In C# I could do this:
class RangeValidator<T> {
public T MinValue { get; set; }
public T MaxValue { get; set; }
}
Where T could be any primitive type; int, float, double... or any "object"-type; String, DateTime etc.
If in Obj-C, I did it like this:
#interface RangeValidator {
id minValue;
id maxValue;
}
#property ...
It would work for let's say a NSNumber or NSString, but if I assigned a NSInteger to minValue I'd get something like a
warning: initialization makes pointer from integer without a cast
// Since an id is a pointer to an object, not an integer. Correct?
The obvious solution here is maybe to use a NSNumber instead. I was just curious if there are any other solutions to this kind of problem?
Thanks!
The correct way would be to use a NSNumber and initialize from the integer with
[NSNumber numberWithInt:someInt];
This way the class does not need generics, you could easily perform validation by checking if minValue and maxValue e.g. understands intValue (or some comparison selector maybe, depending on what you want to do).
if([minValue respondsToSelector:#selector(intValue)]) {
return [minValue intValue];
} else {
....
}
If you want to use generics in Objective C, I recommend you using Objective C++ which supports C++ template instead of this ugly untyped code.
The code above doesn't work because NSInteger is a typedef for appropriate primitive type and not a pointer type. You should use a NSNumber wrapper instead.
I think that the idiomatic Objective-C solution would be exactly what you propose, use the id type and wrap primitive number values in an NSNumber. NSInteger, as Konstantin mentions, is a primitive type – see the Foundation Data Type Reference:
#if __LP64__ || TARGET_OS_EMBEDDED || TARGET_OS_IPHONE || TARGET_OS_WIN32 || NS_BUILD_32_LIKE_64
typedef long NSInteger;
#else
typedef int NSInteger;
#endif
This inconsistency between primitive types and objects is a bit unfortunate, you have to learn to recognize the non-object types like NSInteger, CGRect or CMTime.
Related
How can I have a method/function that can return any type? For example sometimes the type will need to be float and sometimes it will need to be NSString* so id won't work because float isn't an id. I am not opposed to doing it in a c or c++ function if it's easier.
The reason why I need a dynamic return type is because I'm using objc/runtime to get an Ivar.
I would like some_type to be able to anything:
- (some_type)getIvarWithName:(const char *)name in:(id)obj
{
Ivar ivar(class_getInstanceVariable(object_getClass(obj),name));
return (some_type)ivar;
}
Return a float wrapped in an NSNumber, then you can use the id return type.
To simplify it, you can even use boxing literals, for example:
return #(1.1f);
The first thing to think about is why you would need a function that can return any type. It really doesn't make sense because you wouldn't be able to assign the value to anything, since you don't know the type. Of course, the situation is different when dealing strictly with Obj-C objects, as the language utilizes unknown objects with the id keyword. Unknown objects are like mixing Honeycrisp apples with Macintosh apples (no pun intended), and what you are trying to do is like mixing Honeycrisp apples with airplanes! However, if you want a certain type returned based off of the parameters (such as returning int for int parameters and float for float parameters), then you can overload the functions. Otherwise, then only way that I know of to return absolutely anything would be a void pointer (void *). This would point to a chunk of data that could really be anything. But back to the original problem. What does it represent and how long is it? Good luck!
UPDATE: As other answers mention, you can wrap simple data types (int, float, etc.) in objects such as NSNumbers or NSValues, which will work for your case. But when extending to more general scenarios with complex types such as structs, these generally can't be wrapped in built-in classes. You would need to make your own class using Obj-C.
There is no polymorphism of that kind in Obj-C.
If you know in advance what will be returned then you could use to methods of course.
Retruning id would work when you use an NSNumber for the float value.
You could even introduce a response object that either carries a number or a string and provides (bool) isNumber and (bool) isString methods for later processing.
But what are you really up to? In which context are you using that and what do you really try to achieve. To me it sounds as if there may be better solutions available.
Ofcourse it's weird solution, but you have weird question.
You need enable objective-c++: rename .m-file to .mm
Then yours code will look something like that:
void weird_function(int a)
{
switch (a)
{
case 0: throw #"Hello";
default: throw a;
}
}
void some_code(int a)
{
try
{
weird_function(a);
}
catch (int a)
{
NSLog(#"Catch int: %d", a);
}
catch (NSString* str)
{
NSLog(#"Catch string: %#", str);
}
}
Yours method can be implemented something like that:
union ValueHolder
{
void* voidPtrValue;
int intValue;
float floatValue;
NSString* nssstringValue;
};
- (void)getIvarWithName:(const char *)name in:(id)obj
{
ValueHolder vh;
Ivar ivar = object_getInstanceVariable(obj,name, &vh.voidPtrValue));
if (NULL == ivar)
return;
const char* encoding = ivar_getTypeEncoding(ivar);
if (0 == strcmp(encoding, #encode(int)))
throw vh.intValue;
if (0 == strcmp(encoding, #encode(float)))
throw vh.floatValue;
if (0 == strcmp(encoding, "#\"NSString\""))
throw vh.nsstringValue;
}
I found that using a template in c++ works to have a custom type
The following code works best for my situation:
template <typename _type>
static inline _type & hookVar(id self, NSString*name)
{
Ivar ivar(class_getInstanceVariable(object_getClass(self),[name UTF8String]));
#if __has_feature(objc_arc)
void *pointer(ivar == NULL ? NULL : reinterpret_cast<char *>((__bridge void *)self) + ivar_getOffset(ivar));
#else
void *pointer(ivar == NULL ? NULL : reinterpret_cast<char *>(self) + ivar_getOffset(ivar));
#endif
return *reinterpret_cast<_type *>(pointer);
}
To call the function I just use something like:
NSWindow *win = hookVar<NSWindow*>(self, #"_window");
I define enum this way:
typedef enum sortByWhatUpperType{
//sortByRating=0,
sortbyDistance=1,
sortbyBuildingorProminent=0
} sortbyWhatBottomType;
Then I created a property
#property enum sortByWhatUpperType sortByWhat;
This is what autocomplete suggest me to make
-(void) setSortByWhat:(enum sortByWhatUpperType)sortByWhat
{
[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]setInteger:sortByWhat forKey:SortByWhat];
}
-(sortbyWhatBottomType) sortByWhat
{
return [[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] objectForKey:SortByWhat] unsignedIntValue];
}
So that enum seems to have 2 types. sortByWhatUpperType and sortbyWhatBottomType.
Why do we have 2 keywords? Why not just one? What am I missing? Which one is the true type?
Is enum sortByWhatUpperType are synonym with sortbyWhatBottomType?
Is there any insight?
This is the standard way of doing enum in objective-c right?
You've defined TWO types. An enum called sortByWhatUpperType, and an alias to is called sortbyWhatBottomType. The typedef enum statement has two parts to is - the enum and the typedef. You could've omitted the typedef and typed
enum sortByWhatUpperType{
//sortByRating=0,
sortbyDistance=1,
sortbyBuildingorProminent=0
};
But then whenever you want to declare a variable of that type, you'd need ty type enum. Aliasing lets you omit that.
The same syntax is true for structs. But only in C. In C++ you can omit enum/struct/class by default even without a typedef.
I have an NSString.
NSString *str;
And I need to store it in a struct.
struct {
int *s;
} st;
And set it.
st.s = str;
So, how should I go about retrieving it?
return (__bridge_retained NSString *)st.s;
I've tried the above, and it gives the error: Incompatible types casting 'int *' to 'NSString *' with a __bridge_retained cast.
Answered the question. Simply define the NSString in the struct like this.
struct {
__unsafe_unretained NSString *s;
} st;
Thanks, Carl Veazey!
To store an Objective-C object in an struct you have a couple of options, the one I see most is to store it in the struct as __unsafe_unretained and then maintain a strong reference to it elsewhere.
From the "Common Issues While Converting a Project" section of the ARC Transition Notes:
If using Objective-C objects is sub-optimal, (maybe you want a dense
array of these structs) then consider using a void* instead. This
requires the use of the explicit casts...
They seem to imply __bridge is the way to cast void * to id but are not 100% clear on this.
The other option, which makes more sense to me personally and I've seen more often I think:
Mark the object reference as __unsafe_unretained. ... You declare the
structure as: struct x { NSString * __unsafe_unretained S; int X; }
Hope this helps!
Is there any way to do the following at compile-time?
int anInteger = 0;
__if_object(anInteger) {
// send object some messages
}
__if_primitive(anInteger) {
// do something else
}
An dummy situation where this could be used is to define the __add_macro below.
#define __add_macro(var, val) __something_goes_here__
int i = 1;
MyInteger* num = [[MyNumber alloc] initWithValue:1]
__add_macro(i, 4);
__add_macro(num, 4);
// both should now hold 5
Clarification/Simplification
I guess there is no way to do this with one macro. But I still need it to warn if the macro is being used on the wrong datatype. Those two types are: object and non-object).
To check if it is an object, this works:
#define __warn_if_not_object(var) if(0){[(var) class];}
What I need:
#define _warn_if_object(var) if(0){__something_here__}
Again, I need this to happen at compile-time. And it can either throw an error or warning.
Thanks
When you declare an int variable you can really only put an int value in it.
While this is Objective-C, and hence C, so you can bypass just about every type protection mechanism that exists, this is not to be advised. Indeed there is no guarantee whatsoever that a, say, NSNumber reference will even fit into an int variable - and more than enough chance that if you try, and bypass any warnings, some bits will just get tossed making the reference invalid.
So, no, while you can tell what class an object reference refers to, you cannot in general tell whether a variable has an integer value or an object reference in it - you shouldn't even try to put these two very different things into the same variable.
Answer 2
Patrick, your comments and clarification seem to suggest you are not trying to do what the question starts out by asking (how do you determine if the value in an int is an object - answered above, you don't), but something rather different...
I think what you're after is function overloading, and as you seem to be trying to use macros, maybe inline functions as well. Clang supports function overloading, here is program fragment which may show you how to solve your problem:
// Clang likes prototypes so let's give it some
// The following declares two overloaded inline functions:
NS_INLINE void __attribute__((overloadable)) byType(int x);
NS_INLINE void __attribute__((overloadable)) byType(NSNumber *x);
// now some simple definitions:
NS_INLINE void __attribute__((overloadable)) byType(int x)
{
NSLog(#"int version called: %d", x);
}
NS_INLINE void __attribute__((overloadable)) byType(NSNumber *x)
{
NSLog(#"NSNumber version called: %#", x);
}
// now call them, automatically selecting the right function
// based on the argument type
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
int x = 5;
NSNumber *y = [NSNumber numberWithInt:42];
byType(x);
byType(y);
}
The above code when run outputs:
int version called: 5
NSNumber version called: 42
Clang 3 compiles the above code inlining the two calls, so you get the same code as using macros.
please don't mix between scalar values and pointers to objects... it will not end well.
if you insist you can do something with Objective-C++
something like
int sum(int,int);
NSNumber * sum(NSNumber *, NSNumber *);
I want to write a function or a directive like NSLog() that takes any kind of variable, primitives and objects. In that function I want to distinguish those.
I know how it works for objects:
- (void)test:(id)object {
if ([object isKindOfClass:[NSString class]])
...
but how do I distinguish objects from structs or even integer or floats.
Something like:
"isKindOfStruct:CGRect" or "isInt"
for example?
Is this possible?
I thought since you can send everything to NSLog(#"...", objects, ints, structs) it must be possible?
Thanks for any help!
EDIT
My ultimate goal is to implement some kind of polymorphism.
I want to be able to call my function:
MY_FUNCTION(int)
MY_FUNCTION(CGRect)
MY_FUNCTION(NSString *)
...
or [self MYFUNCTION:int]...
and in MY_FUNCTION
-(void)MYFUNCTION:(???)value {
if ([value isKindOf:int])
...
else if ([value isKindOf:CGRect])
...
else if ([value isKindOfClass:[NSString class]])
...
}
I know that isKindOf doesn't exists and you can't even perform such methods on primitives. I'm also not sure about the "???" generic type of "value" in the function header.
Is that possible?
#define IS_OBJECT(T) _Generic( (T), id: YES, default: NO)
NSRect a = (NSRect){1,2,3,4};
NSString* b = #"whatAmI?";
NSInteger c = 9;
NSLog(#"%#", IS_OBJECT(a)?#"YES":#"NO"); // -> NO
NSLog(#"%#", IS_OBJECT(b)?#"YES":#"NO"); // -> YES
NSLog(#"%#", IS_OBJECT(c)?#"YES":#"NO"); // -> NO
Also, check out Vincent Gable's The Most Useful Objective-C Code I’ve Ever Written for some very handy stuff that uses the #encode() compiler directive (that) returns a string describing any type it’s given..."
LOG_EXPR(x) is a macro that prints out x, no matter what type x is, without having to worry about format-strings (and related crashes from eg. printing a C-string the same way as an NSString). It works on Mac OS X and iOS.
A function like NSLog() can tell what types to expect in its parameter list from the format string that you pass as the first parameter. So you don't query the parameter to figure out it's type -- you figure out what type you expect based on the format string, and then you interpret the parameter accordingly.
You can't pass a C struct or primitive as a parameter of type id. To do so, you'll have to wrap the primitive in an NSNumber or NSValue object.
e.g.
[self test: [NSNumber numberWithInt: 3.0]];
id is defined as a pointer to an Objective-C object.
#alex gray answer did not work(or at least did not work on iOS SDK 8.0). You can use #deepax11 answer, however I want to point how this 'magic macro' works. It relies on type encodings provided from the system. As per the Apple documentation:
To assist the runtime system, the compiler encodes the return and argument types for each method in a character string and associates the string with the method selector. The coding scheme it uses is also useful in other contexts and so is made publicly available with the #encode() compiler directive. When given a type specification, #encode() returns a string encoding that type. The type can be a basic type such as an int, a pointer, a tagged structure or union, or a class name—any type, in fact, that can be used as an argument to the C sizeof() operator.
To break the macro apart, we first get "typeOf" our variable, then call #encode() on that type, and finally compare returned value to 'object' and 'class' types from encoding table.
Full example should look like:
const char* myType = #encode(typeof(myVar));//myVar declared somewhere
if( [#"#" isEqualToString:#(myType)] || [#"#" isEqualToString:#(myType)] )
{
//myVar is object(id) or a Class
}
else if ( NSNotFound != [[NSString stringWithFormat:#"%s", myType] rangeOfCharacterFromSet:[NSCharacterSet characterSetWithCharactersInString:#"{}"]].location )
{
//myVar is struct
}
else if ( [#"i" isEqualToString:#(myType)] )
{
//my var is int
}
Please note that NSInteger will return int on 32-bit devices, and long on 64-bit devices. Full list of encodings:
‘c’ - char
‘i’ - int
’s’ - short
‘l’ - long
‘q’ - long long
‘C’ - unsigned char
‘I’ - unsigned int
’S’ - unsigned short
‘L’ - unsigned long
‘Q’ - unsigned long long
‘f’ - float
‘d’ - double
‘B’ - C++ bool or a C99 _Bool
‘v’ - void
‘*’ - character string(char *)
‘#’ - object(whether statically typed or typed id)
‘#’ - class object(Class)
‘:’ - method selector(SEL)
‘[<some-type>]’ - array
‘{<some-name>=<type1><type2>}’ - struct
‘bnum’ - bit field of <num> bits
‘^type’ - pointer to <type>
‘?’ - unknown type(may be used for function pointers)
Read more about Type Encodings at Apple
#define IS_OBJECT(x) ( strchr("##", #encode(typeof(x))[0]) != NULL )
This micro works which I got somewhere in stack overflow.
It's important to note that id represents any Objective-C object. And by Objective-C object, I mean one that is defined using #interface. It does not represent a struct or primitive type (int, char etc).
Also, you can only send messages (the [...] syntax) to Objective-C objects, so you cannot send the isKindOf: message to a normal struct or primitive.
But you can convert a integer etc to a NSNumber, a char* to a NSString and wrap a structure inside a NSObject-dervied class. Then they will be Objective-C objects.