Re: problem storing different iterators in a container

From:
Kai-Uwe Bux <jkherciueh@gmx.net>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:50:05 -0400
Message-ID:
<frmsiu$m4a$1@aioe.org>
Lutz Altmann wrote:

Thanks,

i like this solution very much ..
the push_back in your example main() method can be further
simplified :
from:
iter.push_back( AbstractOutputIterator<int>
                  ( std::back_inserter( il ) ) );
to:
iter.push_back(std::back_inserter(...)));

because of implicit-conversion. thats wonderful :)
exactly what i wanted..

what does it mean, that virtual methods cannot be templated.
Do you mean function-templates ? or are virtual functions (in
princible) of the not supported
by this pattern ?


I mean that you cannot do:

  class X {
 
    ...

    template < typname Arg >
    virtual
    void member_fct ( Arg arg ) { ... }

  };

That really sucks.

I dont really understand, what you mean with : all types for T have to
be known in advance ..
for me, that seems not to be the case ?
i would be very thankfuk, if you could clarify this.


Suppose for a second, you could have templated virtual member functions.
Then, you could do:

  class AbstractOutputIterator {

    struct base {

      virtual
      ~base ( void ) {}
      
      virtual
      base * clone ( void ) = 0;

      template < typename ValueType >
      virtual
      base & operator= ( ValueType const & rhs ) = 0;

      virtual
      void inc ( void ) = 0;

    };

    template < typename Iterator >
    struct derived : public base {

      Iterator the_iter;

      derived ( Iterator iter )
        : the_iter ( iter )
      {}

      ~derived ( void ) {}
      
      derived * clone ( void ) {
        return ( new derived ( the_iter ) );
      }

      template < typename ValueType >
      derived & operator= ( ValueType const & rhs ) {
        the_iter = rhs;
        return ( *this );
      }

      void inc ( void ) {
        ++ the_iter;
      }
      
    };

    ...

  };

Now, AbstractOutputIterator would be much closer to actual output iterators
in that it isn't tied to a particular ValueType in the assignment

  * abstract_iter ++ = some_expression;

Since the language does not support this, you would have to need all
permitted types for some_expression in advance. In the code I posted, I
turned that into the template parameter for AbstractOutputIterator.

Oh, and please don't top-post.

On 16 Mrz., 21:28, Kai-Uwe Bux <jkherci...@gmx.net> wrote:

Lutz Altmann wrote:

On 16 Mrz., 19:56, Kai-Uwe Bux <jkherci...@gmx.net> wrote:


[something about a duck-type for output iterators]

hey thanks alot - i think i'll try to use this "duck-typing"
approach ..


Note that there are some limitations. For instance, virtual methods
cannot be templated. Therefore, you cannot make a true duck-type for
output iterators: you need to know in advance all types T for which

  * iter ++ = t

will be meaningful.
the language. I have yet to find a way around that (and I doubt that such
a way exists).

[snip]

Best

Kai-Uwe Bux

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