I've recently received a very good answer as how to overload specific class members by deriving classes.
The issue now is that one of the members is in fact templated with specializations either being BaseClass, DerivedClass or Derived2Class
#include <iostream>
using std::cin;
using std::cout;
using std::endl;
template<class T>
class Queue
{
public:
Queue();
Queue(T*);
}
class Com
{
public:
virtual void setReady()
{
cout << "Com" << endl;
}
};
class DerivedCom : public Com
{
public:
void setReady()
{
cout << "DCom" << endl;
}
};
class Derived2Com : public Com
{
public:
void setReady()
{
cout << "D2Com" << endl;
}
};
class BaseClass
{
protected:
Com* com;
Queue<BaseClass>* queue;
public:
BaseClass(Com* c = new Com, Queue<BaseClass>* q = new Queue<BaseClass>) : com(c), queue(q)
{
}
void setReady()
{
com->setReady();
}
};
class DerivedClass : public BaseClass
{
public:
DerivedClass() : BaseClass(new DerivedCom, new Queue<DerivedClass>)
{
}
};
class Derived2Class : public BaseClass
{
public:
Derived2Class() : BaseClass(new Derived2Com, new Queue<Derived2Class>)
{}
};
int main()
{
BaseClass* base = new Derived2Class();
base->setReady();
return 0;
}
I can, without problem, "overload" simple classes like Com, DerivedCom and Derived2Com but the constructor signature of BaseClass won't fit to the type the deriving classes are trying to send it.
Instead of Queue<BaseClass>* queue; you should have Queue<BaseClass*> queue; or, even better, Queue<std::unique_ptr<BaseClass>> and initialize it only in the base constructor:
BaseClass(Com* c = new Com, Queue<BaseClass*> q = Queue<BaseClass*>()) : com(c), queue(q)
{
}
However having the BaseClass hold a collection of itself as a member is a code smell. I'd re-think that part.
The reason it's not working is that Queue<BaseClass> and Queue<DerivedClass> are completely different classes.
You should actually have Queue<BaseClass*>* queue = new Queue<BaseClass*>(); This declares a Queue pointer of type BaseClass pointer on the heap and allows you to use the pointer notation you mentioned above as queue->push(&BaseClass::setReady); and such...
Following an answer found elsewhere I changed the concept of class Queue to be template-less.
Related
For example, I have 2 classes (in reality, it's more, that's why I'm asking this question) with the same methods:
class class1{
public:
void init(){
//something
}
void dostuff(){
//something
}
//
};
class class2{
public:
void init(){
//something
}
void dostuff(){
//something
}
//
};
And now a third one in which I want to deal with the two classes in the same manner:
class upclass{
public:
upclass(class12* argclass){
myclass=argclass;
myclass->init();
}
void domorestuff(){
myclass->dostuff();
}
private:
class12* myclass; //pointer to class 1 OR class 2
};
My question is now, do I need multiple constructors and multiple declarations to make it work or is there a way around it? Is it even possible to make "class12" a spacekeeper for these types without preprocessor-directives?
I am sorry to say, this is a wide field and there are really many many possible solution.
But I guess that we are talking about object- oriented programming, derivation and plymorphic functions. What you describe, will be typically solved with a class hierachy.
You have one base class with virtual (polymorphic) functions.
Then you derive other classes from this base class and override the virtual functions from the base class.
In a 3rd step, you create some instances of the derived classes dynamically, during runtime and you store the newly created classes (their address) in a pointer to the base class.
Later, you can call any of the virtual overriden function through the base class pointer. And mechanism behind the scenes will call the correct function for you.
Additionally. You defined some function init. Such a function name suggests the usage of a class-constructor. This will be called automatically in the correct sequence. First the base class constructor and then the derived class constructor.
Please see the below example:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
class Base {
std::string baseName{};
public:
Base() { // Do initialization stuff
baseName = "Base";
std::cout << "\nConstructor Base\n";
}
virtual void doStuff() { // virtual function
std::cout << baseName << '\n';
}
};
class Derived1 : public Base {
std::string derivedName{};
public:
Derived1() : Base() { // Do initialization stuff
derivedName = "Derived1";
std::cout << "Constructor Derived1\n";
}
void doStuff() override { // Override virtaul function
std::cout << derivedName << '\n';
}
};
class Derived2 : public Base {
std::string derivedName{};
public:
Derived2() : Base() { // Do initialization stuff
derivedName = "Derived2";
std::cout << "Constructor Derived2\n\n";
}
void doStuff() override { // Override virtaul function
std::cout << derivedName << '\n';
}
};
int main() {
Base* base = new Base();
Base* derived1 = new Derived1(); // Store in base class pointer
Base* derived2 = new Derived2(); // Store in base class pointer
base->doStuff();
derived1->doStuff(); // Magic of polymorphism
derived2->doStuff(); // Magic of polymorphism
}
The Base class pointer will accept all classes derived from Base.
Please note. In reality you ould not use raw pointers and also to the constructor differently. This is just fotr demo.
But, you need to read several books about it to get the complete understanding.
You can explicitly write "store one of these" via std::variant and obtain the actual type (when needed) through std::visit:
#include <variant>
using class12 = std::variant<class1*, class2*>;
class upclass {
public:
upclass(class12 argclass): myclass{argclass} {
visit([](auto classn) { classn->init(); }, myclass);
}
void domorestuff() {
visit([](auto classn) { classn->dostuff(); }, myclass);
}
private:
class12 myclass;
};
If those visits get too repetitive, you might consider writing a pretty API to hide them:
class prettyclass12: public std::variant<class1*, class2*> {
private: // both g++ and clang want variant_size<>, a quick hack:
auto& upcast() { return static_cast<std::variant<class1*, class2*>&>(*this); }
public:
using std::variant<class1*, class2*>::variant;
void init() { visit([](auto classn) { classn->init(); }, upcast()); }
void dostuff() { visit([](auto classn) { classn->dostuff(); }, upcast()); }
};
class prettyupclass {
public:
prettyupclass(prettyclass12 argclass): myclass{argclass} { myclass.init(); }
void domorestuff() { myclass.dostuff(); }
private:
prettyclass12 myclass;
};
I have a component in a software that can be described by an interface / virtual class.
Which non-virtual subclass is needed is decided by a GUI selection at runtime.
Those subclasses have unique methods, for which is makes no sense to give them a shared interface (e.g. collection of different data types and hardware access).
A minimal code example looks like this:
#include <iostream>
#include <memory>
using namespace std;
// interface base class
class Base
{
public:
virtual void shared()=0;
};
// some subclasses with shared and unique methods
class A : public Base
{
public:
void shared()
{
cout << "do A stuff\n";
}
void methodUniqueToA()
{
cout << "stuff unique to A\n";
}
};
class B : public Base
{
public:
void shared()
{
cout << "do B stuff\n";
}
void methodUniqueToB()
{
cout << "stuff unique to B\n";
}
};
// main
int main()
{
// it is not known at compile time, which subtype will be needed. Therefore: pointer has base class type:
shared_ptr<Base> basePtr;
// choose which object subtype is needed by GUI - in this case e.g. now A is required. Could also have been B!
basePtr = make_shared<A>();
// do some stuff which needs interface functionality... so far so good
basePtr->shared();
// now I want to do methodUniqueToA() only if basePtr contains type A object
// this won't compile obviously:
basePtr->methodUniqueToA(); // COMPILE ERROR
// I could check the type using dynamic_pointer_cast, however this ist not very elegant!
if(dynamic_pointer_cast<A>(basePtr))
{
dynamic_pointer_cast<A>(basePtr)->methodUniqueToA();
}
else
if(dynamic_pointer_cast<B>(basePtr))
{
dynamic_pointer_cast<B>(basePtr)->methodUniqueToB();
}
else
{
// throw some exception
}
return 0;
}
Methods methodUniqueTo*() could have different argument lists and return data which is omitted here for clarity.
I suspect that this problem isn't a rare case. E.g. for accessing different hardware by the different subclasses while also needing the polymorphic functionality of their container.
How does one generally do this?
For the sake of completeness: the output (with compiler error fixed):
do A stuff
stuff unique to A
You can have an enum which will represent the derived class. For example this:
#include <iostream>
#include <memory>
using namespace std;
enum class DerivedType
{
NONE = 0,
AType,
BType
};
class Base
{
public:
Base()
{
mType = DerivedType::NONE;
}
virtual ~Base() = default; //You should have a virtual destructor :)
virtual void shared() = 0;
DerivedType GetType() const { return mType; };
protected:
DerivedType mType;
};
// some subclasses with shared and unique methods
class A : public Base
{
public:
A()
{
mType = DerivedType::AType;
}
void shared()
{
cout << "do A stuff\n";
}
void methodUniqueToA()
{
cout << "stuff unique to A\n";
}
};
class B : public Base
{
public:
B()
{
mType = DerivedType::BType;
}
void shared()
{
cout << "do B stuff\n";
}
void methodUniqueToB()
{
cout << "stuff unique to B\n";
}
};
// main
int main()
{
shared_ptr<Base> basePtr;
basePtr = make_shared<B>();
basePtr->shared();
// Here :)
if(basePtr->GetType() == DerivedType::AType)
static_cast<A*>(basePtr.get())->methodUniqueToA();
else if(basePtr->GetType() == DerivedType::BType)
static_cast<B*>(basePtr.get())->methodUniqueToB();
return 0;
}
You can store an enum and initialize it at the constructor. Then have a Getter for that, which will give you the Type. Then a simple static cast after getting the type would do your job!
The goal of using polymorphism for the client is to control different objects with a single way. In other words, the client do not have to pay any attention to the difference of each object. That way, checking the type of each object violates the basic goal.
To achieve the goal, you will have to :
write the concrete method(methodUniqueToX()).
write a wrapper of the concrete method.
name the wrapper method abstract.
make the method public and interface/abstract.
class Base
{
public:
virtual void shared()=0;
virtual void onEvent1()=0;
virtual void onEvent2()=0;
};
// some subclasses with shared and unique methods
class A : public Base
{
private:
void methodUniqueToA()
{
cout << "stuff unique to A\n";
}
public:
void shared()
{
cout << "do A stuff\n";
}
void onEvent1()
{
this.methodUniqueToA()
}
void onEvent2()
{
}
};
class B : public Base
{
private:
void methodUniqueToB()
{
cout << "stuff unique to B\n";
}
public:
void shared()
{
cout << "do B stuff\n";
}
void onEvent1()
{
}
void onEvent2()
{
methodUniqueToB()
}
};
Let say I've this code with a EnvelopeMultiPoints class template:
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
class EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
// base
};
template<class T>
class EnvelopeMultiPoints : public EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
public:
static unsigned int mNumPoints;
EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
~EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
void Process() {
std::cout << "process: " << mNumPoints << std::endl;
}
};
class Pitch : public EnvelopeMultiPoints<Pitch> { };
template<typename T>
unsigned int EnvelopeMultiPoints<T>::mNumPoints = 5;
class Container
{
public:
EnvelopeMultiPointsBase *pAssociatedEnvelope;
Container(EnvelopeMultiPointsBase *associatedEnvelope) : pAssociatedEnvelope(associatedEnvelope) { }
~Container() { }
void Process();
private:
};
int main()
{
EnvelopeMultiPoints<Pitch> pitch;
Container container(&pitch);
container.pAssociatedEnvelope->Process();
}
And I want to pass to the Container any kind of "EnvelopeMultiPoints" types (a generic "pointer"), so later I can access to its own method (in my case, Process()).
Does it means that also Container must be templated? (which is huge in my real scenario; lot of works to transform all of its methods in template, translate header/cpp, and such).
Or is there a trick that I'm missing?
In few words: let say that I want to pass to Container EnvelopeMultiPoints<Pitch>, and than execute Process(). Later, I want to pass EnvelopeMultiPoints<Volume> instead, and than execute Process(). And so on. Is there a way to do this without converting also Container to a template?
The technique you need is called dynamic polymorphism
that is implemented in C++ by virtual functions.
Illustrating using your code:
class EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
public:
// Abstract base, no actual implementation
virtual void Process() = 0;
};
template<class T>
class EnvelopeMultiPoints : public EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
public:
static unsigned int mNumPoints;
EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
~EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
// Some specific implementation.
virtual void Process() override
{
std::cout << "process: " << mNumPoints << std::endl;
}
};
class Pitch : public EnvelopeMultiPoints<Pitch>
{
};
To call the Process function of the base class, you have to define it in the base class. You can move the implementation to templated child classes:
class EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
private:
virtual void ProcessImpl() = 0;
public:
void Process() {
//potential common code...
ProcessImpl();
//more potential common code...
}
};
template<class T>
class EnvelopeMultiPoints : public EnvelopeMultiPointsBase
{
public:
static unsigned int mNumPoints;
EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
~EnvelopeMultiPoints() { }
private:
void ProcessImpl() {
std::cout << "process" << std::endl;
}
};
My code structure is like below where multiple classes implement Interface. In Example class I store a pointer to the Interface and new() it in the constructor appropriately (depending on constructor parameters not shown here). I'm looking for ways to avoid using new() in this scenario but haven't got a solution yet. What's the best practice for something like this?
class Interface
{
virtual void Foo() = 0;
};
class A : public Interface
{
void Foo() { ... }
};
class B : public Interface
{
void Foo() { ... }
};
class Example
{
private:
Interface* m_bar;
public:
Example()
{
m_bar = new A(); // deleted in destructor
}
};
There are two ways this is typically done, each with their own merits.
If A is truely defined at compile time, than a typical way to handle this is to simply use a template type:
template <typename T>
class TemplateExample
{
T m_bar;
public:
TemplateExample() : m_bar() {};
}
This has some downsides. TemplateExample<A> becomes unrelated to TemplateExample<B>, the error messages when T doesn't follow the correct interface are pretty obtuse, ect. The upside is this may use duck typing rather than interface typing, and m_bar is a concrete instance.
The other (arguable more common) way is to do the following
class UniquePtrExample
{
std::unique_ptr<Interface> m_bar;
public:
UniquePtrExample() : m_bar(new A()){}
};
This has the benefit of being able to be run time configuratble if you follow a cloable pattern:
class Interface
{
public:
virtual void Foo() = 0;
virtual Interface* clone() const = 0;
};
template <typename T>
class CloneHelper : public Interface
{
public:
virtual Interface* clone() const { return new T(static_cast<const T&>(*this));}
};
class A : public CloneHelper<A>
{
virtual void Foo() { std::cout << 'A' << std::endl; }
};
class B : public CloneHelper<B>
{
virtual void Foo() { std::cout << 'B' << std::endl; }
};
class UniquePtrExample
{
std::unique_ptr<Interface> m_bar;
public:
UniquePtrExample() : m_bar(new A()){}
UniquePtrExample(const Interface& i) : m_bar(i.clone());
};
Note you can further extend the above to have a move variant of the clone function.
#include <iostream>
class EquationOfMotion
{
public:
// other attributes
virtual void findNextTimeStep() = 0;
};
class SystemModel
{
public:
EquationOfMotion* p_eom;
// other atributes
SystemModel(EquationOfMotion* new_p_eom)
{
p_eom = new_p_eom;
}
};
class VehicleEquationOfMotion: public EquationOfMotion
{
public:
VehicleEquationOfMotion(...){/* initialise attribute*/}
virtual void findNextTimeStep(){}
};
class Vehicle: public SystemModel
{
// ???? Implementation ?????
}
Vehicle is a specialization of SystemModel where p_eom points to VehicleEquationOfMotion.
I would like to initialise, an instance of VehicleEquationOfMotion and point to it p_eom in Vehicle. I want it to be defined only within the scope of Vehicle, and at the same time, not to use heap.
Is it even possible to reside VehicleEquationOfMotion object inside Vehicle without using the heap? (If not, please suggest where the design has gone wrong).
Might be helpful: I thought about the implementation in this question but ran into trouble (see the question).
If I got your question correctly, then do it like this:
class FooChild : public FooParent
{
public:
FooChild (int pX):m_BarChild(pX), FooParent(&m_BarChild) // point p_barPar to instance of BarChild (i.e. m_BarChild)
{
}
private:
BarChild m_BarChild; // instance of BarChild resided in the stack(not the heap) and is local to FooChild
}
If you want to have FooParent.p_barPar to be pointing to a BarChild that resides inside FooChild, you might need to add a default ctor to FooParent and a method as follows as well: set_p_barPar(BarChild* new_p_bar){p_barPar = new_p_bar;}. So you get:
class FooParent
{
public:
BarParent* p_barPar;
FooParent (){}
FooParent (BarChild* new_p_bar)
{
p_barPar = new_p_bar;
std::cout << p_barPar->x << std::endl;
}
protected:
set_p_barPar(BarChild* new_p_bar)
{
p_barPar = new_p_bar;
}
}
Then you can implement FooChild:
class FooChild : public FooParent
{
public:
FooChild(int new_x, BarChild* new_p_bar):_bar_child(new_x)
{
set_p_barPar(&_bar_child);
}
private: //? Depends on your plans
BarChild _bar_child();
}
Use a class template.
class EquationOfMotion { ... };
template <typename EOM>
class SystemDynamics
{
EOM EquationOfMotion;
...
};
class VehicleEquationOfMotion : public EquationOfMotion { ... };
class Vehicle : public SystemDynamics<VehicleEquationOfMotion> { ... };
May be this is what you want. But the design is not safe. You are passing the pointer to a uninitialized object.
class Vehicle: public SystemModel
{
public:
Vehicle(): SystemModel(&_vem)
{
}
VehicleEquationOfMotion _vem;
}
However, it is safer to do the following:
class SystemModel
{
public:
EquationOfMotion* p_eom;
// other atributes
SystemModel()
{
}
};
class Vehicle: public SystemModel
{
public:
Vehicle(): SystemModel(&_vem)
{
p_eom = &_vem;
}
VehicleEquationOfMotion _vem;
};