C++ – Dynamic namespace usage based on a template parameter

boostcnamespacestemplatestypedef

I don't know if that is feasable at all, but this is what I'd like to achieve : in a templated class I would like to be using the namespace of the template parameter.

eg.

template<class P>
class Foo
{
    public:
        Foo();
        virtual ~Foo();

        void doSomething(P&);
        void doSomethingElse();

    protected:
        // There I'm hardcoding "namespace1" but that's what I'd like to 
        // be possibly dynamic 
        // (I'm assuming template parameter P = namespace1::Type)
        void method1(namespace1::Type1&);
        ...
        void methodN(namespace1::TypeN&);
}

// Again, supposing P == namespace1::Type then I want to be using namespace1 
// everywhere in the implementation...
using namespace namespace1;

template<class P>
void Foo<P>::doSomething(P& parameter)
{
    ...
    Type1 type1 = P.getType1(); // There namespace1::Type1 is returned !!
    method1(type1);
    ...
}

template<class P>
void Foo<P>::doSomethingElse()
{
    ...
    TypeN typen; // There I want to instanciate a namespace1::TypeN !!
    ...
}

...

Of course I don't want to specialize the template and provide a dedicated implementation for every possible P value as well as I'd like to avoid passing all the types like Type1 and TypeN as template parameters since I potentially have lots of them.

Is that possible ?

The project is C++3 based, any boost solution is welcome.

Update

Being the template parameter P itself exactly like any TypeN parameter, this could be the right approach :

template<typename NAMESPACE>
class Foo
{
    typedef typename NAMESPACE::Parameter MyParameter; 
    typedef typename NAMESPACE::Type1 MyType1; 
    typedef typename NAMESPACE::Type1 MyTypeN; 
    ...
}

Best Answer

Yes and No.

Yes it is possible to deduce secondary types from a primary one, generally using a trait system:

template <typename T> struct Trait { typedef typename T::Secondary Secondary; };

template <typename X>
struct Foo {
    typedef typename Trait<X>::Secondary Secondary;

    void foo(Secondary const& s);
};

No, you cannot deduce a namespace, and thus cannot use it; but note how by using a local alias (typedef ...) within the class there is no need to.

Related Solutions

C++ – Storing C++ template function definitions in a .CPP file

The problem you describe can be solved by defining the template in the header, or via the approach you describe above.

I recommend reading the following points from the C++ FAQ Lite:

They go into a lot of detail about these (and other) template issues.

C# – Should ‘using’ directives be inside or outside the namespace

There is actually a (subtle) difference between the two. Imagine you have the following code in File1.cs:

// File1.cs
using System;
namespace Outer.Inner
{
    class Foo
    {
        static void Bar()
        {
            double d = Math.PI;
        }
    }
}

Now imagine that someone adds another file (File2.cs) to the project that looks like this:

// File2.cs
namespace Outer
{
    class Math
    {
    }
}

The compiler searches Outer before looking at those using directives outside the namespace, so it finds Outer.Math instead of System.Math. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), Outer.Math has no PI member, so File1 is now broken.

This changes if you put the using inside your namespace declaration, as follows:

// File1b.cs
namespace Outer.Inner
{
    using System;
    class Foo
    {
        static void Bar()
        {
            double d = Math.PI;
        }
    }
}

Now the compiler searches System before searching Outer, finds System.Math, and all is well.

Some would argue that Math might be a bad name for a user-defined class, since there's already one in System; the point here is just that there is a difference, and it affects the maintainability of your code.

It's also interesting to note what happens if Foo is in namespace Outer, rather than Outer.Inner. In that case, adding Outer.Math in File2 breaks File1 regardless of where the using goes. This implies that the compiler searches the innermost enclosing namespace before it looks at any using directive.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C++ – Storing C++ template function definitions in a .CPP file

C# – Should ‘using’ directives be inside or outside the namespace

Related Topic