Re: 2d array with comma operator in C++?

From:
"James Kanze" <james.kanze@gmail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:57:45 CST
Message-ID:
<1171965847.835256.106100@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com>
Diaboflo wrote:

I have seen many threads that you can't innitialise 2d arrays with a
comma operator in C++. But when I tried it it actually worked fine. I
can call any element of the array using the comma operator.
I'm using g++ on a sun station.
Are there important reasons why I shouldn't do it this way and better
allocate it as a **pointer?


There are no two dimensional arrays in your code.

{ What you wrote as [a,b] below is actually equivalent to [b]. -mod/sk }

int main()
{
    double *e;
    e=new double[10,10];


This allocates a one dimensional array, type double[]. The
proof is that you can assign the results to a double*.

Formally, C++ doesn't have two dimensional arrays, just arrays
of arrays. Normally, the difference is irrelevant, but it does
affect conversions and the return type of new: an array of
arrays converts to a pointer to an array. After that, it is a
pointer, not an array, so no further conversion occurs. Thus,
if you write:

    double* e = new double[ 10 ][ 10 ] ;

the code will not compile, since a pointer to an array[10] of
double is not a pointer to a double.

Of course, since you've allocated a single dimensional array,
and you have a pointer to the first element of a single
dimensional array, all of the rest works as well. On a single
dimensional array. If you really want a two dimensional array,
and the second dimension is a constant, you can write:

    double (*e)[ 10 ] = new double[ 10 ][ 10 ] ;

In most cases, however, I'd suggest encapsulating this into a
class, using a single dimensional array internally. Something
along the lines of:

    template< typename T >
    class Vector2D
    {
    public:
        Vector2D( size_t n, size_t m ) : myY( m ), myData( n * m ) {}
        T const* operator[]( size_t i ) const
        {
            return &myData[ myY * i ] ;
        }
        T* operator[]( size_t i )
        {
            return &myData[ myY * i ] ;
        }
    private:
        size_t myY ;
        std::vector< T > myData ;
    } ;

(I'd actually add a bit more error checking, at least in the
form of assert.)

This way, both dimensions can be variable.

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James Kanze (GABI Software) email:james.kanze@gmail.com
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