I am trying to understand the programming of Siemens scanner using C++ and given that my C++ skills are limited, I am having problems in understanding many parts of the code provided by the vendor.
Problem 1
For instance, the code uses reference (rMrProt) to object MrProt and notations (such as the use of use of (). and ()[].) are very confusing to me.
For instance:
ImageSamples = rMrProt.kSpace().baseResolution()
ImageSize = rMrProt.sliceSeries()[0].readoutFOV()
Some explanation of these statements would be appreciated.
All information regarding object MrProt are in “MrProt.h”, “MrProt.dll”, “MrProt.lib”. All these files have been shared at:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0Ah9soYnrlIYWZkNDU2M2EtYTNmNC00YTc5LTllMzItYzIyMWU4M2ZhY2Fi
Problem 2
Also, I have been trying to read MrProt.dll and MrProt.lib without any success. Only now, I came to know of dumpbin. Any help would be appreciated.
Problem 3
Another confusion that I have is related to some part of MrProt.h itself. There is a statement in MrProt.h:
class __IMP_EXP MrProt: public MrProtocolData::MrProtDataDelegate
{
typedef MrProtocolData::MrProtDataDelegate BasicImplementation;
public:
MrProt();
MrProt(const MrProt& rSource);
…
….
}
Here, __IMP_EXP, I guess that it’s some compiler specific stuff.. some decoration etc. But, I still have no idea what to make of this.
Problem 1.
rMrProt.sliceSeries()[0].readoutFOV()
means
Take rMrProt's sliceSeries member and call that. Apparently, it returns an array-like object, something that can be indexed.
From the result, take the first element ([0]). That's some kind of object.
On that element/object, call readoutFOV.
Problem 2. You're not really supposed to read binary files. There should be documentation with them.
1)
ImageSamples = rMrProt.kSpace().baseResolution()
This is just method chaining. You call the method kSpace() on rMrPrto which returns an object, and you call baseResolution() on that object.
2) Those are binary files. What would you expect to see? To read them you'd have to be an expert in asm or at least know some low-level concepts.
3) __IMP_EXP is a common type of directive that tells the compiler that the class is either exported or imported.
It expands to _declspec(dllimport) or _declspec(dllexport), depending on whether the definition of the class is in the current module or another module.
identifier() is a method/function call
identifier[i] returns the i'th element in an array.
identifier()[i] returns the i'th element of the array returned by identifier()
I can only help on problem 1:
if the return value of rMrProt.kSpace() is a struct. instead of saving it to a struct and then access it's member you can directly access a member of his with rMrProt.kSpace().MemberName
same for rMrProt.sliceSeries() which I guess is returning an array. so rMrProt.sliceSeries()[0] will access the first value in the returning array.
Related
While doing a game engine that uses .lua files in order to read parameter values, I got stuck when I had to read these values and assign them to the parameters of each component in C++. I tried to investigate the way Unity does it, but I didn't find it (and I'm starting to doubt that Unity has to do it at all).
I want the parameters to be initialized automatically, without the user having to do the process of
myComponentParameter = readFromLuaFile("myParameterName")
for each one of the parameters.
My initial idea is to use the std::variant type, and storing an array of variants in order to read them automatically. My problems with this are:
First of all, I don't know how to know the type that std::variant is storing at the moment (tried with std::variant::type, but it didn't work for the template), in order to cast from the untyped .lua value to the C++ value. For reference, my component initialization looks like this:
bool init(luabridge::LuaRef parameterTable)
{
myIntParameter = readVariable<int>(parameterTable, "myIntParameter");
myStringParameter = readVariable<std::string>(parameterTable, "myStringParameter");
return true;
}
(readVariable function is already written in this question, in case you're curious)
The second problem is that the user would have to write std::get(myIntParameter); whenever they want to access to the value stored by the variant, and that sounds like something worse than making the user read the parameter value.
The third problem is that I can't create an array of std::variant<any type>, which is what I would like to do in order to automatically initialize the parameters.
Is there any good solution for this kind of situation where I want the init function to not be necessary, and the user doesn't need to manually set up the parameter values?
Thanks in advance.
Let's expand my comment. In a nutshell, you need to get from
"I have some things entered by the user in some file"
to:
"the client code can read the value without std::get"
…which roughly translates to:
"input validation was done, and values are ready for direct use."
…which implies you do not store your variables in variants.
In the end it is a design question. One module somewhere must have the knowledge of which variable names exist, and the type of each, and the valid values.
The input of that module will be unverified values.
The output of the module will probably be some regular c++ struct.
And the body of that module will likely have a bunch of those:
config.foo = readVariable<int>("foo");
config.bar = readVariable<std::string>("bar");
// you also want to validate values there - all ints may not be valid values for foo,
// maybe bar must follow some specific rules, etc
assuming somewhere else it was defined as:
struct Configuration {
int fooVariable;
std::string bar;
};
Where that module lives depends on your application. If all expected types are known, there is no reason to ever use a variant, just parse right away.
You would read to variants if some things do not make sense until later. For instance if you want to read configuration values that will be used by plugins, so you cannot make sense of them yet.
(actually even then simply re-parsing the file later, or just saving values as text for later parsing would work)
This quesiton is composed of a couple parts, the first has to do with the -> operator in a class. Does it take some sort of input (according to the C++ standard)? For example
some_return_type? operator->( long address ) {
cast the address to some sort of pointer and do something with it...
return something?...possibly... maybe not?;
}
So in reality A::SomeMethod() would refer to an address for a function in memory passed to ->. Or
A::someStaticOrNonStaticDataMember would refer to an address for a field?
If so (given that we do not have access to the actual type of the class), or something like this exists, what is it, and can we reconstruct part of a pointer, or align a pointer, (or write a class with an algorithm to do this), for a class based on some information about that class, so that it had an operable -> operator, so one could write:
somePointer->A::SomeMethod();
and have it call A::SomeMethod()? And maybe make context for the memory used in the class?
From the comments it seems you want to control how Compiler handles and generates -> tokens. This is for your bad luck not possible, because Compiler doesn't expose such information, nor is it required by Standard to do so
It is like you are trying to have "dynamic" (the C# type) but in C++, unluckily this is not possible. What could be similiar is wrapping some sort of "Closure collection" addressed by strings (a sort of scripting language) but that would be really heavy and not very nice.
Actually doing what you want with the syntax you showed is not possible.
If the type of an object is not known, then you have that object hided behind a "void *". That means basically that the only way you can use that object is by casting it back to its original type.
Suppose you have a DLL that expose 2 functions (with header files)
// creates an object of given type or null_ptr if no object match
void* getObject(std::string obj_type);
// call a method on that object
void callMethod(void* obj, std::string method_name, void* args, void* returnval);
Actually that solution (even if ugly) allows to call methods on objects that you don't know (it could be a lot better than that.)
But that force you to use void* and strings. That's because how C++ resolve method names (in reality also in C# the "dynamic" type generates behind the scenes reflection code that use strings with method names and is particulary slow)
So something similiar can be achieved with
float fuelLiters = 3.0f;
void * myObj = createObject("SomeCar");
callMethod(myObj,"loadFuel", &fuelLiters, null_ptr);
you probably can make the syntax a little better with templates or some macro, but you'll never be able to do something like
myObj->A::loadFuel(fuelLiters);
What you can do is having the externally loaded class, use the same interfaces of your application, says:
class ICar{
public:
void loadFuel(float liters)=0;
};
In that case you can use a function that cast the opaque object handle to ICar. This is what I already doing in a library I wrote 2 years ago:
So you just need the DLL expose a method for casting the class (downcast)
//if given object is implementing a ICar, the correct pointer is returned, else
// this function will return nullptr (or throw exception if you like more)
void * downcast( typeof(ICar), myObj);
You'll need simply
ICar *myCar = static_cast<ICar>(downcast( typeof(ICar), myObj));
myCar->loadFuel(3.0f);
However note that both the DLL and your application should "know" about what "ICar" is, so they must include the "ICar" header.
doing that is definitely possible, I did it already in 2 different ways, so If you need more details about implementation I'll be happy to show a possible way (given I understood correctly your question).
The arrow operator (->) is a dereference operator that is used exclusively with pointers to objects that have members.
foo->bar() is the same as (*foo).bar()
If you want to overload -> you should also overload *
I'm still relatively new to Objective C and easily confused by the various types. I am using code from the SquareCam sample project, incorporated into a larger project. It works fine, but now I want to save the videoDataOutputQueue, which is of type dispatch_queue_t so that I can use it elsewhere in the project. It has to pass through some C++ code before finally ending up back in Objective C code. Therefore I am trying to add it to a structure that I already have, as a void * (void *videoDataOutputQueue;)
However, I have not found the right way to assign it without getting a EXC_BAD_ACCESS runtime error. Since dispatch_queue_t is a C++ object, can't I just use it's address?
declared in the interface for squarecamviewcontroller:
#interface SquareCamViewController : UIViewController <UIGestureRecognizerDelegate, AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate,UIActionSheetDelegate>
{
AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer *previewLayer;
AVCaptureVideoDataOutput *dataOutput;
AVCaptureVideoDataOutput *videoDataOutput;
dispatch_queue_t videoDataOutputQueue;
<other stuff>
}
later in the code:
- (void)setupAVCapture
{
<other stuff from the sample code>
MYSTRUCT myStruct = (MYSTRUCT)struct; // make a pointer to the structure
myStruct->videoDataOutputQueue = (void *)videoDataOutputQueue; <<<- bad access here at runtime
<other stuff>
}
Clearly this is not the right way and I don't understand what I am doing. I have some hints from other posts but I'm missing something.
Thanks,
Ken
You have made your question unnecessarily difficult to understand because the "code" you've presented has syntax errors. It's clearly not your real code, so we can't guess what's really supposed to be happening. For example, you use the struct reserved keyword as though it were a value.
Given where you say the bad access occurs, this has nothing to do with the dispatch queue. It looks like your myStruct variable is supposed to be a pointer to a structure of some kind but is just a garbage pointer. So, the attempt to assign a value to one of its fields ends up writing to an invalid memory address. It doesn't really matter what the nature of the field is.
The problem is apparently exactly in the code you omitted as "<other stuff from the sample code>". So, you need to show that. Indeed, you need to show your real code.
Beyond that, dispatch_queue_t is a C type. It's not specific to Objective-C. Therefore, you can use it across all C-based languages. There's no need to use a void*.
A dispatch queue, like all dispatch objects, is reference counted. If you're keeping a long-term reference to it, you need to make sure it stays alive. So, you need to retain it with dispatch_retain(). Likewise, you need to release it when you're done with it using dispatch_release(). (Don't forget to release the old value when you replace a reference you're keeping with another.)
I've got an implemented function MyFunc(int, double, string) in my project. How can I call this function with necessary parameters having its string representation, for example
std::string str = "MyFunc(2, 3.12, \"Lemon Juice\")";
And what about the standard functions, for example, how can I call time() having std::string "time()"?
Ok, here's more detailed task.
I've got a map <string, Data>
Data is a class-wrapper with many childs. When I call Data.GetValue() method, it returns a std::string, depending of child class inner data. One of Data childs must return the string representation of int, another - the string representation of double, and the last one - the string representation of current date and time. Here's the problem - I don't know how to call the standard function ctime() for getting information from one of Data childs.
You cannot in general execute code in C++ whose source is contained in a string. Probably the most compelling motivation for this is so that a C++ implementation is not required to have a C++ compiler on the machine that the code runs on, although there is more to it than just that.
You may be able to do it for specific cases. That could be:
Platform-specific, for example:
Wrap the source up in some boilerplate, then either call the compiler externally, link against it, or embed it in your program. This gives you a program or library.
Run that new program externally, or dynamically link against that library.
Input-specific, for example:
You could parse a function call to a particular known function, with literals as arguments, relatively easily without needing a complete C++ compiler. Get the argument values out into variables and call the function. But if you're going to do that, you could specify a more easily parsable format for the string, than one that looks like a C++ function call.
It sounds as though in your task you have a string that is one of:
a representation of an int
a representation of a double
a representation of a date and time.
You don't say what you want to do with this string, but whatever that is you probably need to (a) examine the string to find out which of the three it is, and then (b) do something appropriate to that format. Better, you could give the derived class the responsibility of returning the same representation no matter which of the three GetValue() returns. For example, if what you really want is seconds since 1970, add a GetSecondsSinceEpoc function, and implement it differently in each class.
As mentioned by others, C++ in itself is not able to do that. However external frameworks can help you.
ROOT (used at CERN) provides reflection for C++ along with an interpreter. You will be able to execute/interpret a method call or a macro written in C++ from within your code.
You can not do that using C++.
I am calling a function in a API that returns a Answer object. Under some conditions, the API will return EMPTY_answer, which is defined as such:
#define EMPTY_answer ((Answer)0)
of course, attempting to access a Answer variable or function from an EMPTY_answer object crashes the application.
Trying to test for it using if(lAnswer == EMPTY_answer) also crashes the application. Is there any way to detect if the API is returning EMPTY_answer?
Edit:
I didn't code the api and I can't modify it in any way, I'm just digging through .h files trying to figure this out. And yes, I am aware that casting 0 to a class is a bit too creative to put it mildly. I just noticed that the == operator is overridden
(...)
class ExportedByJS0CORBA Answer
{
(...)
int __stdcall operator==(Answer *ipt) const;
}
the function being called is
static SubClassOfAction Query();
I'm simplifying names and quite a few layers of inheritance
To be more precise, it crashes with a Segmentation Fault.
Instead of doing a very ugly cast which is almost guaranteed to trigger undefined behavior, just make a static global variable which is used as the "empty" answer. You don't need to use this object in any way, just make it exist so it can be used as a sentinel.
In Answer.h:
extern const Answer EMPTY_answer;
In Answer.cpp:
const Answer EMPTY_answer; // use any constructor parameters that will be appropriate
If Answer is a class type, as the text of your questions suggest, then (Answer) 0 will construct a temporary Answer object using the constructor that accepts 0 as an argument (apparently such constructor exists). In this case attempting to access the members of that object will not crash anything, unless Answer class is specifically implemented to crash in this case (intentionally or unintentionally). So your "Of course..." claim makes no sense whatsoever. There's no immediate reason for such code to crash.
If you observe crashed in someAnswer == EMPTY_answer comparison, that would either mean that the implementation of == operator is buggy, or that either the LHS or the RHS are not valid objects. For example, it might turn out that it is illegal (by design) to construct an Answer object by conversion from 0. If so, then you should simply stop using (Answer) 0 in your code and find another, correctly supported object value to indicate an empty answer.
your original method of just checking for EMPTY_answer is the right way to solve this. Your real problem is why that crashes. What type is lAnswer? Or Answer for that matter... you can't cast 0 to a class like that.