Re: outer class `this` in local classes without inheritance?

From:
Goran Pusic <goranp@cse-semaphore.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:06:23 CST
Message-ID:
<8a59af44-10b6-4428-84a1-92e12192eff5@w12g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>

I am programming a macro which evaluates a code expression in constant-
correct context by executing the code from within a local function by
passing the object `this` and other variables as `const`. For example,
the `BLOCK_INVARIANT()` macro can be programmed so that the following:

    class c {
    public:
        c(int x): x_(x) {}

        bool eq(int x) const { return x_ == x; };

        void f(int x) {
            BLOCK_INVARIANT( (const (c*)(this) (int)(x) (this_->eq(x)
== false)) )
        }

    private:
        int x_;
    };

Expands to:

    class c {
    public:
        c(int x): x_(x) {}

        bool eq(int x) const { return x_ == x; };

        void f(int x) {
            struct block_invariant {
                static void check(c const* const this_, int const& x)
{
                    if(!( this_->eq(x) == false )) { // Evaluated in
constant-correct context because `this_` and `x` are `const`.
                        throw int(-1);
                    }
                }
            };
            block_invariant::check(this, x);
        }

    private:
        int x_;
    };

Now the compiler will generate an error if the code expression passed
to `BLOCK_INVARIANT()` -- `this_->eq(x)` in this example -- is not
constant-correct.


(You could have shown definition of BLOCK_INVARIANT)

That said, if const-correctness is your goal, then you still don't
need additional class. A const_cast (no blind C casts please, we're in
C++ ;-) ) could do, couldn't it?

What if you simply do:

#define BLOCK_INVARIANT(object_type, check, param_type, param) \
{ if (!const_cast<const object_type*>(this)->check((const param_type&)
(param))) throw -1;}

and then, in f():

BLOCK_INVARIANT(c, eq, int, x).

You can eliminate c by using another macro inside class definition
file, e.g. in c.cpp

#define BLOCK_INVARIANT_C(check, param_type, param) BLOCK_INVARIANT(c,
check, param_type, param)

By the way, that throw -1 stands out like a sore thumb. How's that
supposed to be used? When your invariant is broken, you pop up to the
top of the stack (e.g. to main) and do

catch(int i)
{
  return int;
}

?

That's, frankly, worse than crashing or aborting, because you will
lose the place where crash happened. How about at least an exception
containing __FILE__, and __LINE__?

Goran.

--
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