(){
int i = 3;
A<int> a;
a &= i;
std::cerr << !a << std::endl;
}
Third solution: overload the basic assignment operator. This is more intuitive to write but has a lot of side effects:
#include <iostream>
template<typename T>
struct A {
T* payload;
A() : payload(NULL){}
T& operator !(){
return *payload;
}
A<T>& operator = (T & b) {
payload = &b;
return *this;
}
};
int main(){
int i = 3;
A<int> a;
a = i;
std::cerr << !a << std::endl;
}
Someone might have a solution to hijack the operators for primitive types, but i can't think of any simple solution.

Answer 2

If i understood your code correctly, you want the operator ~ to return a copy of the pointer wrapper and the operator ! to act as dereference?
In this case, you can define the unary operator ~ inside the Apont class which calls a copy constructor. And the operator ! has to return a reference indeed if you want to asign a value.
I think the following c++ code defines what you want to do (I renamed Apont to A):
#include <iostream>
template<typename T>
struct A {
T* payload;
A(T *ptr)
:payload(ptr) {}
A(const A&other)
:payload(other.payload) {}
T& operator !(){
return *payload;
}
T* operator ~(){
return payload;
}
};
int main(){
#define PRINT(X) std::cerr << #X << " = " << X << std::endl
int i = 0;
PRINT(i);
A<int> a(&i);
!a = 1;
PRINT(i);
A<int> b = ~a;
!b = 2;
PRINT(i);
}
The output of the code above is:
i = 0
i = 1
i = 2
According to your comments, you said you wanted the operator ! to behave exactly like the wrapped pointer. You can do so, but then the syntax changes and you need to dereference it to assign a new value (because it is a pointer...). ie something like:
#include <iostream>
template<typename T>
struct A {
T* payload;
A(T *ptr): payload(ptr) {}
// this now behaves like accessing the wrapped pointer directly
T*& operator !(){
return payload;
}
};
int main(){
#define PRINT(X) std::cerr << #X << " = " << X << std::endl
int i = 0;
int j = 999;
PRINT(i);
A<int> a(&i);
*(!a) = 1; // note the change of syntax here
PRINT(*!a); // and here
!a = &j; // but now you can change the wrapped pointer through the operator
PRINT(*!a);
}