c++/cli Dictionary within a function argument - c++-cli

I am getting familiar with c++/cli. I am writing a function called Locate with a class called Locator. The function that takes input a dictionary of strings.
Dictionary<String^, array< Byte >^>^ Locate(Dictionary<String^, String^>^ imgParms)
I am trying to call it in the main function by doing this:
Locator r;
Dictionary<String^,String^> myDictionary =
gcnew Dictionary<String^,String^>();
r.Locate(myDictionary);
but I am getting this error
error C3073: 'System::Collections::Generic::Dictionary<TKey,TValue>' : ref class does
not have a user-defined copy constructor with
[
TKey=System::String ^,
TValue=System::String ^
]
Any help would be appreciated.

Dictionary<String^,String^> myDictionary =
gcnew Dictionary<String^,String^>();
Should be
Dictionary<String^,String^>^ myDictionary =
gcnew Dictionary<String^,String^>();
the ^ symbol can be thought of as a type modifier like * do gcnew is returning you ax^ to type x

Related

What's the minimum code required to make a NativeCall to the md_parse function in the md4c library?

Note: This post is similar, but not quite the same as a more open-ended questions asked on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/rakulang/comments/vvpikh/looking_for_guidance_on_getting_nativecall/
I'm trying to use the md4c c library to process a markdown file with its md_parse function. I'm having no success, and the program just quietly dies. I don't think I'm calling it with the right arguments.
Documentation for the function is here: https://github.com/mity/md4c/wiki/Embedding-Parser%3A-Calling-MD4C
I'd like to at least figure out the minimum amount of code needed to do this without error. This is my latest attempt, though I've tried many:
use v6.d;
use NativeCall;
sub md_parse(str, int32, Pointer is rw ) is native('md4c') returns int32 { * }
md_parse('hello', 5, Pointer.new());
say 'hi'; # this never gets printed
md4c is a SAX-like streaming parser that calls your functions when it encounters markdown elements. If you call it with an uninitialised Pointer, or with an uninitialised CStruct then the code will SEGV when the md4c library tries to call a null function pointer.
The README says:
The main provided function is md_parse(). It takes a text in the
Markdown syntax and a pointer to a structure which provides pointers
to several callback functions.
As md_parse() processes the input, it calls the callbacks (when
entering or leaving any Markdown block or span; and when outputting
any textual content of the document), allowing application to convert
it into another format or render it onto the screen.
The function signature of md_parse is:
int md_parse(const MD_CHAR* text, MD_SIZE size, const MD_PARSER* parser, void* userdata);
In order for md_parse() to work, you will need to:
define a native CStruct that matches the MD_PARSER type definition
create an instance of this CStruct
initialise all the function pointers with Raku functions that have the right function signature
call md_parse() with the initialised CStruct instance as the third parameter
The 4th parameter to md_parse() is void* userdata which is a pointer that you provide which gets passed back to you as the last parameter of each of the callback functions. My guess is that it's optional and if you pass a null value then you'll get called back with a null userdata parameter in each callback.
Followup
This turned into an interesting rabbit hole to fall down.
The code that makes it possible to pass a Raku sub as a callback parameter to a native function is quite complex and relies on MoarVM ops to build and cache the FFI callback trampoline. This is a piece of code that marshals the C calling convention parameters into a call that MoarVM can dispatch to a Raku sub.
It will be a sizeable task to implement equivalent functionality to provide some kind of nativecast that will generate the required callback trampoline and return a Pointer that can be assigned into a CStruct.
But we can cheat
We can use a simple C function to return the pointer to a generated callback trampoline as if it was for a normal callback sub. We can then store this pointer in our CStruct and our problem is solved. The generated trampoline is specific to the function signature of the Raku sub we want to call, so we need to generate a different NativeCall binding for each function signature we need.
The C function:
void* get_pointer(void* p)
{
return p;
}
Binding a NativeCall sub for the function signature we need:
sub get_enter_leave_fn(&func (uint32, Pointer, Pointer))
is native('./getpointer') is symbol('get_pointer') returns Pointer { * }
Initialising a CStruct attribute:
$!enter_block := get_enter_leave_fn(&enter_block);
Putting it all together:
use NativeCall;
enum BlockType < DOC QUOTE UL OL LI HR H CODE HTML P TABLE THEAD TBODY TR TH TD >;
enum SpanType < EM STRONG A IMG SPAN_CODE DEL SPAN_LATEXMATH LATEXMATH_DISPLAY WIKILINK SPAN_U >;
enum TextType < NORMAL NULLCHAR BR SOFTBR ENTITY TEXT_CODE TEXT_HTML TEXT_LATEXMATH >;
sub enter_block(uint32 $type, Pointer $detail, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
say "enter block { BlockType($type) }";
}
sub leave_block(uint32 $type, Pointer $detail, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
say "leave block { BlockType($type) }";
}
sub enter_span(uint32 $type, Pointer $detail, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
say "enter span { SpanType($type) }";
}
sub leave_span(uint32 $type, Pointer $detail, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
say "leave span { SpanType($type) }";
}
sub text(uint32 $type, str $text, uint32 $size, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
say "text '{$text.substr(0..^$size)}'";
}
sub debug_log(str $msg, Pointer $userdata --> int32) {
note $msg;
}
#
# Cast functions that are specific to the required function signature.
#
# Makes use of a utility C function that returns its `void*` parameter, compiled
# into a shared library called libgetpointer.dylib (on MacOS)
#
# gcc -shared -o libgetpointer.dylib get_pointer.c
#
# void* get_pointer(void* p)
# {
# return p;
# }
#
# Each cast function uses NativeCall to build an FFI callback trampoline that gets
# cached in an MVMThreadContext. The generated callback code is specific to the
# function signature of the Raku function that will be called.
#
sub get_enter_leave_fn(&func (uint32, Pointer, Pointer))
is native('./getpointer') is symbol('get_pointer') returns Pointer { * }
sub get_text_fn(&func (uint32, str, uint32, Pointer))
is native('./getpointer') is symbol('get_pointer') returns Pointer { * }
sub get_debug_fn(&func (str, Pointer))
is native('./getpointer') is symbol('get_pointer') returns Pointer { * }
class MD_PARSER is repr('CStruct') {
has uint32 $!abi_version; # unsigned int abi_version
has uint32 $!flags; # unsigned int flags
has Pointer $!enter_block; # F:int ( )* enter_block
has Pointer $!leave_block; # F:int ( )* leave_block
has Pointer $!enter_span; # F:int ( )* enter_span
has Pointer $!leave_span; # F:int ( )* leave_span
has Pointer $!text; # F:int ( )* text
has Pointer $!debug_log; # F:void ( )* debug_log
has Pointer $!syntax; # F:void ( )* syntax
submethod TWEAK() {
$!abi_version = 0;
$!flags = 0;
$!enter_block := get_enter_leave_fn(&enter_block);
$!leave_block := get_enter_leave_fn(&leave_block);
$!enter_span := get_enter_leave_fn(&enter_span);
$!leave_span := get_enter_leave_fn(&leave_span);
$!text := get_text_fn(&text);
$!debug_log := get_debug_fn(&debug_log);
}
}
sub md_parse(str, uint32, MD_PARSER, Pointer is rw) is native('md4c') returns int { * }
my $parser = MD_PARSER.new;
my $md = '
# Heading
## Sub Heading
hello *world*
';
md_parse($md, $md.chars, $parser, Pointer.new);
The output:
./md4c.raku
enter block DOC
enter block H
text 'Heading'
leave block H
enter block H
text 'Sub Heading'
leave block H
enter block P
text 'hello '
enter span EM
text 'world'
leave span EM
leave block P
leave block DOC
In summary, it's possible. I'm not sure if I'm proud of this or horrified by it. I think a long-term solution will require refactoring the callback trampoline generator into a separate nqp op that can be exposed to Raku as a nativewrap style operation.

how to assign pointer in a managed array of pointers c++/cli?

I am new to managed code and i need to pass array of pointers to different structures to windows form using C++/CLI , but it didn`t work !
My problem is in the managed array, how can i correctly access its elements .
The code sequence :
array<void*> ^ ptr;//here ptr value is undefined , type array<void*> ^
ptr = gcnew array<void*> (2);// length 0x2 , 0x0 and 0x1 values are undefined of type void
class1::struct1 structObj1;
class2::struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;// value is empty of type void!!
ptr[1] = &structObj2;//value is empty of type void!!
When i watched ptr , i found the above comments.
Notice that repeating code but using unmanaged array works probably
void* ptr[2];//here ptr value is undefined , type void*[]
class1::struct1 structObj1;
class2::struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;// value is address1 of type void*
ptr[1] = &structObj2;//value is address2 of type void*
Can anyone see where is the problem??
Do I need to use unmanaged array then convert to managed? If yes, how can I do it ??
Passing unmanaged pointers in a managed array may be valid C++/CLI, but it's definitely not the ideal way to do things. Do consider creating a custom managed class (ref class in C++/CLI) to hold the structures, instead of passing around pointers.
For this, I'm assuming that struct1 and struct2 are unmanged structs. This answer only applies if that is the case.
Your existing code works for me. Here's my version, with some debugging added in.
public struct struct1 { int foo; };
public struct struct2 { float bar; };
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
array<void*> ^ ptr;
ptr = gcnew array<void*> (2);
for(int i = 0; i < ptr->Length; i++)
Debug::WriteLine("ptr[{0}] = {1:X8}", i, reinterpret_cast<int>(ptr[i]));
struct1 structObj1;
struct2 structObj2;
ptr[0] = &structObj1;
ptr[1] = &structObj2;
for(int i = 0; i < ptr->Length; i++)
Debug::WriteLine("ptr[{0}] = {1:X8}", i, reinterpret_cast<int>(ptr[i]));
struct1* pointerToStructObj1 = reinterpret_cast<struct1*>(ptr[0]);
structObj1.foo = 4;
Debug::WriteLine("pointerToStructObj1->foo = {0}", pointerToStructObj1->foo);
}
Output:
ptr[0] = 00000000
ptr[1] = 00000000
ptr[0] = 0013F390
ptr[1] = 0013F394
pointerToStructObj1->foo = 4
Edit
To use Debug::WriteLine, add using namespace System::Diagnostics.
The debugger doesn't know how to display the contents of a void*, so it just displays blank. It does display a null pointer differently, though: null shows up as <undefined value>, non-null shows up as just blank.
My philosophy on C++/CLI is: If you're going to write managed code, write managed code. Consider replacing your vector with a managed List. If you still need unmanaged objects, I strongly urge you to consider writing a managed class with properly typed pointers, rather than a void* array.
To implement such a class, create whatever fields you need, just be sure that they're pointers, not direct. (vector<foo>* instead of vector<foo>.) Create the objects with new in the constructor, and delete them in the destructor (which is called on Dispose) & finalizer.

cannot convert from Icollection to Icollection c /cli

i need to fill a collection with another list in c++/cli so the problem that when i try to do that i got an error
error C2664: 'SpaceClaim::Api::V10::InteractionContext::Selection::set' : cannot convert parameter 1 from 'System::Collections::Generic::ICollection ^' to 'System::Collections::Generic::ICollection ^'
and here the code
List<DesignEdge^> ^newEdges = gcnew List<DesignEdge^>();
for each (DesignEdge^edge in onecopiedBody->Edges)
{
if (!edges->Contains(edge))
{
newEdges->Add(edge);
}
}
cstom->InteractionContext->Selection = safe_cast<ICollection<IDesignEdge^> ^>(newEdges); //error here
The problem is that you're trying to cast from ICollection<DesignEdge^>^ to ICollection<IDesignEdge^>^, which is not safe. What you should do is operate in terms of IDesignEdge from the start:
auto newEdges = gcnew List<IDesignEdge^>();

Listing WIA devices in C++/CLI fails with "cannot convert from 'int' to 'System::Object ^%'"

I'm trying to list all WIA devices with C++/CLI. I'm fairly new to C++/CLI (although I consider myself an intermediate C++ programmer), but I keep getting this error:
error C2664: 'WIA::IDeviceInfos::default::get' : cannot convert parameter 1 from 'int' to 'System::Object ^%'
when using the following code snippet:
DeviceManager^ dm = (gcnew WIA::DeviceManager());
for (int i = 1; i <= dm->DeviceInfos->Count; i++)
{
String^ deviceName = dm->DeviceInfos[i].Properties("Name")->get_Value()->ToString();
this->devices->Items->Add(deviceName);
}
Why should I treat that int as an Object? In Managed C++ there was the concept of boxing, but it doesn't work here and anyway I thought C++/CLI was introduced in order to get rid of it?
The Value property needs some non-obvious code to get it out. Try this:
WIA::DeviceInfo ^ info = dm->DeviceInfos[gcnew System::Int32(i)];
WIA::Property ^ propName = info->Properties[gcnew System::String(L"Name")];
String ^ strName = propName->default->ToString();

...array<Object^>^ args

I'm reading C++/CLI. I see this stuff:
Object^ CreateInstanceFromTypename(String^ type, ...array<Object^>^ args)
{
if (!type)
throw gcnew ArgumentNullException("type");
Type^ t = Type::GetType(type);
if (!t)
throw gcnew ArgumentException("Invalid type name");
Object^ obj = Activator::CreateInstance(t, args);
return obj;
}
When calling it:
Object^ o = CreateInstanceFromTypename(
"System.Uri, System, Version=2.0.0.0, "
"Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089",
"http://www.heege.net"
);
What is ...array^ args? If I remove ... ,there's a complied-error:
error C2665: 'CreateInstanceFromTypeName' : none of the 2 overloads could convert all the argument types
1> .\myFourthCPlus.cpp(12): could be 'System::Object ^CreateInstanceFromTypeName(System::String ^,cli::array<Type> ^)'
1> with
1> [
1> Type=System::Object ^
1> ]
1> while trying to match the argument list '(const char [86], const char [21])'
Like C++, C++/CLI has a mechanism for a variable amount of arguments. That is what the ... in front of the ...array<Object^>^ parameter means.
For type safety the C++/CLI designers added managed syntax to declare the type of the variable array.
Since it's just passing that parameter to the Activator::CreateInstance() function, I would look at what variable parameters the Activator function is looking for.