dynamic array member variables - c++

Question

Hey i'm new to c++ and still working out its perticularities. I'm having the darnedest time trying to figure out whats going wrong with this code. I've stepped through it and everything is calculating correctly. The issue is that value_array in the base class doesn't seem to be retaining the values once the derived class Calculate function ends. I think i've declared and allocated the array properly. I'm stumped...
#include <iostream>
class Indicator
{
protected:
double * value_array;
double * input_array;
int input_size;
public:
Indicator(double input[], int size)
{
input_array = input;
input_size = size;
value_array = new double[size]; // issue with value_array
}
double operator[] (int index) { return value_array[index]; }
void virtual Calculate() {}
~Indicator() { delete[] value_array; }
};
class SMA : public Indicator
{
private:
int nperiod;
double sum;
public:
SMA(double input[], int size, int period) : Indicator(input, size)
{
nperiod = period;
sum = 0;
Calculate();
}
void Calculate();
};
void SMA::Calculate()
{
for (int i=0; i<input_size; i++)
{
if (i > nperiod - 1)
{
sum += input_array[i] - input_array[i-nperiod];
value_array[i] = sum / nperiod;
}
else
{
sum += input_array[i];
value_array[i] = sum / (i+1);
}
}
}
int main(int argc, const char *argv[]) {
double input[] = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10};
Indicator indicator = SMA(input,10,5);
double value = indicator[0];
std::cout << "value: " << value << std::endl;
std::cin.get();
exit(0);
}
Update:
Here is the code implemented with vectors. I wanted to leave the input as double[] to be consistent with other libraries, any other potential issues I should be aware of?
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
class Indicator
{
protected:
std::vector<double> value_vector;
double * input_array;
int input_size;
public:
Indicator(double input[], int size)
{
input_array = input;
input_size = size;
value_vector.reserve(size);
}
double operator[] (int index) { return value_vector[index]; }
void virtual Calculate() {}
};
class SMA : public Indicator
{
private:
int nperiod;
double sum;
public:
SMA(double input[], int size, int period) : Indicator(input, size)
{
nperiod = period;
sum = 0;
Calculate();
}
void Calculate();
};
void SMA::Calculate()
{
for (int i=0; i<input_size; i++)
{
if (i > nperiod - 1)
{
sum += input_array[i] - input_array[i-nperiod];
value_vector.push_back(sum / nperiod);
}
else
{
sum += input_array[i];
value_vector.push_back(sum / (i+1));
}
std::cout << "sma: " << value_vector[i] << std::endl;
}
}
int main(int argc, const char *argv[]) {
double input[] = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10};
Indicator indicator = SMA(input,10,5);
for (int i=0; i<10; i++)
{
std::cout << "main: " << indicator[i] << std::endl;
}
std::cin.get();
exit(0);
}

Answer 1

That's because you're violating the Rule of Three. Since your class manages a resource, it needs a copy constructor and an assignment operator. I strongly suggest replacing any T* data member with a std::vector<T> data member. Then you don't need to write those special member functions manually.

Answer 2

Hia,
a few things are wrong.
As FredOverflow says you need a copy constructor and assignment, something like:
Indicator::Indicator(const Indicator& other)
{
input_size = other.input_size;
//direct copy of reference as indicator doesn't own this data
//Note a shared pointer (such as boost::shared_ptr) would be better than a naked reference
input_array = other.input_array;
//construct a new set of data
value_array = new double[input_size];
//do you want to copy the data too? maybe a memcpy follows?
memcpy(value_array, other.value_array, input_size*sizeof(double));
}
Then you need an assignment
Indicator&
Indicator::operator=(const Indicator& other)
{
//make sure you are not assigning itself
if(this != &other)
{
input_size = other.input_size;
//direct copy of reference as indicator doesn't own this data
//Note a shared pointer (such as boost::shared_ptr) would be better than a naked reference
input_array = other.input_array;
//destroy old data and construct a new set of data
delete[] value_array;
value_array = new double[input_size];
//do you want to copy the data too? maybe a memcpy follows?
memcpy(value_array, other.value_array, input_size*sizeof(double));
}
return *this;
}
You probably also want to make the destructor virtual - see here for why -
it helps prevent memory leaks in the destructor of SMA
virtual ~Indicator() { delete[] value_array; }

Answer 3

Use std::vector instead of raw arrays.
std::vector handles all the memory management and copying and so forth.
Cheers & hth.,