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digitalmars.D.learn - Templated structs / variant values

reply Marek Janukowicz <marek janukowicz.net> writes:
I need to have a generalized "settings" functionality that should work like 
this:
* I need to be able to add this to a class
* each setting has its name, description, type and default value
* I need to iterate over all settings for given object

API would more or less look like:
class A {
 ... here I somehow define a setting called "maxTime"
}

A a = new A();

auto b = a.settings["maxTime"].value; // b would contain default value, 
because it wasn't set explicitly yet
string s = a.settings["maxTime"].description; // s would contain setting 
description
a.settings["maxTime"].value = 10.seconds; // This would only work if maxTime 
setting is of type duration
foreach( name, value; a.settings ) ...

Now the problem that I have is with storing those settings. What I've come 
up with so far are either Variants or templated structs (either really 
templated and type parametrized structs returned from template functions). 
The problem with variants is that I don't know how to force the value to be 
of certain type (variant accepts anything). As for templates and structs I 
tried something like:

auto setting (string name, string description, T, T deflt)() {
  struct Setting {
    string name = name;
    T value;
  }
  return Setting(name, deflt);
}

but then I don't know if there is any way to build an array of those to be 
able to iterate over them.

I know generally there should be some kind of "setting definition" defined 
on class level that would keep shared information (like names and defaults) 
and then per-instance data containing just actual values, but I don't really 
care and any solution where this shared information is copied for every 
instance would also be fine.

I know the description above is a bit messy (it's quite late now), but 
hopefully you can get the picture. Any ideas how to approach this problem?

-- 
Marek Janukowicz
Aug 14 2013
next sibling parent "JS" <js.mdnq gmail.com> writes:
On Wednesday, 14 August 2013 at 22:28:13 UTC, Marek Janukowicz 
wrote:

 I need to have a generalized "settings" functionality that 
 should work like
 this:
 * I need to be able to add this to a class
 * each setting has its name, description, type and default value
 * I need to iterate over all settings for given object

 API would more or less look like:
 class A {
  ... here I somehow define a setting called "maxTime"
 }

 A a = new A();

 auto b = a.settings["maxTime"].value; // b would contain 
 default value,
 because it wasn't set explicitly yet
 string s = a.settings["maxTime"].description; // s would 
 contain setting
 description
 a.settings["maxTime"].value = 10.seconds; // This would only 
 work if maxTime
 setting is of type duration
 foreach( name, value; a.settings ) ...

 Now the problem that I have is with storing those settings. 
 What I've come
 up with so far are either Variants or templated structs (either 
 really
 templated and type parametrized structs returned from template 
 functions).
 The problem with variants is that I don't know how to force the 
 value to be
 of certain type (variant accepts anything). As for templates 
 and structs I
 tried something like:

 auto setting (string name, string description, T, T deflt)() {
   struct Setting {
     string name = name;
     T value;
   }
   return Setting(name, deflt);
 }

 but then I don't know if there is any way to build an array of 
 those to be
 able to iterate over them.

 I know generally there should be some kind of "setting 
 definition" defined
 on class level that would keep shared information (like names 
 and defaults)
 and then per-instance data containing just actual values, but I 
 don't really
 care and any solution where this shared information is copied 
 for every
 instance would also be fine.

 I know the description above is a bit messy (it's quite late 
 now), but
 hopefully you can get the picture. Any ideas how to approach 
 this problem?


I don't really follow what exactly you are trying to do. You 
first example is written using an associate array format which D 
already can handle. If you are wanting more "member" like 
behavior then there are several ways to go about it.

e.g.,

1. a.maxTime can be used by using opDispatch and redirecting it 
to settings["maxTime"].

2. You can use string mixins to create your own DSL like behavior 
to code how you want. This is somewhat complex and there is no 
syntax highlighting or property error analysis but it works.


If you are wanting to have default settings and specific settings 

write a whole framework to do this. I used an AA that would 
lookup the value for the object(using the objects hash) and if it 
didn't exist it would get the parent value, if that didn't exist 
it would work itself up the tree until it found one.



e.g.,

A a = new A;

writeln(a.settings.maxTime); // uses opDispatch. maxTime is 
looked up in the global settings. If settings[a.hash~"maxTime"] 
exists then it's value is the maxTime setting for a. If it 
doesn't exist, try settings[a.parent.hash~"maxTime"], etc...
Aug 14 2013
prev sibling parent reply Jacob Carlborg <doob me.com> writes:
On 2013-08-15 00:29, Marek Janukowicz wrote:

 I need to have a generalized "settings" functionality that should work like
 this:
 * I need to be able to add this to a class
 * each setting has its name, description, type and default value
 * I need to iterate over all settings for given object

 API would more or less look like:
 class A {
   ... here I somehow define a setting called "maxTime"
 }

 A a = new A();

 auto b = a.settings["maxTime"].value; // b would contain default value,
 because it wasn't set explicitly yet
 string s = a.settings["maxTime"].description; // s would contain setting
 description
 a.settings["maxTime"].value = 10.seconds; // This would only work if maxTime
 setting is of type duration
 foreach( name, value; a.settings ) ...

 Now the problem that I have is with storing those settings. What I've come
 up with so far are either Variants or templated structs (either really
 templated and type parametrized structs returned from template functions).
 The problem with variants is that I don't know how to force the value to be
 of certain type (variant accepts anything). As for templates and structs I
 tried something like:

 auto setting (string name, string description, T, T deflt)() {
    struct Setting {
      string name = name;
      T value;
    }
    return Setting(name, deflt);
 }

 but then I don't know if there is any way to build an array of those to be
 able to iterate over them.

 I know generally there should be some kind of "setting definition" defined
 on class level that would keep shared information (like names and defaults)
 and then per-instance data containing just actual values, but I don't really
 care and any solution where this shared information is copied for every
 instance would also be fine.

 I know the description above is a bit messy (it's quite late now), but
 hopefully you can get the picture. Any ideas how to approach this problem?


Perhaps you can do something like this:

struct Setting (T, string desc)
{
     T value;
     enum description = desc;
     alias value this;

     this (T value)
     {
         this.value = value;
     }
}

class A
{
     Setting!(int, "foo bar") bar = 3;

     auto settings ()
     {
         return Tuple!(typeof(bar), "bar")(bar);
     }
}

void main ()
{
     auto a = new A;
     assert(a.bar.description == "foo bar");
     assert(a.bar.value == 3);
     assert(a.bar == 3);
     assert(a.settings.bar == 3);
}

In "settings" you should be able to:

1. Iterate over all fields of the type Setting using 
__tratis(derivedMembers)
2. Create and return tuple of all these fields

But then you won't be able to set the value via "settings".

Perhaps a variant is easier, but then you need to tell it what type to 
return, something like:

auto bar = a.settings["bar"].value!(int);

http://dlang.org/traits.html#derivedMembers

-- 
/Jacob Carlborg
Aug 14 2013
parent reply Marek Janukowicz <marek janukowicz.net> writes:
Jacob Carlborg wrote:


 On 2013-08-15 00:29, Marek Janukowicz wrote:

 I need to have a generalized "settings" functionality that should work
 like this:
 * I need to be able to add this to a class
 * each setting has its name, description, type and default value
 * I need to iterate over all settings for given object

 API would more or less look like:
 class A {
   ... here I somehow define a setting called "maxTime"
 }

 A a = new A();

 auto b = a.settings["maxTime"].value; // b would contain default value,
 because it wasn't set explicitly yet
 string s = a.settings["maxTime"].description; // s would contain setting
 description
 a.settings["maxTime"].value = 10.seconds; // This would only work if
 maxTime setting is of type duration
 foreach( name, value; a.settings ) ...

 Now the problem that I have is with storing those settings. What I've
 come up with so far are either Variants or templated structs (either
 really templated and type parametrized structs returned from template
 functions). The problem with variants is that I don't know how to force
 the value to be of certain type (variant accepts anything). As for
 templates and structs I tried something like:

 auto setting (string name, string description, T, T deflt)() {
    struct Setting {
      string name = name;
      T value;
    }
    return Setting(name, deflt);
 }

 but then I don't know if there is any way to build an array of those to
 be able to iterate over them.

 I know generally there should be some kind of "setting definition"
 defined on class level that would keep shared information (like names and
 defaults) and then per-instance data containing just actual values, but I
 don't really care and any solution where this shared information is
 copied for every instance would also be fine.

 I know the description above is a bit messy (it's quite late now), but
 hopefully you can get the picture. Any ideas how to approach this
 problem?


 
 Perhaps you can do something like this:
 
 struct Setting (T, string desc)
 {
      T value;
      enum description = desc;
      alias value this;
 
      this (T value)
      {
          this.value = value;
      }
 }
 
 class A
 {
      Setting!(int, "foo bar") bar = 3;
 
      auto settings ()
      {
          return Tuple!(typeof(bar), "bar")(bar);
      }
 }
 
 void main ()
 {
      auto a = new A;
      assert(a.bar.description == "foo bar");
      assert(a.bar.value == 3);
      assert(a.bar == 3);
      assert(a.settings.bar == 3);
 }


Thank you for this code, I narrowed my requirements a bit and ended up with 
this:

struct Setting (T, string desc, T deflt)
{
  T value = deflt;
  string description = desc;
  alias value this;

  this (T value)
  {
    this.value = value;
  }
}

class A {

  Setting!(int, "Some max int", 10) max;
  Setting!(string, "name", "default name") name;

}

This looks very neat to me: definition is provided via template parameters 
while the actual value is provided via argument.


 In "settings" you should be able to:
 
 1. Iterate over all fields of the type Setting using
 __tratis(derivedMembers)


How do I do that? My understanding of types in case of templates is really 
poor... If I do something like:

    foreach( s; __traits(derivedMembers, typeof(this))) {

how do I go from "s" into type of this member (especially that a type is an 
instantiated struct template?). And more generally - how do I check the type 
of a variable?


 2. Create and return tuple of all these fields
 
 But then you won't be able to set the value via "settings".


What I really is need is a JSON of name => value pairs and corresponding 
method to update the settings from such JSON structure. Or it may be AA with 
Variant values, it's really quite straightforward to convert between one and 
the other. But I have a problem of how to get a list of all fields of type 
Setting (as mentioned above).

-- 
Marek Janukowicz
Aug 19 2013
parent reply "H. S. Teoh" <hsteoh quickfur.ath.cx> writes:
On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 01:09:16AM +0200, Marek Janukowicz wrote:

 Jacob Carlborg wrote:


[...]

 In "settings" you should be able to:
 
 1. Iterate over all fields of the type Setting using
 __tratis(derivedMembers)


 
 How do I do that? My understanding of types in case of templates is
 really poor... If I do something like:
 
     foreach( s; __traits(derivedMembers, typeof(this))) {
 
 how do I go from "s" into type of this member (especially that a type
 is an instantiated struct template?).


To get the type:

	alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));

To get the value:
	auto value = __traits(getMember, this, s);

Or you can get both:

	auto value = __traits(getMember, this, s);
	alias type = typeof(value);



 And more generally - how do I check the type of a variable?


	int x;
	assert(is(typeof(x) == int));


T

-- 
MACINTOSH: Most Applications Crash, If Not, The Operating System Hangs
Aug 19 2013
parent reply Marek Janukowicz <marek janukowicz.net> writes:
H. S. Teoh wrote:


 On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 01:09:16AM +0200, Marek Janukowicz wrote:

 Jacob Carlborg wrote:


 [...]

 In "settings" you should be able to:
 
 1. Iterate over all fields of the type Setting using
 __tratis(derivedMembers)


 
 How do I do that? My understanding of types in case of templates is
 really poor... If I do something like:
 
     foreach( s; __traits(derivedMembers, typeof(this))) {
 
 how do I go from "s" into type of this member (especially that a type
 is an instantiated struct template?).


 
 To get the type:
 
 alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));
 
 To get the value:
 auto value = __traits(getMember, this, s);
 
 Or you can get both:
 
 auto value = __traits(getMember, this, s);
 alias type = typeof(value);
 
 

 And more generally - how do I check the type of a variable?


 
 int x;
 assert(is(typeof(x) == int));


Thanks, but how do I get the list of members that are of instantiated 
Setting struct type? If I do it like this:

alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));
      if (is ( type == Setting))

I get:

Error: struct aa.Setting(T, string desc, T deflt) is used as a type

-- 
Marek Janukowicz
Aug 19 2013
parent reply Jacob Carlborg <doob me.com> writes:
On 2013-08-20 01:51, Marek Janukowicz wrote:


 Thanks, but how do I get the list of members that are of instantiated
 Setting struct type? If I do it like this:

 alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));
        if (is ( type == Setting))

 I get:

 Error: struct aa.Setting(T, string desc, T deflt) is used as a type


That's a good question. There's probably some smart 
template/is-expression syntax to strip out arguments and only leaving 
Setting.

-- 
/Jacob Carlborg
Aug 19 2013
parent reply "Dicebot" <public dicebot.lv> writes:
On Tuesday, 20 August 2013 at 06:42:47 UTC, Jacob Carlborg wrote:

 On 2013-08-20 01:51, Marek Janukowicz wrote:


 Thanks, but how do I get the list of members that are of 
 instantiated
 Setting struct type? If I do it like this:

 alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));
       if (is ( type == Setting))

 I get:

 Error: struct aa.Setting(T, string desc, T deflt) is used as a 
 type


 That's a good question. There's probably some smart 
 template/is-expression syntax to strip out arguments and only 
 leaving Setting.


if(is(type == Setting!U, U...))
Aug 20 2013
parent reply Marek Janukowicz <marek janukowicz.net> writes:
Dicebot wrote:


 Thanks, but how do I get the list of members that are of
 instantiated
 Setting struct type? If I do it like this:

 alias type = typeof(__traits(getMember, this, s));
       if (is ( type == Setting))

 I get:

 Error: struct aa.Setting(T, string desc, T deflt) is used as a
 type


 That's a good question. There's probably some smart
 template/is-expression syntax to strip out arguments and only
 leaving Setting.


 
 if(is(type == Setting!U, U...))


This is not enough for me - I have many instantiations of Setting struct 
template and I need all of them, regardless of parameters they were 
instantiated with.

-- 
Marek Janukowicz
Aug 20 2013
parent reply "Dicebot" <public dicebot.lv> writes:
On Tuesday, 20 August 2013 at 11:22:35 UTC, Marek Janukowicz 
wrote:

 if(is(type == Setting!U, U...))


 This is not enough for me - I have many instantiations of 
 Setting struct
 template and I need all of them, regardless of parameters they 
 were
 instantiated with.


Have you actually tried this snippet? It does exactly that. 
"U..." is a pattern for variadic template argument list. 
Constraint will match Setting instance with any number of any 
template arguments.
Aug 20 2013
parent Marek Janukowicz <marek janukowicz.net> writes:
Dicebot wrote:


 On Tuesday, 20 August 2013 at 11:22:35 UTC, Marek Janukowicz
 wrote:

 if(is(type == Setting!U, U...))


 This is not enough for me - I have many instantiations of
 Setting struct
 template and I need all of them, regardless of parameters they
 were
 instantiated with.


 
 Have you actually tried this snippet? It does exactly that.
 "U..." is a pattern for variadic template argument list.
 Constraint will match Setting instance with any number of any
 template arguments.


Yeah, that was a typical PEBKAC. I somehow assumed you use U, U... as dummy 
placeholders :) even that I know this syntax. Anyway, this works as 
expected, so thank you very much (and all the other that contributed).

-- 
Marek Janukowicz
Aug 20 2013