...one of the most highly
regarded and expertly designed C++ library projects in the
world.
— Herb Sutter and Andrei
Alexandrescu, C++
Coding Standards
(Code samples from basic_base.cpp
.)
Imagine we are developing a role playing game in C++ where sprites are
rendered on screen; for the purposes of illustration we can model rendering
simply as outputting some information to a std::ostream
:
struct sprite { sprite(int id):id{id}{} virtual ~sprite()=default; virtual void render(std::ostream& os)const=0; int id; };
The game features warriors, juggernauts (a special type of warrior) and
goblins, each represented by its own class derived (directly or indirectly)
from sprite
:
struct warrior:sprite { using sprite::sprite; warrior(std::string rank,int id):sprite{id},rank{std::move(rank)}{} void render(std::ostream& os)const override{os<<rank<<" "<<id;} std::string rank="warrior"; }; struct juggernaut:warrior { juggernaut(int id):warrior{"juggernaut",id}{} }; struct goblin:sprite { using sprite::sprite; void render(std::ostream& os)const override{os<<"goblin "<<id;} };
Let us populate a polymorphic collection with an assortment of sprites:
#include <boost/poly_collection/base_collection.hpp> ... boost::base_collection<sprite> c; std::mt19937 gen{92748}; // some arbitrary random seed std::discrete_distribution<> rnd{{1,1,1}}; for(int i=0;i<8;++i){ // assign each type with 1/3 probability switch(rnd(gen)){ case 0: c.insert(warrior{i});break; case 1: c.insert(juggernaut{i});break; case 2: c.insert(goblin{i});break; } }
There are two aspects to notice here:
boost::base_collection
does not have a
push_back
member function
like, say, std::vector
, as the order in which elements
are stored cannot be freely chosen by the user code —we will
see more about this later. The insertion mechanisms are rather those
of containers like std::unordered_multiset
, namely
insert
and emplace
with or without a position
hint.
new
but constructed on the stack and passed directly much like one would
do with a standard non-polymorphic container.
Important | |
---|---|
Elements inserted into a |
Rendering can now be implemented with a simple for
loop over c
:
const char* comma=""; for(const sprite& s:c){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
The output being:
juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,warrior 2,warrior 6
As we have forewarned, the traversal order does not correspond to that
of insertion. Instead, the elements are grouped in segments
according to their concrete type. Here we see that juggernauts come first,
followed by goblins and warriors. In general, no assumptions should be
made about segment ordering, which may be different for this very example
in your environment. On the other hand, elements inserted into an already
existing segment always come at the end (except if a hint is provided).
For instance, after inserting a latecomer goblin with id==8
:
c.insert(goblin{8});
the rendering loop outputs (new element in red):
juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,goblin 8,warrior 2,warrior 6
Deletion can be done in the usual way:
// find element with id==7 and remove it auto it=std::find_if(c.begin(),c.end(),[](const sprite& s){return s.id==7;}); c.erase(it);
Now rendering emits:
juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,goblin 8,warrior 2,warrior 6
(Code samples from basic_function.cpp
. C++14 std::make_unique
is used.)
Well into the development of the game, the product manager requests that two new types of entities be added to the rendering loop:
std::string
s.
sprite
and use their own display
member functon for rendering:
struct window { window(std::string caption):caption{std::move(caption)}{} void display(std::ostream& os)const{os<<"["<<caption<<"]";} std::string caption; };
We then decide to refactor the code so that sprites, messsages and windows are stored in dedicated containers:
std::vector<std::unique_ptr<sprite>> sprs; std::vector<std::string> msgs; std::vector<window> wnds;
and define our rendering container as a boost::function_collection
of callable entities —function pointers or
objects with a function call operator()
— accepting a std::ostream&
as a parameter
#include <boost/poly_collection/function_collection.hpp> ... // function signature accepting std::ostream& and returning nothing using render_callback=void(std::ostream&); boost::function_collection<render_callback> c;
which we fill with suitable adaptors for sprite
s,
std::string
s and window
s,
respectively. Lambda functions allow for a particularly terse code.
auto render_sprite(const sprite& s){ return [&](std::ostream& os){s.render(os);}; } auto render_message(const std::string& m){ return [&](std::ostream& os){os<<m;}; } auto render_window(const window& w){ return [&](std::ostream& os){w.display(os);}; } ... for(const auto& ps:sprs)c.insert(render_sprite(*ps)); for(const auto& m:msgs)c.insert(render_message(m)); for(const auto& w:wnds)c.insert(render_window(w));
The rendering loop now looks like this:
const char* comma=""; for(const auto& cbk:c){ std::cout<<comma; cbk(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
and produces the following for a particular scenario of sprites, messages and windows:
juggernaut 0,goblin 1,warrior 2,goblin 3,"stamina: 10,000","game over",[pop-up 1],[pop-up 2]
The container we have just created works in many respects like a std::vector<std::function<render_callback>>
,
the main difference being that with boost::function_collection
callable entities of the same type are packed together in memory [11], thus increasing performance (which is the whole point of using
Boost.PolyCollection), while a vector of std::function
s
results in an individual allocation for each entity stored [12]. In fact, the value_type
elements held by a boost::function_collection
are actually not std::function
s,
although they behave analogously and can be converted to std::function
if needed:
auto cbk=*c.begin(); cbk(std::cout); // renders first element to std::cout std::function<render_callback> f=cbk; f(std::cout); // exactly the same
There is a reason for this: elements of a polymorphic collection cannot
be freely assigned to by the user as this could end up trying to insert
an object into a segment of a different type. So, unlike with std::function
, this will not work:
*c.begin()=render_message("last minute message"); // compile-time error
(Code samples from basic_any.cpp
.)
Note | |
---|---|
Here we just touch on the bare essentials of Boost.TypeErasure
needed to present |
After measuring the performance of the latest changes, we find that rendering is too slow and decide to refactor once again: if we could store all the entities --sprites, messages and windows-- into one single container, that would eliminate a level of indirection. The problem is that these types are totally unrelated to each other.
Boost.TypeErasure provides
a class template boost::type_erasure::any<Concept>
able to hold an object of whatever
type as long as it conforms to the interface specified by Concept
. In our case, we find it particularly
easy to implement a common interface for rendering by providing overloads
of operator<<
std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os,const sprite& s) { s.render(os); return os; } // std::string already has a suitable operator<< std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os,const window& w) { w.display(os); return os; }
so that we can use it to specify the interface all entities have to adhere to:
#include <boost/poly_collection/any_collection.hpp> #include <boost/type_erasure/operators.hpp> ... using renderable=boost::type_erasure::ostreamable<>; boost::any_collection<renderable> c;
The collection just created happily accepts insertion of heterogeneous entities (since interface conformity is silently checked at compile time)
// populate with sprites std::mt19937 gen{92748}; // some arbitrary random seed std::discrete_distribution<> rnd{{1,1,1}}; for(int i=0;i<4;++i){ // assign each type with 1/3 probability switch(rnd(gen)){ case 0: c.insert(warrior{i});break; case 1: c.insert(juggernaut{i});break; case 2: c.insert(goblin{i});break; } } // populate with messages c.insert(std::string{"\"stamina: 10,000\""}); c.insert(std::string{"\"game over\""}); // populate with windows c.insert(window{"pop-up 1"}); c.insert(window{"pop-up 2"});
and rendering becomes
const char* comma=""; for(const auto& r:c){ std::cout<<comma<<r; comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
with output
[pop-up 1],[pop-up 2],juggernaut 0,goblin 1,goblin 3,warrior 2,"stamina: 10,000","game over"
As was the case with boost::function_collection
,
this container is similar to a std::vector<boost::type_erasure::any<Concept>>
but has better performance due
to packing of same-type elements. Also, the value_type
of a boost::any_collection<Concept>
is not boost::type_erasure::any<Concept>
, but a similarly behaving entity [13]. In any case, we are not accessing sprites through an abstract
sprite&
anymore, so we could as well dismantle the virtual hierarchy and implement
each type autonomously: this is left as an exercise to the reader.
(Code samples from segmented_structure.cpp
. C++14 std::make_unique
is used.)
Getting back to our boost::base_collection
example, suppose
we want to refactor the populating code as follows:
std::unique_ptr<sprite> make_sprite() { static std::mt19937 gen{92748}; static std::discrete_distribution<> rnd{{1,1,1}}; static int id=0; switch(rnd(gen)){ case 0: return std::make_unique<warrior>(id++);break; case 1: return std::make_unique<juggernaut>(id++);break; case 2: return std::make_unique<goblin>(id++);break; } } ... for(int i=0;i<8;++i)c.insert(*make_sprite()); // throws boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
Unexpectedly, this piece of code throws an exception of type boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
. What has changed
from our original code?
Suppose a warrior
has been
created by make_sprite
.
The statement c.insert(*make_sprite())
is passing the object as a sprite&
: even though boost::base_collection
is smart enough to know that the object is actually derived from sprite
(by using typeid()
)
and slicing
is to be avoided, there is no way that a segment for it can be created
without accessing the type warrior
at compile time for the proper internal class templates
to be instantiated [14]. This did not happen in the pre-refactoring code because objects
were passed as references to their true types.
A type is said to be registered into a polymorphic collection if there is a (potentially empty) segment created for it. This can be checked with:
std::cout<<c.is_registered<warrior>()<<"\n"; // prints 0 std::cout<<c.is_registered(typeid(warrior))<<"\n"; // alternate syntax
Registration happens automatically when the object is passed as a reference
to its true type or emplace
'd, and explicitly with
register_types
:
c.register_types<warrior,juggernaut,goblin>(); // everything works fine now for(int i=0;i<8;++i)c.insert(*make_sprite());
Once T
has been registered
into a polymorphic collection, it remains so regardless of whether objects
of type T
are stored or
not, except if the collection is moved from, assigned to, or swapped.
As slicing is mainly an issue with OOP, unregistered_type
exceptions are expected to be much less frequent with boost::function_collection
and boost::any_collection
. Contrived examples can
be found, though:
boost::any_collection<renderable> c1,c2; ... // populate c2 c1.insert(*c2.begin()); // throws: actual type of *c2.begin() not known by c1
For most of the interface of a polymorphic collection, it is possible to
only refer to the elements of a given segment by providing either their
type or typeid()
.
For instance:
... // populate c with 8 assorted entities std::cout<<c.size()<<"\n"; // 8 sprites std::cout<<c.size<juggernaut>()<<"\n"; // 2 juggernauts std::cout<<c.size(typeid(juggernaut))<<"\n"; // alternate syntax c.clear<juggernaut>(); // remove juggenauts only std::cout<<c.empty<juggernaut>()<<"\n"; // 1 (no juggernauts left) std::cout<<c.size()<<"\n"; // 6 sprites remaining
Note that any of these (except reserve
) will throw boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
if the type is not
registered. Segment-specific addressability also includes traversal:
The following runs only over the warrior
s
of the collection:
const char* comma=""; for(auto first=c.begin(typeid(warrior)),last=c.end(typeid(warrior)); first!=last;++first){ std::cout<<comma; first->render(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
Output:
warrior 2,warrior 6
begin|end(typeid(T))
return
objects of type local_base_iterator
associated to the segment for T
.
These iterators dereference to the same value as regular iterators (in
the case of boost::base_collection<base>
,
base&
)
but can only be used to traverse a given segment (for instance, local_base_iterator
's from different
segments cannot be compared between them). In exchange, local_base_iterator
is a RandomAccessIterator
,
whereas whole-collection iterators only model ForwardIterator
.
A terser range-based for
loop
can be used with the convenience segment
member function:
const char* comma=""; for(const auto& x:c.segment(typeid(warrior))){ std::cout<<comma; x.render(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
Even more powerful than local_base_iterator
is local_iterator<T>
:
const char* comma=""; for(auto first=c.begin<warrior>(),last=c.end<warrior>(); first!=last;++first){ first->rank.insert(0,"super"); std::cout<<comma; first->render(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n"; // range-based for loop alternative const char* comma=""; for(auto& x:c.segment<warrior>()){ x.rank.insert(0,"super"); std::cout<<comma; x.render(std::cout); comma=","; } std::cout<<"\n";
This appends a "super"
prefix to the rank
data
member of existing warriors:
superwarrior 2,superwarrior 6
The observant reader will have noticed that in order to access rank
, which is a member of warrior
rather than its base class sprite
, first
(or x
in the range for
loop version) has to refer to a warrior&
,
and this is precisely the difference between local_iterator<warrior>
(the type returned by begin<warrior>()
)
and local_base_iterator
.
local_iterator<warrior>
is also a RandomAccessIterator
:
for most respects, [begin<T>()
, end<T>()
) can be regarded as a range over
an array of T
objects.
local_iterator<T>
s
can be explicitly converted to local_base_iterator
s.
Conversely, if a local_base_iterator
is associated to a segment for T
,
it can then be explictly converted to a local_iterator<T>
(otherwise the conversion is undefined
behavior).
The figure shows the action scopes of all the iterators associated to a
polymorphic collection (const_
versions not included):
We have yet to describe the bottom part of the diagram. Whereas segment(typeid(T))
is
used to range over the elements of a particular segment,
segment_traversal()
returns an object for ranging over segments, so that
the whole collection can be processed with a nested segment-element for
loop like the following:
const char* comma=""; for(auto seg:c.segment_traversal()){ for(sprite& s:seg){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; } } std::cout<<"\n";
Segment decomposition of traversal loops forms the basis of improved-performance algorithms.
Much like std::vector
, segments can be made to reserve
memory in advance to minimize reallocations:
c.reserve<goblin>(100); // no reallocation till we exceed 100 goblins std::cout<<c.capacity<goblin>()<<"\n"; // prints 100
If there is no segment for the indicated type (here, goblin
),
one is automatically created. This is in contrast with the rest of segment-specific
member functions, which throw boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
.
reserve
can deal with all
segments at once. The following
c.reserve(1000); // reserve(1000) for each segment std::cout<<c.capacity<warrior>()<<", " <<c.capacity<juggernaut>()<<", " <<c.capacity<goblin>()<<"\n"; // prints 1000, 1000, 1000
instructs every existing segment to reserve 1,000 elements. If a segment is created later (through element insertion or with type registration), its capacity will be different.
Note | |
---|---|
Unlike standard containers, collection-level |
(Code samples from insertion_emplacement.cpp
.)
We already know that insert(x)
,
without further positional information, stores x
at the end of its associated segment. When a regular iterator it
is provided, insertion happens at the
position indicated if both it
and x
belong in the same
segment; otherwise, it
is
ignored. For instance, if our sprite collection has the following entities:
juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,warrior 2,warrior 6
then this code:
c.insert(c.begin(),juggernaut{8});
puts the new juggernaut
at
the beginning:
juggernaut 8,juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,...
whereas the position hint at
c.insert(c.begin(),goblin{9});
is ignored and the new goblin
gets inserted at the end of its segment:
juggernaut 8,...,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,goblin 9,warrior 2,...
Local iterators can also be used to indicate the insertion position:
c.insert(c.begin<juggernaut>()+2,juggernaut{10}); // ^^ remember local iterators are random access
juggernaut 8,juggernaut 0,juggernaut 10,juggernaut 4,juggernaut 7,goblin 1,...
There is a caveat, though: when using a local iterator, the element inserted must belong to the indicated segment:
c.insert(c.begin(typeid(warrior)),juggernaut{11}); // undefined behavior!!
Member functions are provided for range insertion, with and without a position hint:
boost::base_collection<sprite> c2; c2.insert(c.begin(),c.end()); // read below // add some more warriors std::array<warrior,3> aw={{11,12,13}}; c2.insert(aw.begin(),aw.end()); // add some goblins at the beginning of their segment std::array<goblin,3> ag={{14,15,16}}; c2.insert(c2.begin<goblin>(),ag.begin(),ag.end());
As already explained, care must be taken that types be pre-registered into the collection if they are not passed as references to their actual type. So, why did not this line
c2.insert(c.begin(),c.end());
throw boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
? As it happens, in the
special case where the inserted range belongs to a polymorphic collection
of the same type, registration is done automatically [15].
Emplacement
is slightly different for Boost.PolyCollection than with standard containers.
Consider this attempt at emplacing a goblin
:
c.emplace(11); // does not compile
If examined carefully, it is only natural that the code above not compile:
Boost.PolyCollection cannot possibly know that it is precisely a goblin
that we want to emplace and not
some other type constructible from an int
(like warrior
, juggernaut
or an unrelated class). So,
the type of the emplaced element has to be specified explicitly:
c.emplace<goblin>(11); // now it works
As with insert
, a position
can be indicated for emplacing:
c.emplace_hint<juggernaut>(c.begin(),12); // at the beginning if possible c.emplace_pos<goblin>(c.begin<goblin>()+2,13); // amidst the goblins c.emplace_pos<warrior>(c.begin(typeid(warrior)),14); // local_base_iterator
Note the naming here: emplace_hint
is used when the position is indicated with a regular iterator, and for local
iterators it is emplace_pos
.
(Code samples from exceptions.cpp
.)
Besides the usual exceptions like std::bad_alloc
and those generated by user-provided types, polymorphic collections can throw
the following:
boost::poly_collection::unregistered_type
boost::poly_collection::not_copy_constructible
boost::poly_collection::not_equality_comparable
The situations in which the first is raised have been already discussed; let us focus on the other two.
We have a new type of sprite in our game defined by the non-copyable class
elf
:
struct elf:sprite { using sprite::sprite; elf(const elf&)=delete; // not copyable elf(elf&&)=default; // but moveable void render(std::ostream& os)const override{os<<"elf "<<id;} };
and we use it without problems until we write this:
c.insert(elf{0}); // no problem ... c2=c; // throws boost::poly_collection::not_copy_constructible
The first insertion works because the elf
object passed is temporary and can be moved
into the container, but the second statement actually needs to copy
the elf
elements in c
to c2
,
hence the exception.
The potentially surprising aspect of this behavior is that standard containers
signal this kind of problems by failing at compile time.
Here we cannot afford this luxury because the exact types contained in a
polymorphic collection are not known until run time (for instance, if elf
elements had been erased before copying
c
to c2
everything would have worked): basically, the deferral of errors from compile
time to run time is an intrinsic feature of dynamic polymorphism.
In the same vein, equality comparison requires that elements themselves be equality comparable:
c.clear<elf>(); // get rid of non-copyable elfs c2=c; // now it works // check that the two are indeed equal std::cout<<(c==c2)<<"\n"; // throws boost::poly_collection::not_equality_comparable
The above is unremarkable once we notice we have not defined operator==
for any sprite
. The problem
may go unnoticed for quite some time, however, because determining that two
polymorphic collections are equal (i.e. all their non-empty segments are
equal) can return false
without
comparing anything at all (for instance, if segment sizes differ), in which
case no exception is thrown.
Note | |
---|---|
Operators for |
These three are all the intrinsic exceptions thrown by Boost.PolyCollection.
The implication is that if a type is CopyConstructible
,
MoveAssignable
(or move construction does not throw) and EqualityComparable
,
then the entire interface of Boost.PolyCollection is unrestrictedly available
for it [16].
(Code samples from algorithms.cpp
. C++14 generic lambda expressions
are used.)
The ultimate purpose of Boost.PolyCollection is to speed up the processing
of large quantities of polymorphic entities, in particular for those operations
that involve linear traversal as implemented with a for
-loop
or using the quintessential std::for_each
algorithm.
const char* comma=""; std::for_each(c.begin(),c.end(),[&](const sprite& s){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; }); std::cout<<"\n";
Replacing the container used in the program from classic alternatives to Boost.PolyCollection:
std::vector<base*>
(or similar) → boost::base_collection<base>
std::vector<std::function<signature>>
→ boost::function_collection<signature>
std::vector<boost::type_erasure::any<concept_>>
→ boost::any_collection<concept_>
is expected to increase performance due to better caching and branch prediction behavior. But there is still room for improvement.
Consider this transformation of the code above using a double segment-element loop (based on the local iterator capabilities of Boost.PolyCollection):
const char* comma=""; for(auto seg_info:c.segment_traversal()){ for(const sprite& s:seg_info){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; } } std::cout<<"\n";
Although not obvious at first sight, this version of the same basic operation
is actually faster than the first one: for a segmented
structure such as used by Boost.PolyCollection, each iteration with the non-local
iterator passed to std::for_each
involves:
whereas in the second version, iteration on the inner loop, where most processing happens, is a simple increment-and-check operation, that is, there is one less check (which happens at the much shorter outer loop). When the workload of the algorithm (the actually useful stuff done with the elements themselves) is relatively light, the overhead of looping can be very significant.
To make it easier for the user to take advantage of faster segment-element
looping, Boost.PolyCollection provides its own version of for_each
based on that technique:
#include <boost/poly_collection/algorithm.hpp> ... const char* comma=""; boost::poly_collection::for_each(c.begin(),c.end(),[&](const sprite& s){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; }); std::cout<<"\n";
boost::poly_collection::for_each
has the same interface and behavior
as std::for_each
except for the fact that it only
works for (non-local) iterators of a polymorphic container [17]. Versions of other standard algorithms are provided as well:
auto n=boost::poly_collection::count_if( c.begin(),c.end(),[](const sprite& s){return s.id%2==0;}); std::cout<<n<<" sprites with even id\n";
In fact, variants are given of most (though not all) of the algorithms in
<algorithm>
among those that are compatible with polymorphic collections [18]. Check the reference
for details.
By type restitution we mean the generic process of getting a concrete entity from an abstract one by providing missing type information:
sprite* ps=new warrior{5}; // sprite -> warrior warrior* pw=static_cast<warrior*>(ps); boost::type_erasure::any<renderable> r=std::string{"hello"}; // renderable -> std::string std::string& str=boost::type_erasure::any_cast<std::string&>(r);
Type restitution has the potential to increase performance. Consider for instance the following:
// render r with std::string restitution if(boost::type_erasure::typeid_of(r)==typeid(std::string)){ std::string& str=boost::type_erasure::any_cast<std::string&>(r); std::cout<<str<<"\n"; } else{ std::cout<<r<<"\n"; }
Behaviorwise this code is equivalent to simply executing std::cout<<r<<"\n"
, but when type restitution
succeeds the statement std::cout<<str<<"\n"
is skipping a virtual-like call that would have happened if r
were used instead. From a general point
of view, supplying the compiler with extra type information allows it to
perform more optimizations than in the abstract case, inlining being the
prime example.
All Boost.PolyCollection algorithms accept an optional list of types for
restitution. Let us use the boost::any_collection
scenario to illustrate
this point:
const char* comma=""; boost::poly_collection::for_each <warrior,juggernaut,goblin>( // restituted types c.begin(),c.end(),[&](const auto& x){ // loop traverses *all* elements std::cout<<comma<<x; comma=","; }); std::cout<<"\n";
Output:
warrior 2,warrior 6,[pop-up 1],[pop-up 2],juggernaut 0,juggernaut 4, juggernaut 7,goblin 1,goblin 3,goblin 5,"stamina: 10,000","game over"
This rendering loop differs from the non-restituting one in two aspects:
std::string
s
and window
s), not only
those corresponding to restituted types. In general, the more types
are restituted, the greater the potential improvement in performance.
const auto&
[19].
Internally, boost::poly_collection::for_each
checks for each segment if its
type, say T
, belongs in
the type restitution list: if this is the case, the lambda function is
passed a const T&
rather than the generic const boost::any_collection::value_type&
. For each restituted type we are saving
indirection calls and possibly getting inlining optimizations, etc. As
we see in the performance section,
the speedup can be very significant.
Type restitution works equally for the rest of collections of Boost.PolyCollection.
When using boost::base_collection
, though, the case of
improved performance is more tricky:
const char* comma=""; boost::poly_collection::for_each<warrior,juggernaut,goblin>( c.begin(),c.end(),[&](const auto& s){ std::cout<<comma; s.render(std::cout); comma=","; }); std::cout<<"\n";
The problem here is that, even though the argument to the lambda function
will be restituted (when appropriate) to warrior&
, juggernaut&
or goblin&
, using it still involves doing a virtual
function call in s.render(std::cout)
.
Whether this call is resolved to a non-virtual one depends on the quality
of implementation of the compiler:
final
, the compiler in
principle has enough information to get rid of the virtual
function call.
[11]
Note that all sprite
s
come into one segment: this is why goblins #1 and #3 are not adjacent.
Exercise for the reader: change the code of the example so that sprites
are further segmented according to their concrete type.
[12] Except when small buffer optimization applies.
[13]
Actually, it is boost::type_erasure::any<Concept2,boost::type_erasure::_self&>
for some internally defined
Concept2
that extends
Concept
.
[14]
If this is conceptually difficult to grasp, consider the potentially
more obvious case where warrior
is defined in a dynamic module linked to the main program: the code of
boost::base_collection
, which has been compiled
before linking, cannot even know the size of this as-of-yet unseen class,
so hardly can it allocate a segment for the received object.
[15] That is, Boost.PolyCollection has enough static information to do type registration without further assistance from the user.
[16] Provided, of course, that the type has the right to be in the collection, that is, it is derived from the specified base, or callable with the specified signature, etc.
[17] For any other type of iterator, it is guaranteed not to compile.
[18] For example, algorithms requiring bidirectional iterators or a higher category are not provided because polymorphic collections have forward-only iterators.
[19] This requires C++14, but the same effect can be achieved in C++11 providing an equivalent, if more cumbersome, functor with a templatized call operator.