Re: Run-time template list definition / Run-time variable type definition

From:
"Victor Bazarov" <v.Abazarov@comAcast.net>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:15:14 -0500
Message-ID:
<fm2rui$ngu$1@news.datemas.de>
Pierre Yves wrote:

Hi there,

Sorry for the double subject but I feel they are related. I'm not
pretty sure there would be an answer but I reckon there must be a way
to make it work.

I would like to write the following bit of code:

8<----------------------------

Foo<> * myFoo = NULL; // Foo is a templated class.

if (condition1) {
myFoo = new Foo<double>(parameters);
} else {
myFoo = new Foo<long>(parameters);
}

processFoo(myFoo);

8<----------------------------

This version is obviously illegal. Have you any ideas for an
alternative? i.e. declaring the template list of my templated class at
run time?


You either have a template wrapper around your 'condition1' and
'processFoo' (IOW, make 'processFoo' a template), or create a base
class for all Foo, like so

    class FooBase { ... };
    template<class T> class Foo : public FooBase { ... };

and then declare 'myFoo' to be a pointer to base:

    FooBase * myFoo( condition1 ?
                        new Foo<double>(parameters) :
                        new Foo<long>(parameters) );

    processFoo(myFoo);

Of course, 'processFoo' would need to be refactored.

I'm looking for a way to do some run-time polymorphism at run-time
with templates. Can I define the template class is derivated from an
other class (similar to an interface in java) or the template will
raise conflicts? Is there a nicer solution?


Not sure what your doubt is about here. Run-time polymorphism and
templates are _orthogonal_ (except that you cannot define a template
member function and declare it virtual at the same time).

V
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