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<H1><a name="SWIGPlus">6 SWIG and C++</a></H1>
<!-- INDEX -->
<div class="sectiontoc">
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn2">Comments on C++ Wrapping</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn3">Approach</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn4">Supported C++ features</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn5">Command line options and compilation</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn38">Proxy classes</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn39">Construction of proxy classes</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn40">Resource management in proxies</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn41">Language specific details</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn6">Simple C++ wrapping</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn7">Constructors and destructors</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn8">Default constructors, copy constructors and implicit destructors</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn9">When constructor wrappers aren't created</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn10">Copy constructors</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn11">Member functions</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn12">Static members</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_member_data">Member data</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn15">Protection</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn16">Enums and constants</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn17">Friends</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn18">References and pointers</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn19">Pass and return by value</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn20">Inheritance</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn21">A brief discussion of multiple inheritance, pointers, and type checking</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_default_args">Default arguments</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_overloaded_methods">Overloaded functions and methods</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn24">Dispatch function generation</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn25">Ambiguity in overloading</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_ambiguity_resolution_renaming">Renaming and ambiguity resolution</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn27">Comments on overloading</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn28">Overloaded operators</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_class_extension">Class extension</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn30">Templates</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_directive">The %template directive</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_functions">Function templates</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_classes">Default template arguments</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_class_inheritance">Template base classes</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_specialization">Template specialization</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_member">Member templates</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_scoping">Scoping and templates</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_template_more">More on templates</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_namespaces">Namespaces</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nspace">The nspace feature for namespaces</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_renaming_templated_types_namespaces">Renaming templated types in namespaces</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_exception_specifications">Exception specifications</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_catches">Exception handling with %catches</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn33">Pointers to Members</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_smart_pointers">Smart pointers and operator-&gt;()</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_ref_unref">C++ reference counted objects - ref/unref feature</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn35">Using declarations and inheritance</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nested_classes">Nested classes</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_const">A brief rant about const-correctness</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_target_language_callbacks">Callbacks to the target language</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_director_classes_introduction">Introduction to director classes</a>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_directors_for_function_pointers">Using directors and target language callbacks</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="#SWIGPlus_nn42">Where to go for more information</a>
</ul>
</div>
<!-- INDEX -->
<p>
This chapter describes SWIG's support for wrapping C++.
It is mostly concerned about C++ as defined by the C++ 98 and 03 standards.
For additions to the original C++ standard, please read the
<a href="CPlusPlus11.html#CPlusPlus11">SWIG and C++11</a>,
<a href="CPlusPlus14.html#CPlusPlus14">SWIG and C++14</a> and
<a href="CPlusPlus17.html#CPlusPlus17">SWIG and C++17</a> chapters.
<a href="CPlusPlus20.html#CPlusPlus20">SWIG and C++20</a> chapters.
As a prerequisite,
you should first read the chapter <a href="SWIG.html#SWIG">SWIG Basics</a> to see
how SWIG wraps ISO C. Support for C++ builds upon ISO C
wrapping and that material will be useful in understanding this chapter.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn2">6.1 Comments on C++ Wrapping</a></H2>
<p>
Because of its complexity and the fact that C++ can be
difficult to integrate with itself let alone other languages, SWIG
only provides support for a subset of C++ features. Fortunately,
this is now a rather large subset.
</p>
<p>
In part, the problem with C++ wrapping is that there is no
semantically obvious (or automatic ) way to map many of its advanced
features into other languages. As a simple example, consider the
problem of wrapping C++ multiple inheritance to a target language with
no such support. Similarly, the use of overloaded operators and
overloaded functions can be problematic when no such capability exists
in a target language.
</p>
<p>
A more subtle issue with C++ has to do with the way that some C++
programmers think about programming libraries. In the world of SWIG,
you are really trying to create binary-level software components for
use in other languages. In order for this to work, a "component" has
to contain real executable instructions and there has to be some kind
of binary linking mechanism for accessing its functionality. In
contrast, C++ has increasingly relied upon generic programming and
templates for much of its functionality.
Although templates are a powerful feature, they are largely orthogonal
to the whole notion of binary components and libraries. For example,
an STL <tt>vector</tt> does not define any kind of binary object for
which SWIG can just create a wrapper. To further complicate matters,
these libraries often utilize a lot of behind the scenes magic in
which the semantics of seemingly basic operations (e.g., pointer
dereferencing, procedure call, etc.) can be changed in dramatic and
sometimes non-obvious ways. Although this "magic" may present few
problems in a C++-only universe, it greatly complicates the problem of
crossing language boundaries and provides many opportunities to shoot
yourself in the foot. You will just have to be careful.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn3">6.2 Approach</a></H2>
<p>
To wrap C++, SWIG uses a layered approach to code generation.
At the lowest level, SWIG generates a collection of procedural ISO C style
wrappers. These wrappers take care of basic type conversion,
type checking, error handling, and other low-level details of the C++ binding.
These wrappers are also sufficient to bind C++ into any target language
that supports built-in procedures. In some sense, you might view this
layer of wrapping as providing a C library interface to C++.
On top of the low-level procedural (flattened) interface, SWIG generates proxy classes
that provide a natural object-oriented (OO) interface to the underlying code. The proxy classes are typically
written in the target language itself. For instance, in Python, a real
Python class is used to provide a wrapper around the underlying C++ object.
</p>
<p>
It is important to emphasize that SWIG takes a deliberately
conservative and non-intrusive approach to C++ wrapping. SWIG does not
encapsulate C++ classes inside a special C++ adaptor, it does not rely
upon templates, nor does it add in additional C++ inheritance when
generating wrappers. The last thing that most C++ programs need is
even more compiler magic. Therefore, SWIG tries to maintain a very
strict and clean separation between the implementation of your C++
application and the resulting wrapper code. You might say that SWIG
has been written to follow the principle of least surprise--it does
not play sneaky tricks with the C++ type system, it doesn't mess with
your class hierarchies, and it doesn't introduce new semantics.
Although this approach might not provide the most seamless integration
with C++, it is safe, simple, portable, and debuggable.
</p>
<p>
Some of this chapter focuses on the low-level procedural interface to
C++ that is used as the foundation for all language modules. Keep in
mind that the target languages also provide the high-level OO interface via
proxy classes. More detailed coverage can be found in the documentation
for each target language.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn4">6.3 Supported C++ features</a></H2>
<p>
SWIG currently supports most C++ features including the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Classes
<li>Constructors and destructors
<li>Virtual functions
<li>Public inheritance (including multiple inheritance)
<li>Static functions
<li>Function and method overloading
<li>Operator overloading for many standard operators
<li>References
<li>Templates (including specialization and member templates)
<li>Pointers to members
<li>Namespaces
<li>Default parameters
<li>Smart pointers
</ul>
<p>
The following C++ features are not currently supported:</p>
<ul>
<li>Overloaded versions of certain operators (new, delete, etc.)
</ul>
<p>
As a rule of thumb, SWIG should not be used on raw C++ source files, use header files only.
</p>
<p>
SWIG's C++ support is an ongoing project so some of these limitations may be lifted
in future releases. However, we make no promises. Also, submitting a bug report is a very
good way to get problems fixed (wink).
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn5">6.4 Command line options and compilation</a></H2>
<p>
When wrapping C++ code, it is critical that SWIG be called with the
`<tt>-c++</tt>' option. This changes the way a number of critical
features such as memory management are handled. It
also enables the recognition of C++ keywords. Without the <tt>-c++</tt>
flag, SWIG will either issue a warning or a large number of syntax
errors if it encounters C++ code in an interface file.</p>
<p>
When compiling and linking the resulting wrapper file, it is normal
to use the C++ compiler. For example:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
$ swig -c++ -tcl example.i
$ c++ -fPIC -c example_wrap.cxx
$ c++ example_wrap.o $(OBJS) -o example.so
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Unfortunately, the process varies slightly on each platform. Make sure
you refer to the documentation on each target language for further
details. The SWIG Wiki also has further details.
</p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b> Early versions of SWIG generated just a flattened low-level C style API to C++ classes by default.
The <tt>-noproxy</tt> commandline option is recognised by many target languages and will generate just this
interface as in earlier versions.
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn38">6.5 Proxy classes</a></H2>
<p>
In order to provide a natural mapping from C++ classes to the target language classes, SWIG's target
languages mostly wrap C++ classes with special proxy classes. These
proxy classes are typically implemented in the target language itself.
For example, if you're building a Python module, each C++ class is
wrapped by a Python proxy class. Or if you're building a Java module, each
C++ class is wrapped by a Java proxy class.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn39">6.5.1 Construction of proxy classes</a></H3>
<p>
Proxy classes are always constructed as an extra layer of wrapping that uses low-level
accessor functions. To illustrate, suppose you had a
C++ class like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
Foo();
~Foo();
int bar(int x);
int x;
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Using C++ as pseudocode, a proxy class looks something like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class FooProxy {
private:
Foo *self;
public:
FooProxy() {
self = new_Foo();
}
~FooProxy() {
delete_Foo(self);
}
int bar(int x) {
return Foo_bar(self, x);
}
int x_get() {
return Foo_x_get(self);
}
void x_set(int x) {
Foo_x_set(self, x);
}
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Of course, always keep in mind that the real proxy class is written in the target language.
For example, in Python, the proxy might look roughly like this:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
class Foo:
def __init__(self):
self.this = new_Foo()
def __del__(self):
delete_Foo(self.this)
def bar(self, x):
return Foo_bar(self.this, x)
def __getattr__(self, name):
if name == 'x':
return Foo_x_get(self.this)
...
def __setattr__(self, name, value):
if name == 'x':
Foo_x_set(self.this, value)
...
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Again, it's important to emphasize that the low-level accessor functions are always used by the
proxy classes.
Whenever possible, proxies try to take advantage of language features that are similar to C++. This
might include operator overloading, exception handling, and other features.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn40">6.5.2 Resource management in proxies</a></H3>
<p>
A major issue with proxies concerns the memory management of wrapped objects. Consider the following
C++ code:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
Foo();
~Foo();
int bar(int x);
int x;
};
class Spam {
public:
Foo *value;
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Consider some script code that uses these classes:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
f = Foo() # Creates a new Foo
s = Spam() # Creates a new Spam
s.value = f # Stores a reference to f inside s
g = s.value # Returns stored reference
g = 4 # Reassign g to some other value
del f # Destroy f
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Now, ponder the resulting memory management issues. When objects are
created in the script, the objects are wrapped by newly created proxy
classes. That is, there is both a new proxy class instance and a new
instance of the underlying C++ class. In this example, both
<tt>f</tt> and <tt>s</tt> are created in this way. However, the
statement <tt>s.value</tt> is rather curious---when executed, a
pointer to <tt>f</tt> is stored inside another object. This means
that the scripting proxy class <em>AND</em> another C++ class share a
reference to the same object. To make matters even more interesting,
consider the statement <tt>g = s.value</tt>. When executed, this
creates a new proxy class <tt>g</tt> that provides a wrapper around the
C++ object stored in <tt>s.value</tt>. In general, there is no way to
know where this object came from---it could have been created by the
script, but it could also have been generated internally. In this
particular example, the assignment of <tt>g</tt> results in a second
proxy class for <tt>f</tt>. In other words, a reference to <tt>f</tt>
is now shared by two proxy classes <em>and</em> a C++ class.
</p>
<p>
Finally, consider what happens when objects are destroyed. In the
statement, <tt>g=4</tt>, the variable <tt>g</tt> is reassigned. In
many languages, this makes the old value of <tt>g</tt> available for
garbage collection. Therefore, this causes one of the proxy classes
to be destroyed. Later on, the statement <tt>del f</tt> destroys the
other proxy class. Of course, there is still a reference to the
original object stored inside another C++ object. What happens to it?
Is the object still valid?
</p>
<p>
To deal with memory management problems, proxy classes provide an API
for controlling ownership. In C++ pseudocode, ownership control might look
roughly like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class FooProxy {
public:
Foo *self;
int thisown;
FooProxy() {
self = new_Foo();
thisown = 1; // Newly created object
}
~FooProxy() {
if (thisown) delete_Foo(self);
}
...
// Ownership control API
void disown() {
thisown = 0;
}
void acquire() {
thisown = 1;
}
};
class FooPtrProxy: public FooProxy {
public:
FooPtrProxy(Foo *s) {
self = s;
thisown = 0;
}
};
class SpamProxy {
...
FooProxy *value_get() {
return FooPtrProxy(Spam_value_get(self));
}
void value_set(FooProxy *v) {
Spam_value_set(self, v-&gt;self);
v-&gt;disown();
}
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Looking at this code, there are a few central features:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Each proxy class keeps an extra flag to indicate ownership. C++ objects are only destroyed
if the ownership flag is set.
</li>
<li>When new objects are created in the target language, the ownership flag is set.
</li>
<li>When a reference to an internal C++ object is returned, it is wrapped by a proxy
class, but the proxy class does not have ownership.
</li>
<li>In certain cases, ownership is adjusted. For instance, when a value is assigned to the member of
a class, ownership is lost.
</li>
<li>Manual ownership control is provided by special <tt>disown()</tt> and <tt>acquire()</tt> methods.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Given the tricky nature of C++ memory management, it is impossible for proxy classes to automatically handle
every possible memory management problem. However, proxies do provide a mechanism for manual control that
can be used (if necessary) to address some of the more tricky memory management problems.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn41">6.5.3 Language specific details</a></H3>
<p>
Language specific details on proxy classes are contained in the chapters describing each target language. This
chapter has merely introduced the topic in a very general way.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn6">6.6 Simple C++ wrapping</a></H2>
<p>
The following code shows a SWIG interface file for a simple C++
class.</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%module list
%{
#include "list.h"
%}
// Very simple C++ example for linked list
class List {
public:
List();
~List();
int search(char *value);
void insert(char *);
void remove(char *);
char *get(int n);
int length;
static void print(List *l);
};
</pre></div>
<p>
To generate wrappers for this class, SWIG first reduces the class to a collection of low-level C-style
accessor functions which are then used by the proxy classes.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn7">6.6.1 Constructors and destructors</a></H3>
<p>
C++ constructors and destructors are translated into accessor
functions such as the following :</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
List * new_List(void) {
return new List;
}
void delete_List(List *l) {
delete l;
}
</pre></div>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn8">6.6.2 Default constructors, copy constructors and implicit destructors</a></H3>
<p>
Following the C++ rules for implicit constructor and destructors, SWIG
will automatically assume there is one even when they are not
explicitly declared in the class interface.
</p>
<p>
In general then:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
If a C++ class does not declare any explicit constructor, SWIG will
automatically generate a wrapper for one.
</li>
<li>
If a C++ class does not declare an explicit copy constructor, SWIG will
automatically generate a wrapper for one if the <tt>%copyctor</tt> is used.
</li>
<li>
If a C++ class does not declare an explicit destructor, SWIG will
automatically generate a wrapper for one.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
And as in C++, a few rules that alters the previous behavior:
</p>
<ul>
<li>A default constructor is not created if a class already defines a constructor with arguments.
</li>
<li>Default constructors are not generated for classes with pure virtual methods or for classes that
inherit from an abstract class, but don't provide definitions for all of the pure methods.
</li>
<li>A default constructor is not created unless all base classes support a
default constructor.
</li>
<li>Default constructors and implicit destructors are not created if a class
defines them in a <tt>private</tt> or <tt>protected</tt> section.
</li>
<li>Default constructors and implicit destructors are not created if any base
class defines a non-public default constructor or destructor.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
SWIG should never generate a default constructor, copy constructor or
default destructor wrapper for a class in which it is illegal to do so. In
some cases, however, it could be necessary (if the complete class
declaration is not visible from SWIG, and one of the above rules is
violated) or desired (to reduce the size of the final interface) by
manually disabling the implicit constructor/destructor generation.
</p>
<p>
To manually disable these, the <tt>%nodefaultctor</tt> and <tt>%nodefaultdtor</tt>
<a href="Customization.html#Customization_feature_flags">feature flag</a> directives
can be used. Note that these directives only affects the
implicit generation, and they have no effect if the default/copy
constructors or destructor are explicitly declared in the class
interface.
</p>
<p>
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%nodefaultctor Foo; // Disable the default constructor for class Foo.
class Foo { // No default constructor is generated, unless one is declared
...
};
class Bar { // A default constructor is generated, if possible
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The directive <tt>%nodefaultctor</tt> can also be applied "globally", as in:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%nodefaultctor; // Disable creation of default constructors
class Foo { // No default constructor is generated, unless one is declared
...
};
class Bar {
public:
Bar(); // The default constructor is generated, since one is declared
};
%clearnodefaultctor; // Enable the creation of default constructors again
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The corresponding <tt>%nodefaultdtor</tt> directive can be used
to disable the generation of the default or implicit destructor, if
needed. Be aware, however, that this could lead to memory leaks in the
target language. Hence, it is recommended to use this directive only
in well known cases. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%nodefaultdtor Foo; // Disable the implicit/default destructor for class Foo.
class Foo { // No destructor is generated, unless one is declared
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b> The generation of default
constructors/implicit destructors was made the default behavior in SWIG
1.3.7. This may break certain older modules, but the old behavior can
be easily restored using <tt>%nodefault</tt> or the
<tt>-nodefault</tt> command line option. Furthermore, in order for
SWIG to properly generate (or not generate) default constructors, it
must be able to gather information from both the <tt>private</tt> and
<tt>protected</tt> sections (specifically, it needs to know if a private or
protected constructor/destructor is defined). In older versions of
SWIG, it was fairly common to simply remove or comment out
the private and protected sections of a class due to parser limitations.
However, this removal may now cause SWIG to erroneously generate constructors
for classes that define a constructor in those sections. Consider restoring
those sections in the interface or using <tt>%nodefault</tt> to fix the problem.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> The <tt>%nodefault</tt>
directive/<tt>-nodefault</tt> options described above, which disable both the default
constructor and the implicit destructors, could lead to memory
leaks, and so it is strongly recommended to not use them.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn9">6.6.3 When constructor wrappers aren't created</a></H3>
<p>
If a class defines a constructor, SWIG normally tries to generate a wrapper for it. However, SWIG will
not generate a constructor wrapper if it thinks that it will result in illegal wrapper code. There are really
two cases where this might show up.
</p>
<p>
First, SWIG won't generate wrappers for protected or private constructors. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
protected:
Foo(); // Not wrapped.
public:
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Next, SWIG won't generate wrappers for a class if it appears to be abstract--that is, it has undefined
pure virtual methods. Here are some examples:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Bar {
public:
Bar(); // Not wrapped. Bar is abstract.
virtual void spam(void) = 0;
};
class Grok : public Bar {
public:
Grok(); // Not wrapped. No implementation of abstract spam().
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Some users are surprised (or confused) to find missing constructor wrappers in their interfaces. In almost
all cases, this is caused when classes are determined to be abstract. To see if this is the case, run SWIG with
all of its warnings turned on:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
% swig -Wall -python module.i
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this mode, SWIG will issue a warning for all abstract classes. It is possible to force a class to be
non-abstract using this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%feature("notabstract") Foo;
class Foo : public Bar {
public:
Foo(); // Generated no matter what---not abstract.
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
More information about <tt>%feature</tt> can be found in the <a href="Customization.html#Customization">Customization features</a> chapter.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn10">6.6.4 Copy constructors</a></H3>
<p>
If a class defines more than one constructor, its behavior depends on the capabilities of the
target language. If overloading is supported, the copy constructor is accessible using
the normal constructor function. For example, if you have this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class List {
public:
List();
List(const List &amp;); // Copy constructor
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then the copy constructor can be used as follows:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
x = List() # Create a list
y = List(x) # Copy list x
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If the target language does not support overloading, then the copy constructor is available
through a special function like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
List *copy_List(List *f) {
return new List(*f);
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> For a class <tt>X</tt>, SWIG only treats a constructor as
a copy constructor if it can be applied to an object of type
<tt>X</tt> or <tt>X *</tt>. If more than one copy constructor is
defined, only the first definition that appears is used as the copy
constructor--other definitions will result in a name-clash.
Constructors such as <tt>X(const X &amp;)</tt>, <tt>X(X &amp;)</tt>, and
<tt>X(X *)</tt> are handled as copy constructors in SWIG.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> SWIG does <em>not</em> generate a copy constructor
wrapper unless one is explicitly declared in the class. This differs
from the treatment of default constructors and destructors.
However, copy constructor wrappers can be generated if using the <tt>copyctor</tt>
<a href="Customization.html#Customization_feature_flags">feature flag</a>. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%copyctor List;
class List {
public:
List();
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Will generate a copy constructor wrapper for <tt>List</tt>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> Special support for copy constructors was
not added until SWIG-1.3.12. In previous versions, copy constructors
could be wrapped, but they had to be renamed. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
Foo();
%name(CopyFoo) Foo(const Foo &amp;);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
For backwards compatibility, SWIG does not perform any special
copy-constructor handling if the constructor has been manually
renamed. For instance, in the above example, the name of the
constructor is set to <tt>new_CopyFoo()</tt>. This is the same as in
older versions.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn11">6.6.5 Member functions</a></H3>
<p>
All member functions are roughly translated into accessor functions like this :</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
int List_search(List *obj, char *value) {
return obj-&gt;search(value);
}
</pre></div>
<p>
This translation is the same even if the member function has been
declared as <tt>virtual</tt>.
</p>
<p>
It should be noted that SWIG does not <em>actually</em> create a C accessor
function in the code it generates. Instead, member access such as
<tt>obj-&gt;search(value)</tt> is directly inlined into the generated
wrapper functions. However, the name and calling convention of the
low-level procedural wrappers match the accessor function prototype described above.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn12">6.6.6 Static members</a></H3>
<p>
Static member functions are called directly without making any special
transformations. For example, the static member function
<tt>print(List *l)</tt> directly invokes <tt>List::print(List *l)</tt>
in the generated wrapper code.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_member_data">6.6.7 Member data</a></H3>
<p>
Member data is handled in exactly the same manner as for C
structures. A pair of accessor functions are effectively created. For example
:</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
int List_length_get(List *obj) {
return obj-&gt;length;
}
int List_length_set(List *obj, int value) {
obj-&gt;length = value;
return value;
}
</pre></div>
<p>
A read-only member can be created using the <tt>%immutable</tt> and <tt>%mutable</tt>
<a href="Customization.html#Customization_feature_flags">feature flag</a> directive.
For example, we probably wouldn't want
the user to change the length of a list so we could do the following
to make the value available, but read-only.</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
class List {
public:
...
%immutable;
int length;
%mutable;
...
};
</pre></div>
<p>
Alternatively, you can specify an immutable member in advance like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%immutable List::length;
...
class List {
...
int length; // Immutable by above directive
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, all data attributes declared as <tt>const</tt> are wrapped as read-only members.
</p>
<p>
By default, SWIG uses the const reference typemaps for members that are primitive types.
There are some subtle issues when wrapping data members that are
not primitive types, such as classes. For instance, if you had another class like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
List items;
...
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then the low-level accessor to the <tt>items</tt> member actually uses pointers.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
List *Foo_items_get(Foo *self) {
return &amp;self-&gt;items;
}
void Foo_items_set(Foo *self, List *value) {
self-&gt;items = *value;
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
More information about this can be found in the SWIG Basics chapter,
<a href="SWIG.html#SWIG_structure_data_members">Structure data members</a> section.
</p>
<p>
The wrapper code to generate the accessors for classes comes from the pointer typemaps.
This can be somewhat unnatural for some types.
For example, a user would expect the STL std::string class member variables to be wrapped as a string in the target language,
rather than a pointer to this class.
The const reference typemaps offer this type of marshalling, so there is a feature to tell SWIG to use the const reference typemaps rather than the pointer typemaps.
It is the naturalvar feature and can be used to effectively change the way accessors are generated to the following:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
const List &amp;Foo_items_get(Foo *self) {
return self-&gt;items;
}
void Foo_items_set(Foo *self, const List &amp;value) {
self-&gt;items = value;
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The <tt>%naturalvar</tt> directive is a macro for, and hence equivalent to, <tt>%feature("naturalvar")</tt>. It can be used as follows:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// All List variables will use const List&amp; typemaps
%naturalvar List;
// Only Foo::myList will use const List&amp; typemaps
%naturalvar Foo::myList;
struct Foo {
List myList;
};
// All non-primitive types will use const reference typemaps
%naturalvar;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The observant reader will notice that <tt>%naturalvar</tt> works like any other
<a href="Customization.html#Customization_feature_flags">feature flag</a> directive but with some extra flexibility.
The first of the example usages above shows <tt>%naturalvar</tt> attaching to the <tt>myList</tt>'s variable type, that is the <tt>List</tt> class.
The second usage shows <tt>%naturalvar</tt> attaching to the variable name.
Hence the naturalvar feature can be used on either the variable's name or type.
Note that using the naturalvar feature on a variable's name overrides any naturalvar feature attached to the variable's type.
</p>
<p>
It is generally a good idea to use this feature globally as the reference typemaps have extra NULL checking compared to the pointer typemaps.
A pointer can be NULL, whereas a reference cannot, so the extra checking ensures that the target language user does not pass in a value that translates
to a NULL pointer and thereby preventing any potential NULL pointer dereferences.
The <tt>%naturalvar</tt> feature will apply to global variables in addition to member variables in some language modules, eg C# and Java.
</p>
<p>
The naturalvar behavior can also be turned on as a global setting via the <tt>-naturalvar</tt> commandline option
or the module mode option, <tt>%module(naturalvar=1)</tt>.
However, any use of <tt>%feature("naturalvar")</tt> will override the global setting.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> The <tt>%naturalvar</tt> feature was introduced in SWIG-1.3.28, prior to which it was necessary to manually apply the const reference
typemaps, eg <tt>%apply const std::string &amp; { std::string * }</tt>, but this example would also apply the typemaps to methods taking a <tt>std::string</tt> pointer.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> Read-only access used to be controlled by a pair of directives
<tt>%readonly</tt> and <tt>%readwrite</tt>. Although these directives still work, they
generate a warning message. Simply change the directives to <tt>%immutable;</tt> and
<tt>%mutable;</tt> to silence the warning. Don't forget the extra semicolon!
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> Prior to SWIG-1.3.12, all members of unknown type were
wrapped into accessor functions using pointers. For example, if you had a structure
like this
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
struct Foo {
size_t len;
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
and nothing was known about <tt>size_t</tt>, then accessors would be
written to work with <tt>size_t *</tt>. Starting in SWIG-1.3.12, this
behavior has been modified. Specifically, pointers will <em>only</em>
be used if SWIG knows that a datatype corresponds to a structure or
class. Therefore, the above code would be wrapped into accessors
involving <tt>size_t</tt>. This change is subtle, but it smooths over
a few problems related to structure wrapping and some of SWIG's
customization features.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn15">6.7 Protection</a></H2>
<p>
SWIG wraps class members that are public following the C++
conventions, i.e., by explicit public declaration or by the use of
the <tt>using</tt> directive. In general, anything specified in a
private or protected section will be ignored, although the internal
code generator sometimes looks at the contents of the private and
protected sections so that it can properly generate code for default
constructors and destructors. Directors could also modify the way
non-public virtual protected members are treated.
</p>
<p>
By default, members of a class definition are assumed to be private
until you explicitly give a `<tt>public:</tt>' declaration (This is
the same convention used by C++).
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn16">6.8 Enums and constants</a></H2>
<p>
Enumerations and constants are handled differently by the different language modules and are described in detail in the appropriate language chapter.
However, many languages map enums and constants in a class definition
into constants with the classname as a prefix. For example :</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
class Swig {
public:
enum {ALE, LAGER, PORTER, STOUT};
};
</pre></div>
<p>
Generates the following set of constants in the target scripting language :</p>
<div class="targetlang"><pre>
Swig_ALE = Swig::ALE
Swig_LAGER = Swig::LAGER
Swig_PORTER = Swig::PORTER
Swig_STOUT = Swig::STOUT
</pre></div>
<p>
Members declared as <tt>const</tt> are wrapped as read-only members and do not create constants.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn17">6.9 Friends</a></H2>
<p>
Friend declarations are recognised by SWIG. For example, if
you have this code:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
...
friend void blah(Foo *f);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then the <tt>friend</tt> declaration does result in a wrapper code
equivalent to one generated for the following declaration
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
...
};
void blah(Foo *f);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
A friend declaration, as in C++, is understood to be in the same scope
where the class is declared, hence, you can have
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore bar::blah(Foo *f);
namespace bar {
class Foo {
public:
...
friend void blah(Foo *f);
...
};
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
and a wrapper for the method 'blah' will not be generated.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn18">6.10 References and pointers</a></H2>
<p>
C++ references are supported, but SWIG transforms them back into pointers. For example,
a declaration like this :</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
class Foo {
public:
double bar(double &amp;a);
}
</pre></div>
<p>
has a low-level accessor
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
double Foo_bar(Foo *obj, double *a) {
obj-&gt;bar(*a);
}
</pre></div>
<p>
As a special case, most language modules pass <tt>const</tt> references to primitive datatypes (<tt>int</tt>, <tt>short</tt>,
<tt>float</tt>, etc.) by value instead of pointers. For example, if you have a function like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(const int &amp;x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
it is called from a script as follows:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
foo(3) # Notice pass by value
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Functions that return a reference are remapped to return a pointer instead.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
class Bar {
public:
Foo &amp;spam();
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Generates an accessor like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
Foo *Bar_spam(Bar *obj) {
Foo &amp;result = obj-&gt;spam();
return &amp;result;
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
However, functions that return <tt>const</tt> references to primitive datatypes (<tt>int</tt>, <tt>short</tt>, etc.) normally
return the result as a value rather than a pointer. For example, a function like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
const int &amp;bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
will return integers such as 37 or 42 in the target scripting language rather than a pointer to an integer.
</p>
<P>
Don't return references to objects allocated as local variables on the
stack. SWIG doesn't make a copy of the objects so this will probably
cause your program to crash.
<p>
<b>Note:</b> The special treatment for references to primitive datatypes is necessary to provide
more seamless integration with more advanced C++ wrapping applications---especially related to
templates and the STL. This was first added in SWIG-1.3.12.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn19">6.11 Pass and return by value</a></H2>
<p>
Occasionally, a C++ program will pass and return class objects by value. For example, a function
like this might appear:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
Vector cross_product(Vector a, Vector b);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If no information is supplied about <tt>Vector</tt>, SWIG creates a wrapper function similar to the
following:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
Vector *wrap_cross_product(Vector *a, Vector *b) {
Vector x = *a;
Vector y = *b;
Vector r = cross_product(x, y);
return new Vector(r);
}</pre>
</div>
<p>
In order for the wrapper code to compile, <tt>Vector</tt> must define a copy constructor and a
default constructor.
</p>
<p>
If <tt>Vector</tt> is defined as a class in the interface, but it does not
support a default constructor, SWIG changes the wrapper code by encapsulating
the arguments inside a special C++ template wrapper class, through a process
called the "Fulton Transform". This produces a wrapper that looks like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
Vector cross_product(Vector *a, Vector *b) {
SwigValueWrapper&lt;Vector&gt; x = *a;
SwigValueWrapper&lt;Vector&gt; y = *b;
SwigValueWrapper&lt;Vector&gt; r = cross_product(x, y);
return new Vector(r);
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This transformation is a little sneaky, but it provides support for
pass-by-value even when a class does not provide a default constructor
and it makes it possible to properly support a number of SWIG's
customization options. The definition of <tt>SwigValueWrapper</tt>
can be found by reading the SWIG wrapper code. This class is really nothing more than a thin
wrapper around a pointer.
</p>
<p>
Although SWIG usually detects the classes to which the Fulton Transform should
be applied, in some situations it's necessary to override it. That's done with
<tt>%feature("valuewrapper")</tt> to ensure it is used and <tt>%feature("novaluewrapper")</tt>
to ensure it is not used:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%feature("novaluewrapper") A;
class A;
%feature("valuewrapper") B;
struct B {
B();
// ....
};
</pre></div>
<p>
It is well worth considering turning this feature on for classes that do have a default constructor.
It will remove a redundant constructor call at the point of the variable declaration in the wrapper,
so will generate notably better performance for large objects or for classes with expensive construction.
Alternatively consider returning a reference or a pointer.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> this transformation has no effect on typemaps
or any other part of SWIG---it should be transparent except that you
may see this code when reading the SWIG output file.
</p>
<p>
<b>
Note: </b>This template transformation is new in SWIG-1.3.11 and may be refined in
future SWIG releases. In practice, it is only absolutely necessary to do this for
classes that don't define a default constructor.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> The use of this template only occurs when objects are passed or returned by value.
It is not used for C++ pointers or references.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn20">6.12 Inheritance</a></H2>
<p>
SWIG supports C++ inheritance of classes and allows both single and
multiple inheritance, as limited or allowed by the target
language. The SWIG type-checker knows about the relationship between
base and derived classes and allows pointers to any object of a
derived class to be used in functions of a base class. The
type-checker properly casts pointer values and is safe to use with
multiple inheritance.
</p>
<p> SWIG treats private or protected inheritance as close to the C++
spirit, and target language capabilities, as possible. In most
cases, this means that SWIG will parse the non-public inheritance
declarations, but that will have no effect in the generated code,
besides the implicit policies derived for constructors and
destructors.
</p>
<p>
The following example shows how SWIG handles inheritance. For clarity,
the full C++ code has been omitted.</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
// shapes.i
%module shapes
%{
#include "shapes.h"
%}
class Shape {
public:
double x, y;
virtual double area() = 0;
virtual double perimeter() = 0;
void set_location(double x, double y);
};
class Circle : public Shape {
public:
Circle(double radius);
~Circle();
double area();
double perimeter();
};
class Square : public Shape {
public:
Square(double size);
~Square();
double area();
double perimeter();
}
</pre></div>
<p>
When wrapped into Python, we can perform the following operations (shown using the low level Python accessors):
</p>
<div class="targetlang"><pre>
$ python
&gt;&gt;&gt; import shapes
&gt;&gt;&gt; circle = shapes.new_Circle(7)
&gt;&gt;&gt; square = shapes.new_Square(10)
&gt;&gt;&gt; print shapes.Circle_area(circle)
153.93804004599999757
&gt;&gt;&gt; print shapes.Shape_area(circle)
153.93804004599999757
&gt;&gt;&gt; print shapes.Shape_area(square)
100.00000000000000000
&gt;&gt;&gt; shapes.Shape_set_location(square, 2, -3)
&gt;&gt;&gt; print shapes.Shape_perimeter(square)
40.00000000000000000
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre></div>
<p>
In this example, Circle and Square objects have been created. Member
functions can be invoked on each object by making calls to
<tt>Circle_area</tt>, <tt>Square_area</tt>, and so on. However, the same
results can be accomplished by simply using the <tt>Shape_area</tt>
function on either object.
</p>
<p>
One important point concerning inheritance is that the low-level
accessor functions are only generated for classes in which they are
actually declared. For instance, in the above example, the method
<tt>set_location()</tt> is only accessible as
<tt>Shape_set_location()</tt> and not as
<tt>Circle_set_location()</tt> or <tt>Square_set_location()</tt>. Of
course, the <tt>Shape_set_location()</tt> function will accept any
kind of object derived from Shape. Similarly, accessor functions for
the attributes <tt>x</tt> and <tt>y</tt> are generated as
<tt>Shape_x_get()</tt>, <tt>Shape_x_set()</tt>,
<tt>Shape_y_get()</tt>, and <tt>Shape_y_set()</tt>. Functions such as
<tt>Circle_x_get()</tt> are not available--instead you should use
<tt>Shape_x_get()</tt>.
</p>
<p>
Note that there is a one to one correlation between the low-level accessor functions and
the proxy methods and therefore there is also a one to one correlation between
the C++ class methods and the generated proxy class methods.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> For the best results, SWIG requires all
base classes to be defined in an interface. Otherwise, you may get a
warning message like this:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:18: Warning 401: Nothing known about base class 'Foo'. Ignored.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If any base class is undefined, SWIG still generates correct type
relationships. For instance, a function accepting a <tt>Foo *</tt>
will accept any object derived from <tt>Foo</tt> regardless of whether
or not SWIG actually wrapped the <tt>Foo</tt> class. If you really
don't want to generate wrappers for the base class, but you want to
silence the warning, you might consider using the <tt>%import</tt>
directive to include the file that defines <tt>Foo</tt>.
<tt>%import</tt> simply gathers type information, but doesn't generate
wrappers. Alternatively, you could just define <tt>Foo</tt> as an empty class
in the SWIG interface or use
<a href="Warnings.html#Warnings_suppression">warning suppression</a>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> <tt>typedef</tt>-names <em>can</em> be used as base classes. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
...
};
typedef Foo FooObj;
class Bar : public FooObj { // Ok. Base class is Foo
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, <tt>typedef</tt> allows unnamed structures to be used as base classes. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
typedef struct {
...
} Foo;
class Bar : public Foo { // Ok.
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b> Starting in version 1.3.7, SWIG only
generates low-level accessor wrappers for the declarations that are
actually defined in each class. This differs from SWIG1.1 which used
to inherit all of the declarations defined in base classes and
regenerate specialized accessor functions such as
<tt>Circle_x_get()</tt>, <tt>Square_x_get()</tt>,
<tt>Circle_set_location()</tt>, and <tt>Square_set_location()</tt>.
This behavior resulted in huge amounts of replicated code for large
class hierarchies and made it awkward to build applications spread
across multiple modules (since accessor functions are duplicated in
every single module). It is also unnecessary to have such wrappers
when advanced features like proxy classes are used.
<b>Note:</b> Further optimizations are enabled when using the
<tt>-fvirtual</tt> option, which avoids the regenerating of wrapper
functions for virtual members that are already defined in a base
class.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn21">6.13 A brief discussion of multiple inheritance, pointers, and type checking</a></H2>
<p>
When a target scripting language refers to a C++ object, it normally
uses a tagged pointer object that contains both the value of the
pointer and a type string. For example, in Tcl, a C++ pointer might
be encoded as a string like this:
</p>
<div class="diagram">
<pre>
_808fea88_p_Circle
</pre>
</div>
<p>
A somewhat common question is whether or not the type-tag could be safely
removed from the pointer. For instance, to get better performance, could you
strip all type tags and just use simple integers instead?
</p>
<p>
In general, the answer to this question is no. In the wrappers, all
pointers are converted into a common data representation in the target
language. Typically this is the equivalent of casting a pointer to <tt>void *</tt>.
This means that any C++ type information associated with the pointer is
lost in the conversion.
</p>
<p>
The problem with losing type information is that it is needed to
properly support many advanced C++ features--especially multiple
inheritance. For example, suppose you had code like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class A {
public:
int x;
};
class B {
public:
int y;
};
class C : public A, public B {
};
int A_function(A *a) {
return a-&gt;x;
}
int B_function(B *b) {
return b-&gt;y;
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Now, consider the following code that uses <tt>void *</tt>.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
C *c = new C();
void *p = (void *) c;
...
int x = A_function((A *) p);
int y = B_function((B *) p);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this code, both <tt>A_function()</tt> and <tt>B_function()</tt> may
legally accept an object of type <tt>C *</tt> (via inheritance).
However, one of the functions will always return the wrong result when
used as shown. The reason for this is that even though <tt>p</tt>
points to an object of type <tt>C</tt>, the casting operation doesn't
work like you would expect. Internally, this has to do with the data
representation of <tt>C</tt>. With multiple inheritance, the data from
each base class is stacked together. For example:
</p>
<div class="diagram">
<pre>
------------ &lt;--- (C *), (A *)
| A |
|------------| &lt;--- (B *)
| B |
------------
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Because of this stacking, a pointer of type <tt>C *</tt> may change
value when it is converted to a <tt>A *</tt> or <tt>B *</tt>.
However, this adjustment does <em>not</em> occur if you are converting from a
<tt>void *</tt>.
</p>
<p>
The use of type tags marks all pointers with the real type of the
underlying object. This extra information is then used by SWIG
generated wrappers to correctly cast pointer values under inheritance
(avoiding the above problem).
</p>
<p>
Some of the language modules are able to solve the problem by storing multiple instances of the pointer, for example, <tt>A *</tt>,
in the A proxy class as well as <tt>C *</tt> in the C proxy class. The correct cast can then be made by choosing the correct <tt>void *</tt>
pointer to use and is guaranteed to work as the cast to a void pointer and back to the same type does not lose any type information:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
C *c = new C();
void *p = (void *) c;
void *pA = (void *) c;
void *pB = (void *) c;
...
int x = A_function((A *) pA);
int y = B_function((B *) pB);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In practice, the pointer is held as an integral number in the target language proxy class.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_default_args">6.14 Default arguments</a></H2>
<p>
SWIG will wrap all types of functions that have default arguments. For example member functions:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
void bar(int x, int y = 3, int z = 4);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG handles default arguments by generating an extra overloaded method for each defaulted argument.
SWIG is effectively handling methods with default arguments as if it was wrapping the equivalent overloaded methods.
Thus for the example above, it is as if we had instead given the following to SWIG:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
void bar(int x, int y, int z);
void bar(int x, int y);
void bar(int x);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The wrappers produced are exactly the same as if the above code was instead fed into SWIG.
Details of this are covered in the next section <a href="#SWIGPlus_overloaded_methods">Overloaded functions and methods</a>.
This approach allows SWIG to wrap all possible default arguments, but can be verbose.
For example if a method has ten default arguments, then eleven wrapper methods are generated.
</p>
<p>
Please see the <a href="Customization.html#Customization_features_default_args">Features and default arguments</a>
section for more information on using <tt>%feature</tt> with functions with default arguments.
The <a href="#SWIGPlus_ambiguity_resolution_renaming">Renaming and ambiguity resolution</a> section
also deals with using <tt>%rename</tt> and <tt>%ignore</tt> on methods with default arguments.
If you are writing your own typemaps for types used in methods with default arguments, you may also need to write a <tt>typecheck</tt> typemap.
See the <a href="Typemaps.html#Typemaps_overloading">Typemaps and overloading</a> section for details or otherwise
use the <tt>compactdefaultargs</tt> feature flag as mentioned below.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> Versions of SWIG prior to SWIG-1.3.23 wrapped default arguments slightly differently.
Instead a single wrapper method was generated and the default values were copied into the C++ wrappers
so that the method being wrapped was then called with all the arguments specified.
If the size of the wrappers are a concern then this approach to wrapping methods with default arguments
can be re-activated by using the <tt>compactdefaultargs</tt>
<a href="Customization.html#Customization_feature_flags">feature flag</a>.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%feature("compactdefaultargs") Foo::bar;
class Foo {
public:
void bar(int x, int y = 3, int z = 4);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This is great for reducing the size of the wrappers, but the caveat is it does not work for the statically typed languages,
such as C# and Java,
which don't have optional arguments in the language,
Another restriction of this feature is that it cannot handle default arguments that are not public.
The following example illustrates this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
private:
static const int spam;
public:
void bar(int x, int y = spam); // Won't work with %feature("compactdefaultargs") -
// private default value
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This produces uncompilable wrapper code because default values in C++ are
evaluated in the same scope as the member function whereas SWIG
evaluates them in the scope of a wrapper function (meaning that the
values have to be public).
</p>
<p>
The <tt>compactdefaultargs</tt> feature is automatically turned on when wrapping <a href="SWIG.html#SWIG_default_args">C code with default arguments</a>.
Some target languages will also automatically turn on this feature
if the keyword arguments feature (kwargs) is specified for either C or C++ functions, and the target language supports kwargs,
the <tt>compactdefaultargs</tt> feature is also automatically turned on.
Keyword arguments are a language feature of some scripting languages, for example Ruby and Python.
SWIG is unable to support kwargs when wrapping overloaded methods, so the default approach cannot be used.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_overloaded_methods">6.15 Overloaded functions and methods</a></H2>
<p>
In many language modules, SWIG provides partial support for overloaded functions, methods, and
constructors. For example, if you supply SWIG with overloaded functions like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(int x) {
printf("x is %d\n", x);
}
void foo(char *x) {
printf("x is '%s'\n", x);
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The function is used in a completely natural way. For example:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; foo(3)
x is 3
&gt;&gt;&gt; foo("hello")
x is 'hello'
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Overloading works in a similar manner for methods and constructors. For example if you have
this code,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
Foo();
Foo(const Foo &amp;); // Copy constructor
void bar(int x);
void bar(char *s, int y);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
it might be used like this
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; f = Foo() # Create a Foo
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.bar(3)
&gt;&gt;&gt; g = Foo(f) # Copy Foo
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.bar("hello", 2)
</pre>
</div>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn24">6.15.1 Dispatch function generation</a></H3>
<p>
The implementation of overloaded functions and methods is somewhat
complicated due to the dynamic nature of scripting languages. Unlike
C++, which binds overloaded methods at compile time, SWIG must
determine the proper function as a runtime check for scripting language targets. This check is
further complicated by the typeless nature of certain scripting languages. For instance,
in Tcl, all types are simply strings. Therefore, if you have two overloaded functions
like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(char *x);
void foo(int x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
the order in which the arguments are checked plays a rather critical role.
</p>
<p>
For statically typed languages, SWIG uses the language's method overloading mechanism.
To implement overloading for the scripting languages, SWIG generates a dispatch function that checks the
number of passed arguments and their types. To create this function, SWIG
first examines all of the overloaded methods and ranks them according
to the following rules:
</p>
<ol>
<li><b>Number of required arguments.</b> Methods are sorted by increasing number of
required arguments.
</li>
<li><p><b>Argument type precedence.</b> All C++ datatypes are assigned a numeric type precedence value
(which is determined by the language module).</p>
<div class="diagram">
<pre>
Type Precedence
---------------- ----------
TYPE * 0 (High)
void * 20
Integers 40
Floating point 60
char 80
Strings 100 (Low)
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Using these precedence values, overloaded methods with the same number of required arguments are sorted in increased
order of precedence values.
</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>
This may sound very confusing, but an example will help. Consider the following collection of
overloaded methods:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(double);
void foo(int);
void foo(Bar *);
void foo();
void foo(int x, int y, int z, int w);
void foo(int x, int y, int z = 3);
void foo(double x, double y);
void foo(double x, Bar *z);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The first rule simply ranks the functions by required argument count.
This would produce the following list:
</p>
<div class="diagram">
<pre>
rank
-----
[0] foo()
[1] foo(double);
[2] foo(int);
[3] foo(Bar *);
[4] foo(int x, int y, int z = 3);
[5] foo(double x, double y)
[6] foo(double x, Bar *z)
[7] foo(int x, int y, int z, int w);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The second rule, simply refines the ranking by looking at argument type precedence values.
</p>
<div class="diagram">
<pre>
rank
-----
[0] foo()
[1] foo(Bar *);
[2] foo(int);
[3] foo(double);
[4] foo(int x, int y, int z = 3);
[5] foo(double x, Bar *z)
[6] foo(double x, double y)
[7] foo(int x, int y, int z, int w);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Finally, to generate the dispatch function, the arguments passed to an overloaded method are simply
checked in the same order as they appear in this ranking.
</p>
<p>
If you're still confused, don't worry about it---SWIG is probably doing the right thing.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn25">6.15.2 Ambiguity in overloading</a></H3>
<p>
Regrettably, SWIG is not able to support every possible use of valid C++ overloading. Consider
the following example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(int x);
void foo(long x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In C++, this is perfectly legal. However, in a scripting language, there is generally only one kind of integer
object. Therefore, which one of these functions do you pick? Clearly, there is no way to truly make a distinction
just by looking at the value of the integer itself (<tt>int</tt> and <tt>long</tt> may even be the same precision).
Therefore, when SWIG encounters this situation, it may generate a warning message like this for scripting languages:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:4: Warning 509: Overloaded method foo(long) effectively ignored,
example.i:3: Warning 509: as it is shadowed by foo(int).
</pre>
</div>
<p>
or for statically typed languages like Java:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:4: Warning 516: Overloaded method foo(long) ignored,
example.i:3: Warning 516: using foo(int) instead.
at example.i:3 used.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This means that the second overloaded function will be inaccessible
from a scripting interface or the method won't be wrapped at all.
This is done as SWIG does not know how to disambiguate it from an earlier method.
</p>
<p>
Ambiguity problems are known to arise in the following situations:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Integer conversions. Datatypes such as <tt>int</tt>, <tt>long</tt>, and <tt>short</tt> cannot be disambiguated in some languages. Shown above.
</li>
<li>Floating point conversion. <tt>float</tt> and <tt>double</tt> can not be disambiguated in some languages.
</li>
<li>Pointers and references. For example, <tt>Foo *</tt> and <tt>Foo &amp;</tt>.
</li>
<li>Pointers and arrays. For example, <tt>Foo *</tt> and <tt>Foo [4]</tt>.
</li>
<li>Pointers and instances. For example, <tt>Foo</tt> and <tt>Foo *</tt>. Note: SWIG converts all
instances to pointers.
</li>
<li>Qualifiers. For example, <tt>const Foo *</tt> and <tt>Foo *</tt>.
</li>
<li>Default vs. non default arguments. For example, <tt>foo(int a, int b)</tt> and <tt>foo(int a, int b = 3)</tt>.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
When an ambiguity arises, methods are checked in the same order as they appear in the interface file.
Therefore, earlier methods will shadow methods that appear later.
</p>
<p>
When wrapping an overloaded function, there is a chance that you will get a warning message like this:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:3: Warning 467: Overloaded foo(int) not supported (incomplete type checking rule -
no precedence level in typecheck typemap for 'int').
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This error means that the target language module supports overloading,
but for some reason there is no type-checking rule that can be used to
generate a working dispatch function. The resulting behavior is then
undefined. You should report this as a bug to the
<a href="http://www.swig.org/bugs.html">SWIG bug tracking database</a>
if this is due to one of the typemaps supplied with SWIG.
</p>
<p>
If you get an error message such as the following,
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
foo.i:6. Overloaded declaration ignored. Spam::foo(double )
foo.i:5. Previous declaration is Spam::foo(int )
foo.i:7. Overloaded declaration ignored. Spam::foo(Bar *, Spam *, int )
foo.i:5. Previous declaration is Spam::foo(int )
</pre>
</div>
<p>
it means that the target language module has not yet implemented support for overloaded
functions and methods. The only way to fix the problem is to read the next section.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_ambiguity_resolution_renaming">6.15.3 Renaming and ambiguity resolution</a></H3>
<p>
If an ambiguity in overload resolution occurs or if a module doesn't
allow overloading, there are a few strategies for dealing with the
problem. First, you can tell SWIG to ignore one of the methods. This
is easy---simply use the <tt>%ignore</tt> directive. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore foo(long);
void foo(int);
void foo(long); // Ignored. Oh well.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The other alternative is to rename one of the methods. This can be
done using <tt>%rename</tt>. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename("foo_short") foo(short);
%rename(foo_long) foo(long);
void foo(int);
void foo(short); // Accessed as foo_short()
void foo(long); // Accessed as foo_long()
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note that the quotes around the new name are optional, however,
should the new name be a C/C++ keyword they would be essential in order to avoid a parsing error.
The <tt>%ignore</tt> and <tt>%rename</tt> directives are both rather powerful
in their ability to match declarations. When used in their simple form, they apply to
both global functions and methods. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
/* Forward renaming declarations */
%rename(foo_i) foo(int);
%rename(foo_d) foo(double);
...
void foo(int); // Becomes 'foo_i'
void foo(char *c); // Stays 'foo' (not renamed)
class Spam {
public:
void foo(int); // Becomes 'foo_i'
void foo(double); // Becomes 'foo_d'
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If you only want the renaming to apply to a certain scope, the C++ scope resolution operator (::) can be used.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(foo_i) ::foo(int); // Only rename foo(int) in the global scope.
// (will not rename class members)
%rename(foo_i) Spam::foo(int); // Only rename foo(int) in class Spam
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When a renaming operator is applied to a class as in <tt>Spam::foo(int)</tt>, it is applied to
that class and all derived classes. This can be used to apply a consistent renaming across
an entire class hierarchy with only a few declarations. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(foo_i) Spam::foo(int);
%rename(foo_d) Spam::foo(double);
class Spam {
public:
virtual void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
virtual void foo(double); // Renamed to foo_d
...
};
class Bar : public Spam {
public:
virtual void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
virtual void foo(double); // Renamed to foo_d
...
};
class Grok : public Bar {
public:
virtual void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
virtual void foo(double); // Renamed to foo_d
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
It is also possible to include <tt>%rename</tt> specifications in the
class definition itself. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Spam {
%rename(foo_i) foo(int);
%rename(foo_d) foo(double);
public:
virtual void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
virtual void foo(double); // Renamed to foo_d
...
};
class Bar : public Spam {
public:
virtual void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
virtual void foo(double); // Renamed to foo_d
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, the <tt>%rename</tt> directives still get applied across the entire
inheritance hierarchy, but it's no longer necessary to explicitly specify the
class prefix <tt>Spam::</tt>.
</p>
<p>
A special form of <tt>%rename</tt> can be used to apply a renaming just to class
members (of all classes):
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(foo_i) *::foo(int); // Only rename foo(int) if it appears in a class.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note: the <tt>*::</tt> syntax is non-standard C++, but the '*' is meant to be a
wildcard that matches any class name (we couldn't think of a better
alternative so if you have a better idea, send email to
the <a href="http://www.swig.org/mail.html">swig-devel mailing list</a>.
</p>
<p>
Although this discussion has primarily focused on <tt>%rename</tt> all of the same rules
also apply to <tt>%ignore</tt>. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore foo(double); // Ignore all foo(double)
%ignore Spam::foo; // Ignore foo in class Spam
%ignore Spam::foo(double); // Ignore foo(double) in class Spam
%ignore *::foo(double); // Ignore foo(double) in all classes
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When applied to a base class, <tt>%ignore</tt> forces all definitions in derived classes
to disappear. For example, <tt>%ignore Spam::foo(double)</tt> will eliminate <tt>foo(double)</tt> in
<tt>Spam</tt> and all classes derived from <tt>Spam</tt>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Notes on %rename and %ignore:</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Since, the <tt>%rename</tt> declaration is used to declare a renaming in advance, it can be
placed at the start of an interface file. This makes it possible to apply a consistent name
resolution without having to modify header files. For example:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%module foo
/* Rename these overloaded functions */
%rename(foo_i) foo(int);
%rename(foo_d) foo(double);
%include "header.h"
</pre>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>The scope qualifier (::) can also be used on simple names. For example:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(bar) ::foo; // Rename foo to bar in global scope only
%rename(bar) Spam::foo; // Rename foo to bar in class Spam only
%rename(bar) *::foo; // Rename foo in classes only
</pre>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>Name matching tries to find the most specific match that is
defined. A qualified name such as <tt>Spam::foo</tt> always has
higher precedence than an unqualified name <tt>foo</tt>.
<tt>Spam::foo</tt> has higher precedence than <tt>*::foo</tt> and
<tt>*::foo</tt> has higher precedence than <tt>foo</tt>. A
parameterized name has higher precedence than an unparameterized name
within the same scope level. However, an unparameterized name with a
scope qualifier has higher precedence than a parameterized name in
global scope (e.g., a renaming of <tt>Spam::foo</tt> takes precedence
over a renaming of <tt>foo(int)</tt>).</p>
</li>
<li><p>
The order in which <tt>%rename</tt> directives are defined does not matter
as long as they appear before the declarations to be renamed. Thus, there is no difference
between saying:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(bar) foo;
%rename(foo_i) Spam::foo(int);
%rename(Foo) Spam::foo;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
and this
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(Foo) Spam::foo;
%rename(bar) foo;
%rename(foo_i) Spam::foo(int);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
(the declarations are not stored in a linked list and order has no
importance). Of course, a repeated <tt>%rename</tt> directive will
change the setting for a previous <tt>%rename</tt> directive if exactly the
same name, scope, and parameters are supplied.
</p>
</li>
<li>For multiple inheritance where renaming rules are defined for multiple base classes,
the first renaming rule found on a depth-first traversal of the class hierarchy
is used.
</li>
<li><p>The name matching rules strictly follow member qualifier rules.
For example, if you have a class and member with a member that is const qualified like this:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Spam {
public:
...
void bar() const;
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
the declaration
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(name) Spam::bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
will not apply as there is no unqualified member <tt>bar()</tt>. The following will apply the rename as
the qualifier matches correctly:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(name) Spam::bar() const;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly for combinations of cv-qualifiers and ref-qualifiers, all the qualifiers must be specified to match correctly:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(name) Jam::bar(); // will not match
%rename(name) Jam::bar() &amp;; // will not match
%rename(name) Jam::bar() const; // will not match
%rename(name) Jam::bar() const &amp;; // ok, will match
class Jam {
public:
...
void bar() const &amp;;
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
An often overlooked C++ feature is that classes can define two different overloaded members
that differ only in their qualifiers, like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Spam {
public:
...
void bar(); // Unqualified member
void bar() const; // Qualified member
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
%rename can then be used to target each of the overloaded methods individually.
For example we can give them separate names in the target language:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(name1) Spam::bar();
%rename(name2) Spam::bar() const;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, if you
merely wanted to ignore one of the declarations, use <tt>%ignore</tt>
with the full qualifier. For example, the following directive
would tell SWIG to ignore the <tt>const</tt> version of <tt>bar()</tt>
above:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore Spam::bar() const; // Ignore bar() const, but leave other bar() alone
</pre>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>
Currently no resolution is performed in order to match function parameters. This means function parameter types must match exactly.
For example, namespace qualifiers and typedefs will not work. The following usage of typedefs demonstrates this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
typedef int Integer;
%rename(foo_i) foo(int);
class Spam {
public:
void foo(Integer); // Stays 'foo' (not renamed)
};
class Ham {
public:
void foo(int); // Renamed to foo_i
};
</pre>
</div>
<li><p>
The name matching rules also use default arguments for finer control when wrapping methods that have default arguments.
Recall that methods with default arguments are wrapped as if the equivalent overloaded methods had been parsed
(<a href="#SWIGPlus_default_args">Default arguments</a> section).
Let's consider the following example class:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Spam {
public:
...
void bar(int i=-1, double d=0.0);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The following <tt>%rename</tt> will match exactly and apply to all the target language overloaded methods because the declaration with the default arguments
exactly matches the wrapped method:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(newbar) Spam::bar(int i=-1, double d=0.0);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The C++ method can then be called from the target language with the new name no matter how many arguments are specified, for example:
<tt>newbar(2, 2.0)</tt>, <tt>newbar(2)</tt> or <tt>newbar()</tt>.
However, if the <tt>%rename</tt> does not contain the default arguments:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(newbar) Spam::bar(int i, double d);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then only one of the three equivalent overloaded methods will be renamed and wrapped as if SWIG parsed:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void Spam::newbar(int i, double d);
void Spam::bar(int i);
void Spam::bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The C++ method must then be called from the target language with the new name <tt>newbar(2, 2.0)</tt> when both arguments are supplied
or with the original name as <tt>bar(2)</tt> (one argument) or <tt>bar()</tt> (no arguments).
</p>
<p>
In fact it is possible to use <tt>%rename</tt> on the equivalent overloaded methods, to rename all the equivalent overloaded methods:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(bar_2args) Spam::bar(int i, double d);
%rename(bar_1arg) Spam::bar(int i);
%rename(bar_default) Spam::bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, the extra overloaded methods can be selectively ignored using <tt>%ignore</tt>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> The <tt>%rename</tt> directive introduced the default argument matching rules in SWIG-1.3.23 at the same time as the changes
to wrapping methods with default arguments was introduced.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nn27">6.15.4 Comments on overloading</a></H3>
<p>
Support for overloaded methods was first added in SWIG-1.3.14. The implementation
is somewhat unusual when compared to similar tools. For instance, the order in which
declarations appear is largely irrelevant in SWIG. Furthermore, SWIG does not rely
upon trial execution or exception handling to figure out which method to invoke.
</p>
<p>
Internally, the overloading mechanism is completely configurable by the target language
module. Therefore, the degree of overloading support may vary from language to language.
As a general rule, statically typed languages like Java are able to provide more support
than dynamically typed languages like Perl, Python, Ruby, and Tcl.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn28">6.16 Overloaded operators</a></H2>
<p>
C++ overloaded operator declarations can be wrapped.
For example, consider a class like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Complex {
private:
double rpart, ipart;
public:
Complex(double r = 0, double i = 0) : rpart(r), ipart(i) { }
Complex(const Complex &amp;c) : rpart(c.rpart), ipart(c.ipart) { }
Complex &amp;operator=(const Complex &amp;c) {
rpart = c.rpart;
ipart = c.ipart;
return *this;
}
Complex operator+(const Complex &amp;c) const {
return Complex(rpart+c.rpart, ipart+c.ipart);
}
Complex operator-(const Complex &amp;c) const {
return Complex(rpart-c.rpart, ipart-c.ipart);
}
Complex operator*(const Complex &amp;c) const {
return Complex(rpart*c.rpart - ipart*c.ipart,
rpart*c.ipart + c.rpart*ipart);
}
Complex operator-() const {
return Complex(-rpart, -ipart);
}
double re() const { return rpart; }
double im() const { return ipart; }
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When operator declarations appear, they are handled in
<em>exactly</em> the same manner as regular methods. However, the
names of these methods are set to strings like "<tt>operator +</tt>"
or "<tt>operator -</tt>". The problem with these names is that they
are illegal identifiers in most scripting languages. For instance,
you can't just create a method called "<tt>operator +</tt>" in
Python--there won't be any way to call it.
</p>
<p>
Some language modules already know how to automatically handle certain
operators (mapping them into operators in the target language).
However, the underlying implementation of this is really managed in a
very general way using the <tt>%rename</tt> directive. For example,
in Python a declaration similar to this is used:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(__add__) Complex::operator+;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This binds the + operator to a method called <tt>__add__</tt> (which
is conveniently the same name used to implement the Python + operator).
Internally, the generated wrapper code for a wrapped operator will look
something like this pseudocode:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
_wrap_Complex___add__(args) {
... get args ...
obj-&gt;operator+(args);
...
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When used in the target language, it may now be possible to use the overloaded
operator normally. For example:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; a = Complex(3, 4)
&gt;&gt;&gt; b = Complex(5, 2)
&gt;&gt;&gt; c = a + b # Invokes __add__ method
</pre>
</div>
<p>
It is important to realize that there is nothing magical happening
here. The <tt>%rename</tt> directive really only picks a valid method
name. If you wrote this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(add) operator+;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The resulting scripting interface might work like this:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
a = Complex(3, 4)
b = Complex(5, 2)
c = a.add(b) # Call a.operator+(b)
</pre>
</div>
<p>
All of the techniques described to deal with overloaded functions also
apply to operators. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore Complex::operator=; // Ignore = in class Complex
%ignore *::operator=; // Ignore = in all classes
%ignore operator=; // Ignore = everywhere.
%rename(__sub__) Complex::operator-;
%rename(__neg__) Complex::operator-(); // Unary -
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The last part of this example illustrates how multiple definitions of
the <tt>operator-</tt> method might be handled.
</p>
<p>
Handling operators in this manner is mostly straightforward. However, there are a few subtle
issues to keep in mind:
</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In C++, it is fairly common to define different versions of the operators to account for
different types. For example, a class might also include a friend function like this:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Complex {
public:
friend Complex operator+(Complex &amp;, double);
};
Complex operator+(Complex &amp;, double);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG simply ignores all <tt>friend</tt> declarations. Furthermore, it
doesn't know how to associate the associated <tt>operator+</tt> with
the class (because it's not a member of the class).
</p>
<p>
It's still possible to make a wrapper for this operator, but you'll
have to handle it like a normal function. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(add_complex_double) operator+(Complex &amp;, double);
</pre>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>Certain operators are ignored by default. For instance, <tt>new</tt> and <tt>delete</tt> operators
are ignored as well as conversion and index operators. A warning such as the one below is shown:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:12: Warning 503: Can't wrap 'operator []' unless renamed to a valid identifier.
</pre>
</div>
</li>
<li><p>The index operator, <tt>operator[]</tt>, is particularly difficult to overload due to differences in C++
implementations. Specifically, the get and set operators in other languages typically are separated
into two methods such that additional logic can be packed into the operations; C# uses
<tt>this[type key] { get { ... } set { ... }}</tt>, Python uses
<tt>__getitem__</tt> and <tt>__setitem__</tt>, etc. In C++ if the return
type of <tt>operator[]</tt> is a reference and the method is const, it is often indicative of the <i>setter</i>,
and the <i>getter</i> is usually a const function return an object by value.
In the absence of any hard and fast rules and the fact that there may be multiple index operators,
it is up to the user to choose the getter and setter to use by using %rename as shown earlier.
</p>
</li>
<li>The semantics of certain C++ operators may not match those in the target language.
</li>
</ul>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_class_extension">6.17 Class extension</a></H2>
<p>
New methods can be added to a class using the <tt>%extend</tt>
directive. This directive is primarily used in conjunction with proxy
classes to add additional functionality to an existing class. For
example :
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%module vector
%{
#include "vector.h"
%}
class Vector {
public:
double x, y, z;
Vector();
~Vector();
... bunch of C++ methods ...
%extend {
char *__str__() {
static char temp[256];
sprintf(temp, "[ %g, %g, %g ]", $self-&gt;x, $self-&gt;y, $self-&gt;z);
return &amp;temp[0];
}
}
};
</pre></div>
<p>
This code adds a <tt>__str__</tt> method to our class for producing a
string representation of the object. In Python, such a method would
allow us to print the value of an object using the <tt>print</tt>
command.
</p>
<div class="targetlang"><pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;&gt; v = Vector();
&gt;&gt;&gt; v.x = 3
&gt;&gt;&gt; v.y = 4
&gt;&gt;&gt; v.z = 0
&gt;&gt;&gt; print(v)
[ 3.0, 4.0, 0.0 ]
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre></div>
<p>
The C++ 'this' pointer is often needed to access member variables, methods etc.
The <tt>$self</tt> special variable should be used wherever you could use 'this'.
The example above demonstrates this for accessing member variables.
Note that the members dereferenced by <tt>$self</tt> must be public members as the code is ultimately generated
into a global function and so will not have any access to non-public members.
The implicit 'this' pointer that is present in C++ methods is not present in <tt>%extend</tt> methods.
In order to access anything in the extended class or its base class, an explicit 'this' is required.
The following example shows how one could access base class members:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
struct Base {
virtual void method(int v) {
...
}
int value;
};
struct Derived : Base {
};
%extend Derived {
virtual void method(int v) {
$self-&gt;Base::method(v); // akin to this-&gt;Base::method(v);
$self-&gt;value = v; // akin to this-&gt;value = v;
...
}
}
</pre></div>
<p>
The following special variables are expanded if used within a %extend block:
$name, $symname, $overname, $decl, $fulldecl, $parentclassname and $parentclasssymname.
The <a href="Customization.html#Customization_exception_special_variables">Special variables</a> section provides more information each of these special variables.
</p>
<p>
The <tt>%extend</tt> directive follows all of the same conventions
as its use with C structures. Please refer to the <a href="SWIG.html#SWIG_adding_member_functions">Adding member functions to C structures</a>
section for further details.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility note:</b> The <tt>%extend</tt> directive is a new
name for the <tt>%addmethods</tt> directive in SWIG1.1. Since <tt>%addmethods</tt> could
be used to extend a structure with more than just methods, a more suitable
directive name has been chosen.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn30">6.18 Templates</a></H2>
<p>
Template type names may appear anywhere a type
is expected in an interface file. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void foo(vector&lt;int&gt; *a, int n);
void bar(list&lt;int, 100&gt; *x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
There are some restrictions on the use of non-type arguments. Simple literals
are supported, and so are some constant expressions. However, use of '&lt;'
and '&gt;' within a constant expressions currently is not supported by SWIG
('&lt;=' and '&gt;=' are though). For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
void bar(list&lt;int, 100&gt; *x); // OK
void bar(list&lt;int, 2*50&gt; *x); // OK
void bar(list&lt;int, (2&gt;1 ? 100 : 50)&gt; *x) // Not supported
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The type system is smart enough to figure out clever games
you might try to play with <tt>typedef</tt>. For instance, consider this code:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
typedef int Integer;
void foo(vector&lt;int&gt; *x, vector&lt;Integer&gt; *y);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, <tt>vector&lt;Integer&gt;</tt> is exactly the same type
as <tt>vector&lt;int&gt;</tt>. The wrapper for <tt>foo()</tt> will
accept either variant.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_directive">6.18.1 The %template directive</a></H3>
<p>
There are a couple of important points about template wrapping.
First, a bare C++ template
does not define any sort of runnable object-code for which SWIG can
normally create a wrapper. Therefore, in order to wrap a template,
you need to give SWIG information about a particular template
instantiation (e.g., <tt>vector&lt;int&gt;</tt>,
<tt>array&lt;double&gt;</tt>, etc.). Second, an instantiation name
such as <tt>vector&lt;int&gt;</tt> is generally not a valid identifier
name in most target languages. Thus, you will need to give the
template instantiation a more suitable name such as <tt>intvector</tt>.
</p>
<p>
To illustrate, consider the following class template definition:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
template&lt;class T&gt; class List {
private:
T *data;
int nitems;
int maxitems;
public:
List(int max) {
data = new T [max];
nitems = 0;
maxitems = max;
}
~List() {
delete [] data;
};
void append(T obj) {
if (nitems &lt; maxitems) {
data[nitems++] = obj;
}
}
int length() {
return nitems;
}
T get(int n) {
return data[n];
}
};
</pre></div>
<p>
By itself, this class template is useless--SWIG simply ignores it
because it doesn't know how to generate any code unless a definition of
<tt>T</tt> is provided.
The <tt>%template</tt> directive is required to instantiate the template for use in a target language.
The directive requires an identifier name for use in the target language plus the template for instantiation.
The example below instantiates <tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt> for use as a class named <tt>intList</tt>:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The instantiation expands the template code as a C++ compiler would do and then makes it available
under the given identifier name.
Essentially it is the same as wrapping the following concept code where
the class template definition has <tt>T</TT> expanded to <tt>int</tt>
(note that this is not entirely valid syntax):
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(intList) List&lt;int&gt;; // Rename to a suitable identifier
class List&lt;int&gt; {
private:
int *data;
int nitems;
int maxitems;
public:
List(int max);
~List();
void append(int obj);
int length();
int get(int n);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The argument to <tt>%template()</tt> is the name of the instantiation
in the target language. The name you choose should not conflict with
any other declarations in the interface file with one exception---it
is okay for the template name to match that of a typedef declaration.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
...
typedef List&lt;int&gt; intList; // OK
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The <tt>%template</tt> directive
must always appear <em>after</em> the definition of the template to be expanded, so the following will work:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T&gt; class List { ... };
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
but if %template is used before the template definition, such as:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
template&lt;class T&gt; class List { ... };
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG will generate an error:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:3: Error: Template 'List' undefined.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Since the type system knows how to handle <tt>typedef</tt>, it is
generally not necessary to instantiate different versions of a template
for typenames that are equivalent. For instance, consider this code:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
typedef int Integer;
...
void foo(List&lt;Integer&gt; *x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, <tt>List&lt;Integer&gt;</tt> is exactly the same type as
<tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt>. Any use of <tt>List&lt;Integer&gt;</tt> is mapped back to the
instantiation of <tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt> created earlier. Therefore, it is
not necessary to instantiate a new class for the type <tt>Integer</tt> (doing so is
redundant and will simply result in code bloat).
</p>
<p>
The template provided to <tt>%template</tt> for instantiation must be the actual template and not a typedef to a template.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
typedef List&lt;int&gt; ListOfInt;
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;; // ok
%template(intList) ListOfInt; // illegal - Syntax error
</pre>
</div>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_functions">6.18.2 Function templates</a></H3>
<p>
SWIG can also generate wrappers for function templates using a similar technique
to that shown above for class templates.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Function template
template&lt;class T&gt; T max(T a, T b) { return a &gt; b ? a : b; }
// Make some different versions of this function
%template(maxint) max&lt;int&gt;;
%template(maxdouble) max&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, <tt>maxint</tt> and <tt>maxdouble</tt> become unique names for specific
instantiations of the function.
</p>
<p>
SWIG even supports overloaded templated functions. As usual the <tt>%template</tt> directive
is used to wrap templated functions. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T&gt; void foo(T x) { };
template&lt;class T&gt; void foo(T x, T y) { };
%template(foo) foo&lt;int&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This will generate two overloaded wrapper methods, the first will take a single integer as an argument
and the second will take two integer arguments.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_classes">6.18.3 Default template arguments</a></H3>
<p>
The number of arguments supplied to <tt>%template</tt> should match that in the
original template definition. Template default arguments are supported. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template vector&lt;typename T, int max=100&gt; class vector {
...
};
%template(intvec) vector&lt;int&gt;; // OK
%template(vec1000) vector&lt;int, 1000&gt;; // OK
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The <tt>%template</tt> directive should not be used to wrap the same
template instantiation more than once in the same scope. This will
generate an error. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
%template(Listint) List&lt;int&gt;; // Error. Template already wrapped.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This error is caused because the template expansion results in two
identical classes with the same name. This generates a symbol table
conflict. Besides, it probably more efficient to only wrap a specific
instantiation only once in order to reduce the potential for code
bloat.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_class_inheritance">6.18.4 Template base classes</a></H3>
<p>
When a template is instantiated using <tt>%template</tt>, information
about that class is saved by SWIG and used elsewhere in the program.
For example, if you wrote code like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
...
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
...
class UltraList : public List&lt;int&gt; {
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then SWIG knows that <tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt> was already wrapped as a class called
<tt>intList</tt> and arranges to handle the inheritance correctly. If, on the other hand,
nothing is known about <tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt>, you will get a warning message similar to this:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.h:42: Warning 401. Nothing known about class 'List&lt; int &gt;'. Ignored.
example.h:42: Warning 401. Maybe you forgot to instantiate 'List&lt; int &gt;' using %template.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If a class template inherits from another class template, you need to
make sure that base classes are instantiated before derived classes.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T&gt; class Foo {
...
};
template&lt;class T&gt; class Bar : public Foo&lt;T&gt; {
...
};
// Instantiate base classes first
%template(intFoo) Foo&lt;int&gt;;
%template(doubleFoo) Foo&lt;double&gt;;
// Now instantiate derived classes
%template(intBar) Bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(doubleBar) Bar&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The order is important since SWIG uses the instantiation names to
properly set up the inheritance hierarchy in the resulting wrapper
code (and base classes need to be wrapped before derived classes).
Don't worry--if you get the order wrong, SWIG should generate a warning message.
</p>
<p>
Occasionally, you may need to tell SWIG about base classes that are defined by templates,
but which aren't supposed to be wrapped. Since SWIG is not able to automatically
instantiate templates for this purpose, you must do it manually. To do this, simply
use the empty template instantiation, that is, <tt>%template</tt> with no name. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Instantiate traits&lt;double, double&gt;, but don't wrap it.
%template() traits&lt;double, double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If you have to instantiate a lot of different classes for many different types,
you might consider writing a SWIG macro. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%define TEMPLATE_WRAP(prefix, T...)
%template(prefix ## Foo) Foo&lt;T &gt;;
%template(prefix ## Bar) Bar&lt;T &gt;;
...
%enddef
TEMPLATE_WRAP(int, int)
TEMPLATE_WRAP(double, double)
TEMPLATE_WRAP(String, char *)
TEMPLATE_WRAP(PairStringInt, std::pair&lt;string, int&gt;)
...
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note the use of a vararg macro for the type T. If this wasn't used, the comma in the templated type in the last example would not be possible.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_specialization">6.18.5 Template specialization</a></H3>
<p>
The SWIG template mechanism <em>does</em> support specialization. For instance, if you define
a class like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;&gt; class List&lt;int&gt; {
private:
int *data;
int nitems;
int maxitems;
public:
List(int max);
~List();
void append(int obj);
int length();
int get(int n);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then SWIG will use this code whenever the user expands <tt>List&lt;int&gt;</tt>. In practice,
this may have very little effect on the underlying wrapper code since
specialization is often used to provide slightly modified method bodies (which
are ignored by SWIG). However, special SWIG
directives such as <tt>%typemap</tt>, <tt>%extend</tt>, and so forth can be attached
to a specialization to provide customization for specific types.
</p>
<p>
Partial template specialization is partially supported by SWIG. For example, this
code defines a template that is applied when the template argument is a pointer.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T&gt; class List&lt;T*&gt; {
private:
T *data;
int nitems;
int maxitems;
public:
List(int max);
~List();
void append(T obj);
int length();
T get(int n);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG supports both template explicit specialization and partial specialization. Consider:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T1, class T2&gt; class Foo { }; // (1) primary template
template&lt;&gt; class Foo&lt;double *, int *&gt; { }; // (2) explicit specialization
template&lt;class T1, class T2&gt; class Foo&lt;T1, T2 *&gt; { }; // (3) partial specialization
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG is able to properly match explicit instantiations:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
<tt>Foo&lt;double *, int *&gt;</tt> // explicit specialization matching (2)
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG implements template argument deduction so that the following partial specialization examples work just like they would with a C++ compiler:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
<tt>Foo&lt;int *, int *&gt;</tt> // partial specialization matching (3)
<tt>Foo&lt;int *, const int *&gt;</tt> // partial specialization matching (3)
<tt>Foo&lt;int *, int **&gt;</tt> // partial specialization matching (3)
</pre>
</div>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_member">6.18.6 Member templates</a></H3>
<p>
Member templates are supported. The underlying principle is the same
as for normal templates--SWIG can't create a wrapper unless you provide
more information about types. For example, a class with a member function template might
look like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
template&lt;class T&gt; void bar(T x, T y) { ... };
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
To expand the template, simply use <tt>%template</tt> inside the class.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
template&lt;class T&gt; void bar(T x, T y) { ... };
...
%template(barint) bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(bardouble) bar&lt;double&gt;;
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Or, if you want to leave the original class definition alone, just do this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
template&lt;class T&gt; void bar(T x, T y) { ... };
...
};
...
%extend Foo {
%template(barint) bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(bardouble) bar&lt;double&gt;;
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
or simply
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
template&lt;class T&gt; void bar(T x, T y) { ... };
...
};
...
%template(bari) Foo::bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(bard) Foo::bar&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, the <tt>%extend</tt> directive is not needed, and
<tt>%template</tt> does exactly the same job, i.e., it adds two new
methods to the Foo class.
</p>
<p>
Now, if your target language supports overloading, you can even try
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(bar) Foo::bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(bar) Foo::bar&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
and since the two new wrapped methods have the same name 'bar', they will be
overloaded, and when called, the correct method will be dispatched
depending on the argument type.
</p>
<p>
When used with members, the <tt>%template</tt> directive may be placed in another
class template. Here is a slightly perverse example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// A template
template&lt;class T&gt; class Foo {
public:
// A member template
template&lt;class S&gt; T bar(S x, S y) { ... };
...
};
// Expand a few member templates
%extend Foo {
%template(bari) bar&lt;int&gt;;
%template(bard) bar&lt;double&gt;;
}
// Create some wrappers for the template
%template(Fooi) Foo&lt;int&gt;;
%template(Food) Foo&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Miraculously, you will find that each expansion of <tt>Foo</tt> has member
functions <tt>bari()</tt> and <tt>bard()</tt> added.
</p>
<p>
A common use of member templates is to define constructors for copies
and conversions. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template&lt;class T1, class T2&gt; struct pair {
T1 first;
T2 second;
pair() : first(T1()), second(T2()) { }
pair(const T1 &amp;x, const T2 &amp;y) : first(x), second(y) { }
template&lt;class U1, class U2&gt; pair(const pair&lt;U1, U2&gt; &amp;x)
: first(x.first), second(x.second) { }
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This declaration is perfectly acceptable to SWIG, but the constructor template will be ignored
unless you explicitly expand it. To do that, you could expand a few versions of the constructor
in the class template itself. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%extend pair {
%template(pair) pair&lt;T1, T2&gt;; // Generate default copy constructor
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When using <tt>%extend</tt> in this manner, notice how you can still use the template parameters in
the original template definition.
</p>
<p>
Alternatively, you could expand the constructor template in selected instantiations. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Instantiate a few versions
%template(pairii) pair&lt;int, int&gt;;
%template(pairdd) pair&lt;double, double&gt;;
// Create a default constructor only
%extend pair&lt;int, int&gt; {
%template(paird) pair&lt;int, int&gt;; // Default constructor
};
// Create default and conversion constructors
%extend pair&lt;double, double&gt; {
%template(paird) pair&lt;double, double&gt;; // Default constructor
%template(pairc) pair&lt;int, int&gt;; // Conversion constructor
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>And if your target language supports overloading, then you can try
instead:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Create default and conversion constructors
%extend pair&lt;double, double&gt; {
%template(pair) pair&lt;double, double&gt;; // Default constructor
%template(pair) pair&lt;int, int&gt;; // Conversion constructor
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, the default and conversion constructors have the same
name. Hence, SWIG will overload them and define an unique visible
constructor, that will dispatch the proper call depending on the argument
type.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_scoping">6.18.7 Scoping and templates</a></H3>
<p>
The <tt>%template</tt> directive for a class template is the equivalent to an explicit instantiation
of a C++ class template. The scope for a valid <tt>%template</tt> instantiation is the same
as the scope required for a valid explicit instantiation of a C++ template.
A definition of the template for the explicit instantiation must be in scope
where the instantiation is declared and must not be enclosed within a different namespace.
</p>
<p>
For example, a few <tt>%template</tt> instantiations and C++ explicit instantiations are shown below:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace N {
template&lt;typename T&gt; class C {};
}
// valid
%template(cin) N::C&lt;int&gt;;
template class N::C&lt;int&gt;;
// valid
namespace N {
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
}
// valid
using namespace N;
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
// valid
using N::C;
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
// ill-formed
namespace unrelated {
using N::C;
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
}
// ill-formed
namespace unrelated {
using namespace N;
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
}
// ill-formed
namespace unrelated {
namespace N {
%template(cin) C&lt;int&gt;;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
}
}
// ill-formed
namespace unrelated {
%template(cin) N::C&lt;int&gt;;
template class N::C&lt;int&gt;;
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When the scope is incorrect, such as for the ill-formed examples above, an error occurs:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
cpp_template_scope.i:34: Error: 'C' resolves to 'N::C' and was incorrectly instantiated
in scope 'unrelated' instead of within scope 'N'.
</pre>
</div>
<p>
A note for the C++ standard geeks out there; a valid instantiation is one which conforms to
the C++03 standard as C++11 made a change to disallow using declarations and using directives to find a template.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// valid C++03, ill-formed C++11
using N::C;
template class C&lt;int&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note</b>: Versions prior to SWIG-4.0.0 did not error out with incorrectly scoped
<tt>%template</tt> declarations, but this led to numerous subtle template scope problems.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_template_more">6.18.8 More on templates</a></H3>
<p>
If all of this isn't quite enough and you really want to make
someone's head explode, SWIG directives such as
<tt>%rename</tt>, <tt>%extend</tt>, and <tt>%typemap</tt> can be
included directly in template definitions. For example:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
// File : list.h
template&lt;class T&gt; class List {
...
public:
%rename(__getitem__) get(int);
List(int max);
~List();
...
T get(int index);
%extend {
char *__str__() {
/* Make a string representation */
...
}
}
};
</pre></div>
<p>
In this example, the extra SWIG directives are propagated to <em>every</em> template
instantiation.
</p>
<p>
It is also possible to separate these declarations from the class template. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(__getitem__) List::get;
%extend List {
char *__str__() {
/* Make a string representation */
...
}
/* Make a copy */
T *__copy__() {
return new List&lt;T&gt;(*$self);
}
};
...
template&lt;class T&gt; class List {
...
public:
List() { }
T get(int index);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When <tt>%extend</tt> is decoupled from the class definition, it is
legal to use the same template parameters as provided in the class definition.
These are replaced when the template is expanded.
In addition, the <tt>%extend</tt> directive can be used to add
additional methods to a specific instantiation. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(intList) List&lt;int&gt;;
%extend List&lt;int&gt; {
void blah() {
printf("Hey, I'm an List&lt;int&gt;!\n");
}
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
It is even possible to extend a class via <tt>%extend</tt> with template methods, for example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%include &lt;std_string.i&gt;
%inline %{
class ExtendMe {
public:
template &lt;typename T&gt;
T do_stuff_impl(int a, T b, double d) {
return b;
}
};
%}
%extend ExtendMe {
template&lt;typename T&gt;
T do_overloaded_stuff(T b) {
return $self-&gt;do_stuff_impl(0, b, 4.0);
}
}
%template(do_overloaded_stuff) ExtendMe::do_overloaded_stuff&lt;std::string&gt;;
%template(do_overloaded_stuff) ExtendMe::do_overloaded_stuff&lt;double&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The wrapped <tt>ExtendMe</tt> class will then have two (overloaded) methods called <tt>do_overloaded_stuff</tt>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note</b>: Extending a class with template methods was added in version 3.0.12
</p>
<p>
Needless to say, SWIG's template support provides plenty of opportunities to
break the universe. That said, an important final point is that <b>SWIG does
not perform extensive error checking of templates!</b> Specifically, SWIG does
not perform type checking nor does it check to see if the actual contents of the
template declaration make any sense. Since the C++ compiler checks this when it
compiles the resulting wrapper file, there is no practical reason for SWIG to
duplicate this functionality.
</p>
<a name="SWIGPlus_template_nested_class_example"></a>
<p>
As SWIG's template support does not perform type checking <tt>%template</tt>
can be used as early as after a template declaration. You can, and rarely have
to, use <tt>%template</tt> before the template parameters have been declared.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
template &lt;class T&gt; class OuterTemplateClass {};
// The nested class OuterClass::InnerClass inherits from the class template
// OuterTemplateClass&lt;OuterClass::InnerStruct&gt; and thus the template needs
// to be expanded with %template before the OuterClass declaration.
%template(OuterTemplateClass_OuterClass__InnerStruct)
OuterTemplateClass&lt;OuterClass::InnerStruct&gt;
// Don't forget to use %feature("flatnested") for OuterClass::InnerStruct and
// OuterClass::InnerClass if the target language doesn't support nested classes.
class OuterClass {
public:
// Forward declarations:
struct InnerStruct;
class InnerClass;
};
struct OuterClass::InnerStruct {};
// Expanding the template at this point with %template is too late as the
// OuterClass::InnerClass declaration is processed inside OuterClass.
class OuterClass::InnerClass : public OuterTemplateClass&lt;InnerStruct&gt; {};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note</b>: The first implementation of template support relied heavily on
macro expansion in the preprocessor. Templates have been more tightly integrated into
the parser and type system in SWIG-1.3.12 and the preprocessor is no longer used. Code
that relied on preprocessing features in template expansion will no longer work. However,
SWIG still allows the # operator to be used to generate a string from a template argument.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note</b>: In earlier versions of SWIG, the <tt>%template</tt> directive
introduced a new class name. This name could then be used with other directives. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(vectori) vector&lt;int&gt;;
%extend vectori {
void somemethod() { }
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This behavior is no longer supported. Instead, you should use the original template name
as the class name. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%template(vectori) vector&lt;int&gt;;
%extend vector&lt;int&gt; {
void somemethod() { }
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similar changes apply to typemaps and other customization features.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_namespaces">6.19 Namespaces</a></H2>
<p>
Support for C++ namespaces is comprehensive, but by default simple, however,
some target languages can turn on more advanced namespace support via the
<a href="#SWIGPlus_nspace">nspace feature</a>, described later.
Code within unnamed namespaces is ignored as there is no external
access to symbols declared within the unnamed namespace.
Before detailing the default implementation for named namespaces,
it is worth noting that the semantics of C++ namespaces is extremely
non-trivial--especially with regard to the C++ type system and class
machinery. At a most basic level, namespaces are sometimes used to
encapsulate common functionality. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace math {
double sin(double);
double cos(double);
class Complex {
double im, re;
public:
...
};
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Members of the namespace are accessed in C++ by prepending the namespace prefix
to names. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
double x = math::sin(1.0);
double magnitude(math::Complex *c);
math::Complex c;
...
</pre>
</div>
<p>
At this level, namespaces are relatively easy to manage. However, things start to get
very ugly when you throw in the other ways a namespace can be used. For example,
selective symbols can be exported from a namespace with <tt>using</tt>.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
using math::Complex;
double magnitude(Complex *c); // Namespace prefix stripped
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, the contents of an entire namespace can be made available like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
using namespace math;
double x = sin(1.0);
double magnitude(Complex *c);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Alternatively, a namespace can be aliased:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace M = math;
double x = M::sin(1.0);
double magnitude(M::Complex *c);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Using combinations of these features, it is possible to write head-exploding code like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace A {
class Foo {
};
}
namespace B {
namespace C {
using namespace A;
}
typedef C::Foo FooClass;
}
namespace BIGB = B;
namespace D {
using BIGB::FooClass;
class Bar : public FooClass {
}
};
class Spam : public D::Bar {
};
void evil(A::Foo *a, B::FooClass *b, B::C::Foo *c, BIGB::FooClass *d,
BIGB::C::Foo *e, D::FooClass *f);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Given the possibility for such perversion, it's hard to imagine how
every C++ programmer might want such code wrapped into the target
language. Clearly this code defines three different classes. However, one
of those classes is accessible under at least six different names!
</p>
<p>
SWIG fully supports C++ namespaces in its internal type system and
class handling code. If you feed SWIG the above code, it will be
parsed correctly, it will generate compilable wrapper code, and it
will produce a working scripting language module. However, the
default wrapping behavior is to flatten namespaces in the target
language. This means that the contents of all namespaces are merged
together in the resulting scripting language module. For example, if
you have code like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%module foo
namespace foo {
void bar(int);
void spam();
}
namespace bar {
void blah();
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then SWIG simply creates three wrapper functions <tt>bar()</tt>,
<tt>spam()</tt>, and <tt>blah()</tt> in the target language. SWIG
does not prepend the names with a namespace prefix nor are the
functions packaged in any kind of nested scope.
Note that the default handling of flattening all the namespace scopes in the target language
can be changed via the <a href="#SWIGPlus_nspace">nspace feature</a>.
</p>
<p>
There is some rationale for taking this approach. Since C++
namespaces are often used to define modules in C++, there is a natural
correlation between the likely contents of a SWIG module and the contents of
a namespace. For instance, it would not be unreasonable to assume
that a programmer might make a separate extension module for each C++
namespace. In this case, it would be redundant to prepend everything
with an additional namespace prefix when the module itself already
serves as a namespace in the target language. Or put another way, if
you want SWIG to keep namespaces separate, simply wrap each namespace with its
own SWIG interface.
</p>
<p>
Because namespaces are flattened, it is possible for symbols defined in different
namespaces to generate a name conflict in the target language. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace A {
void foo(int);
}
namespace B {
void foo(double);
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When this conflict occurs, you will get an error message that resembles this:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:26. Error. 'foo' is multiply defined in the generated target language module.
example.i:23. Previous declaration of 'foo'
</pre>
</div>
<p>
To resolve this error, simply use <tt>%rename</tt> to disambiguate the declarations. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(B_foo) B::foo;
...
namespace A {
void foo(int);
}
namespace B {
void foo(double); // Gets renamed to B_foo
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Similarly, <tt>%ignore</tt> can be used to ignore declarations.
</p>
<p>
<tt>using</tt> declarations do not have any effect on the generated wrapper
code. They are ignored by SWIG language modules and they do not result in any
code. However, these declarations <em>are</em> used by the internal type
system to track type-names. Therefore, if you have code like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace A {
typedef int Integer;
}
using namespace A;
void foo(Integer x);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG knows that <tt>Integer</tt> is the same as <tt>A::Integer</tt> which
is the same as <tt>int</tt>.
</p>
<P>
Namespaces may be combined with templates. If necessary, the
<tt>%template</tt> directive can be used to expand a template defined
in a different namespace. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace foo {
template&lt;typename T&gt; T max(T a, T b) { return a &gt; b ? a : b; }
}
using foo::max;
%template(maxint) max&lt;int&gt;; // Okay.
%template(maxfloat) foo::max&lt;float&gt;; // Okay (qualified name).
namespace bar {
using namespace foo;
%template(maxdouble) max&lt;double&gt;; // Okay.
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The combination of namespaces and other SWIG directives may introduce subtle scope-related problems.
The key thing to keep in mind is that all SWIG generated wrappers are produced
in the <em>global</em> namespace. Symbols from other namespaces are always accessed using fully
qualified names---names are never imported into the global space unless the interface happens to
do so with a <tt>using</tt> declaration. In almost all cases, SWIG adjusts typenames and symbols
to be fully qualified. However, this is not done in code fragments such as function bodies,
typemaps, exception handlers, and so forth. For example, consider the following:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace foo {
typedef int Integer;
class bar {
public:
...
};
}
%extend foo::bar {
Integer add(Integer x, Integer y) {
Integer r = x + y; // Error. Integer not defined in this scope
return r;
}
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, SWIG correctly resolves the added method parameters and return type to
<tt>foo::Integer</tt>. However, since function bodies aren't parsed and such code is
emitted in the global namespace, this code produces a compiler error about <tt>Integer</tt>.
To fix the problem, make sure you use fully qualified names. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%extend foo::bar {
Integer add(Integer x, Integer y) {
foo::Integer r = x + y; // Ok.
return r;
}
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> SWIG does <em>not</em> propagate <tt>using</tt> declarations to
the resulting wrapper code. If these declarations appear in an interface,
they should <em>also</em> appear in any header files that might have been
included in a <tt>%{ ... %}</tt> section. In other words, don't insert extra
<tt>using</tt> declarations into a SWIG interface unless they also appear
in the underlying C++ code.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> Code inclusion directives such as <tt>%{ ... %}</tt> or
<tt>%inline %{ ... %}</tt> should not be placed inside a namespace declaration.
The code emitted by these directives will not be enclosed in a namespace and
you may get very strange results. If you need to use namespaces with
these directives, consider the following:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Good version
%inline %{
namespace foo {
void bar(int) { ... }
...
}
%}
// Bad version. Emitted code not placed in namespace.
namespace foo {
%inline %{
void bar(int) { ... } /* I'm bad */
...
%}
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> When the <tt>%extend</tt> directive is used inside a namespace, the namespace name is
included in the generated functions. For example, if you have code like this,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace foo {
class bar {
public:
%extend {
int blah(int x);
};
};
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
the added method <tt>blah()</tt> is mapped to a function <tt>int foo_bar_blah(foo::bar *self, int x)</tt>.
This function resides in the global namespace.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> Although namespaces are flattened in the target language, the SWIG generated wrapper
code observes the same namespace conventions as used in the input file. Thus, if there are no symbol
conflicts in the input, there will be no conflicts in the generated code.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> In the same way that no resolution is performed on parameters, a conversion operator name must match exactly to how it is defined. Do not change the qualification of the operator. For example, suppose you had an interface like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace foo {
class bar;
class spam {
public:
...
operator bar(); // Conversion of spam -&gt; bar
...
};
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The following is how the feature is expected to be written for a successful match:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(tofoo) foo::spam::operator bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The following does not work as no namespace resolution is performed in the matching of conversion operator names:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(tofoo) foo::spam::operator <b>foo::</b>bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note, however, that if the operator is defined using a qualifier in its name, then the feature must use it too...
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(tofoo) foo::spam::operator bar(); // will not match
%rename(tofoo) foo::spam::operator foo::bar(); // will match
namespace foo {
class bar;
class spam {
public:
...
operator foo::bar();
...
};
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b> Versions of SWIG prior to 1.3.32 were inconsistent in this approach. A fully qualified name was usually required, but would not work in some situations.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> The flattening of namespaces is only intended to serve as
a basic namespace implementation.
More advanced handling of namespaces is discussed next.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_nspace">6.19.1 The nspace feature for namespaces</a></H3>
<p>
Some target languages provide support for the <tt>nspace</tt> <a href="Customization.html#Customization_features">feature</a>.
The feature can be applied to any class, struct, union or enum declared within a named namespace.
The feature wraps the type within the target language specific concept of a namespace,
for example, a Java package or C# namespace.
Please see the language specific sections to see if the target language you are interested in supports the nspace feature.
</p>
<p>
The feature is demonstrated below for C# using the following example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%feature("nspace") MyWorld::Material::Color;
%nspace MyWorld::Wrapping::Color; // %nspace is a macro for %feature("nspace")
namespace MyWorld {
namespace Material {
class Color {
...
};
}
namespace Wrapping {
class Color {
...
};
}
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Without the <tt>nspace</tt> feature directives above or <tt>%rename</tt>, you would get the following warning resulting in just one of the <tt>Color</tt> classes being available for use from the target language:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:9: Error: 'Color' is multiply defined in the generated target language module.
example.i:5: Error: Previous declaration of 'Color'
</pre>
</div>
<p>
With the <tt>nspace</tt> feature the two <tt>Color</tt> classes are wrapped into the equivalent C# namespaces.
A fully qualified constructor call of each these two types in C# is then:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
MyWorld.Material.Color materialColor = new MyWorld.Material.Color();
MyWorld.Wrapping.Color wrappingColor = new MyWorld.Wrapping.Color();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note that the <tt>nspace</tt> feature does not apply to variables and functions simply declared in a namespace. For example, the following symbols cannot co-exist in the target language without renaming. This may change in a future version.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace MyWorld {
namespace Material {
int quantity;
void dispatch();
}
namespace Wrapping {
int quantity;
void dispatch();
}
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b> The nspace feature was first introduced in SWIG-2.0.0.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_renaming_templated_types_namespaces">6.20 Renaming templated types in namespaces</a></H2>
<p>
As has been mentioned, when %rename includes parameters, the parameter types must match exactly (no typedef or namespace resolution is performed).
SWIG treats templated types slightly differently and has an additional matching rule so unlike non-templated types, an exact match is not always required.
If the fully qualified templated type is specified, it will have a higher precedence over the generic template type.
In the example below, the generic template type is used to rename to <tt>bbb</tt> and the fully qualified type is used to rename to <tt>ccc</tt>.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(bbb) Space::ABC::aaa(T t); // will match but with lower precedence than ccc
%rename(ccc) Space::ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;::aaa(Space::XYZ t);// will match but with higher precedence
// than bbb
namespace Space {
class XYZ {};
template&lt;typename T&gt; struct ABC {
void aaa(T t) {}
};
}
%template(ABCXYZ) Space::ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
It should now be apparent that there are many ways to achieve a renaming with %rename. This is demonstrated
by the following two examples, which are effectively the same as the above example.
Below shows how %rename can be placed inside a namespace.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace Space {
%rename(bbb) ABC::aaa(T t); // will match but with lower precedence than ccc
%rename(ccc) ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;::aaa(Space::XYZ t);// will match but with higher precedence than bbb
%rename(ddd) ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;::aaa(XYZ t); // will not match
}
namespace Space {
class XYZ {};
template&lt;typename T&gt; struct ABC {
void aaa(T t) {}
};
}
%template(ABCXYZ) Space::ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note that <tt>ddd</tt> does not match as there is no namespace resolution for parameter types and the fully qualified type must be specified for template type expansion.
The following example shows how %rename can be placed within %extend.
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
namespace Space {
%extend ABC {
%rename(bbb) aaa(T t); // will match but with lower precedence than ccc
}
%extend ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt; {
%rename(ccc) aaa(Space::XYZ t);// will match but with higher precedence than bbb
%rename(ddd) aaa(XYZ t); // will not match
}
}
namespace Space {
class XYZ {};
template&lt;typename T&gt; struct ABC {
void aaa(T t) {}
};
}
%template(ABCXYZ) Space::ABC&lt;Space::XYZ&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_exception_specifications">6.21 Exception specifications</a></H2>
<p>
When C++ programs utilize exceptions, exceptional behavior is sometimes specified as
part of a function or method declaration. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Error { };
class Foo {
public:
...
void blah() throw(Error);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If an exception specification is used, SWIG automatically generates
wrapper code for catching the indicated exception and, when possible,
rethrowing it into the target language, or converting it into an error
in the target language otherwise. For example, in Python, you can
write code like this:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
f = Foo()
try:
f.blah()
except Error, e:
# e is a wrapped instance of "Error"
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Details of how to tailor code for handling the caught C++ exception and converting it into the target language's exception/error handling mechanism
is outlined in the <a href="Typemaps.html#Typemaps_throws_typemap">"throws" typemap</a> section.
</p>
<p>
Since exception specifications are sometimes only used sparingly, this alone may not be enough to
properly handle C++ exceptions. To do that, a different set of special SWIG directives are used.
Consult the "<a href="Customization.html#Customization_exception">Exception handling with %exception</a>" section for details.
The next section details a way of simulating an exception specification or replacing an existing one.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_catches">6.22 Exception handling with %catches</a></H2>
<p>
Exceptions are automatically handled for methods with an exception specification.
Similar handling can be achieved for methods without exception specifications through the <tt>%catches</tt> feature.
It is also possible to replace any declared exception specification using the <tt>%catches</tt> feature.
In fact, <tt>%catches</tt> uses the same <a href="Typemaps.html#Typemaps_throws_typemap">"throws" typemaps</a> that SWIG uses for exception specifications in handling exceptions.
The <tt>%catches</tt> feature must contain a list of possible types that can be thrown.
For each type that is in the list, SWIG will generate a catch handler, in the same way that it would for types declared in the exception specification.
Note that the list can also include the catch all specification "...".
For example,
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
struct EBase { virtual ~EBase(); };
struct Error1 : EBase { };
struct Error2 : EBase { };
struct Error3 : EBase { };
struct Error4 : EBase { };
%catches(Error1, Error2, ...) Foo::bar();
%catches(EBase) Foo::blah();
class Foo {
public:
...
void bar();
void blah() throw(Error1, Error2, Error3, Error4);
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
For the <tt>Foo::bar()</tt> method, which can throw anything,
SWIG will generate catch handlers for <tt>Error1</tt>, <tt>Error2</tt> as well as a catch all handler (...).
Each catch handler will convert the caught exception and convert it into a target language error/exception.
The catch all handler will convert the caught exception into an unknown error/exception.
</p>
<p>
Without the <tt>%catches</tt> feature being attached to <tt>Foo::blah()</tt>,
SWIG will generate catch handlers for all of the types in the exception specification, that is, <tt>Error1, Error2, Error3, Error4</tt>.
However, with the <tt>%catches</tt> feature above,
just a single catch handler for the base class, <tt>EBase</tt> will be generated to convert the C++ exception into a target language error/exception.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn33">6.23 Pointers to Members</a></H2>
<p>
Starting with SWIG-1.3.7, there is limited parsing support for pointers to C++ class members.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
double do_op(Object *o, double (Object::*callback)(double, double));
extern double (Object::*fooptr)(double, double);
%constant double (Object::*FOO)(double, double) = &amp;Object::foo;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Although these kinds of pointers can be parsed and represented by the
SWIG type system, few language modules know how to handle them due to
implementation differences from standard C pointers. Readers are
<em>strongly</em> advised to consult an advanced text such as the "The
Annotated C++ Manual" for specific details.
</p>
<p>
When pointers to members are supported, the pointer value might appear as a special
string like this:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; print example.FOO
_ff0d54a800000000_m_Object__f_double_double__double
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this case, the hexadecimal digits represent the entire value of the
pointer which is usually the contents of a small C++ structure on most
machines.
</p>
<p>
SWIG's type-checking mechanism is also more limited when working with
member pointers. Normally SWIG tries to keep track of inheritance
when checking types. However, no such support is currently provided
for member pointers.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_smart_pointers">6.24 Smart pointers and operator-&gt;()</a></H2>
<p>
In some C++ programs, objects are often encapsulated by smart-pointers
or proxy classes. This is sometimes done to implement automatic memory management (reference counting) or
persistence. Typically a smart-pointer is defined by a class template where
the <tt>-&gt;</tt> operator has been overloaded. This class is then wrapped
around some other class. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
// Smart-pointer class
template&lt;class T&gt; class SmartPtr {
T *pointee;
public:
SmartPtr(T *p) : pointee(p) { ... }
T *operator-&gt;() {
return pointee;
}
...
};
// Ordinary class
class Foo_Impl {
public:
int x;
virtual void bar();
...
};
// Smart-pointer wrapper
typedef SmartPtr&lt;Foo_Impl&gt; Foo;
// Create smart pointer Foo
Foo make_Foo() {
return SmartPtr&lt;Foo_Impl&gt;(new Foo_Impl());
}
// Do something with smart pointer Foo
void do_something(Foo f) {
printf("x = %d\n", f-&gt;x);
f-&gt;bar();
}
// Call the wrapped smart pointer proxy class in the target language 'Foo'
%template(Foo) SmartPtr&lt;Foo_Impl&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
A key feature of this approach is that by defining
<tt>operator-&gt;</tt> the methods and attributes of the object
wrapped by a smart pointer are transparently accessible. For example,
expressions such as these (from the previous example),
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
f-&gt;x
f-&gt;bar()
</pre>
</div>
<p>
are transparently mapped to the following
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
(f.operator-&gt;())-&gt;x;
(f.operator-&gt;())-&gt;bar();
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When generating wrappers, SWIG tries to emulate this functionality to
the extent that it is possible. To do this, whenever
<tt>operator-&gt;()</tt> is encountered in a class, SWIG looks at its
returned type and uses it to generate wrappers for accessing
attributes of the underlying object. For example, wrapping the above
code produces wrappers like this:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
int Foo_x_get(Foo *f) {
return (*f)-&gt;x;
}
void Foo_x_set(Foo *f, int value) {
(*f)-&gt;x = value;
}
void Foo_bar(Foo *f) {
(*f)-&gt;bar();
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
These wrappers take a smart-pointer instance as an argument, but
dereference it in a way to gain access to the object returned by
<tt>operator-&gt;()</tt>. You should carefully compare these wrappers
to those in the first part of this chapter (they are slightly
different).
</p>
<p>
The end result is that access looks very similar to C++. For
example, you could do this in Python:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; f = make_Foo()
&gt;&gt;&gt; print f.x
0
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.bar()
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
When generating wrappers through a smart-pointer, SWIG tries to
generate wrappers for all methods and attributes that might be
accessible through <tt>operator-&gt;()</tt>. This includes any methods
that might be accessible through inheritance. However, there are a number of restrictions:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Member variables and methods are wrapped through a smart
pointer. Enumerations, constructors, and destructors are not wrapped.
</li>
<li><p>If the smart-pointer class and the underlying object both define a method or
variable of the same name, then the smart-pointer version has precedence. For
example, if you have this code</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
int x;
};
class Bar {
public:
int x;
Foo *operator-&gt;();
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
then the wrapper for <tt>Bar::x</tt> accesses the <tt>x</tt> defined in <tt>Bar</tt>, and
not the <tt>x</tt> defined in <tt>Foo</tt>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
If your intent is to only expose the smart-pointer class in the interface, it is not necessary to wrap both
the smart-pointer class and the class for the underlying object. However, you must still tell SWIG about both
classes if you want the technique described in this section to work. To only generate wrappers for the
smart-pointer class, you can use the %ignore directive. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore Foo;
class Foo { // Ignored
};
class Bar {
public:
Foo *operator-&gt;();
...
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Alternatively, you can import the definition of <tt>Foo</tt> from a separate file using
<tt>%import</tt>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> When a class defines <tt>operator-&gt;()</tt>, the operator itself is wrapped
as a method <tt>__deref__()</tt>. For example:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
f = Foo() # Smart-pointer
p = f.__deref__() # Raw pointer from operator-&gt;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> To disable the smart-pointer behavior, use <tt>%ignore</tt> to ignore
<tt>operator-&gt;()</tt>. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%ignore Bar::operator-&gt;;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Note:</b> Smart pointer support was first added in SWIG-1.3.14.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_ref_unref">6.25 C++ reference counted objects - ref/unref feature</a></H2>
<p>
Another similar idiom in C++ is the use of reference counted objects. Consider for example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class RCObj {
// implement the ref counting mechanism
int add_ref();
int del_ref();
int ref_count();
public:
virtual ~RCObj() = 0;
int ref() const {
return add_ref();
}
int unref() const {
if (ref_count() == 0 || del_ref() == 0 ) {
delete this;
return 0;
}
return ref_count();
}
};
class A : RCObj {
public:
A();
int foo();
};
class B {
A *_a;
public:
B(A *a) : _a(a) {
a-&gt;ref();
}
~B() {
a-&gt;unref();
}
};
int main() {
A *a = new A(); // (count: 0)
a-&gt;ref(); // 'a' ref here (count: 1)
B *b1 = new B(a); // 'a' ref here (count: 2)
if (1 + 1 == 2) {
B *b2 = new B(a); // 'a' ref here (count: 3)
delete b2; // 'a' unref, but not deleted (count: 2)
}
delete b1; // 'a' unref, but not deleted (count: 1)
a-&gt;unref(); // 'a' unref and deleted (count: 0)
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In the example above, the 'A' class instance 'a' is a reference counted
object, which can't be deleted arbitrarily since it is shared between
the objects 'b1' and 'b2'. 'A' is derived from a <i>Reference Counted
Object</i> 'RCObj', which implements the ref/unref idiom.
</p>
<p>
To tell SWIG that 'RCObj' and all its derived classes are reference
counted objects, use the "ref" and "unref" <a href="Customization.html#Customization_features">features</a>.
These are also available as <tt>%refobject</tt> and <tt>%unrefobject</tt>, respectively.
For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%module example
...
%feature("ref") RCObj "$this-&gt;ref();"
%feature("unref") RCObj "$this-&gt;unref();"
%include "rcobj.h"
%include "A.h"
...
</pre>
</div>
<p>
where the code passed to the "ref" and "unref" features will be
executed as needed whenever a new object is passed to Python, or when
Python tries to release the proxy object instance, respectively.
</p>
<p>
On the Python side, the use of a reference counted object is no
different to any other regular instance:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
def create_A():
a = A() # SWIG ref 'a' - new object is passed to Python (count: 1)
b1 = B(a) # C++ ref 'a (count: 2)
if 1 + 1 == 2:
b2 = B(a) # C++ ref 'a' (count: 3)
return a # 'b1' and 'b2' are released and deleted, C++ unref 'a' twice (count: 1)
a = create_A() # (count: 1)
exit # 'a' is released, SWIG unref 'a' called in the destructor wrapper (count: 0)
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Note that the user doesn't explicitly need to call 'a-&gt;ref()' nor 'a-&gt;unref()'
(and neither 'delete a'). Instead, SWIG takes cares of executing the "ref"
and "unref" calls as needed. If the user doesn't specify the
"ref/unref" feature for a type, SWIG will produce code equivalent to defining these
features:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%feature("ref") ""
%feature("unref") "delete $this;"
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In other words, SWIG will not do anything special when a new object
is passed to Python, and it will always 'delete' the underlying object when
Python releases the proxy instance.
</p>
<p>
The <a href="Customization.html#Customization_ownership">%newobject feature</a> is designed to indicate to
the target language that it should take ownership of the returned object.
When used in conjunction with a type that has the "ref" feature associated with it, it additionally emits the
code in the "ref" feature into the C++ wrapper.
Consider wrapping the following factory function in addition to the above:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%newobject AFactory;
A *AFactory() {
return new A();
}
</pre>
</div>
<p>
The <tt>AFactory</tt> function now acts much like a call to the <tt>A</tt> constructor with respect to memory handling:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
a = AFactory() # SWIG ref 'a' due to %newobject (count: 1)
exit # 'a' is released, SWIG unref 'a' called in the destructor wrapper (count: 0)
</pre>
</div>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn35">6.26 Using declarations and inheritance</a></H2>
<p>
<tt>using</tt> declarations are sometimes used to adjust access to members of
base classes. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
int blah(int x);
};
class Bar {
public:
double blah(double x);
};
class FooBar : public Foo, public Bar {
public:
using Foo::blah;
using Bar::blah;
char *blah(const char *x);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
In this example, the <tt>using</tt> declarations make different
versions of the overloaded <tt>blah()</tt> method accessible from the
derived class. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
FooBar *f;
f-&gt;blah(3); // Ok. Invokes Foo::blah(int)
f-&gt;blah(3.5); // Ok. Invokes Bar::blah(double)
f-&gt;blah("hello"); // Ok. Invokes FooBar::blah(const char *);
</pre>
</div>
<p>
SWIG emulates the same functionality when creating wrappers. For example, if
you wrap this code in Python, the module works just like you would expect:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; import example
&gt;&gt;&gt; f = example.FooBar()
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.blah(3)
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.blah(3.5)
&gt;&gt;&gt; f.blah("hello")
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<tt>using</tt> declarations can also be used to change access when applicable. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
protected:
int x;
int blah(int x);
};
class Bar : public Foo {
public:
using Foo::x; // Make x public
using Foo::blah; // Make blah public
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This also works in SWIG---the exposed declarations will be wrapped normally.
</p>
<p>
When <tt>using</tt> declarations are used as shown in these examples, declarations
from the base classes are copied into the derived class and wrapped normally. When
copied, the declarations retain any properties that might have been attached using
<tt>%rename</tt>, <tt>%ignore</tt>, or <tt>%feature</tt>. Thus, if a method is
ignored in a base class, it will also be ignored by a <tt>using</tt> declaration.
</p>
<p>
Because a <tt>using</tt> declaration does not provide fine-grained
control over the declarations that get imported, it may be difficult
to manage such declarations in applications that make heavy use of
SWIG customization features. If you can't get <tt>using</tt> to work
correctly, you can always change the interface to the following:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class FooBar : public Foo, public Bar {
public:
#ifndef SWIG
using Foo::blah;
using Bar::blah;
#else
int blah(int x); // explicitly tell SWIG about other declarations
double blah(double x);
#endif
char *blah(const char *x);
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
<b>Notes:</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><p>If a derived class redefines a method defined in a base class, then a <tt>using</tt> declaration
won't cause a conflict. For example:</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
class Foo {
public:
int blah(int );
double blah(double);
};
class Bar : public Foo {
public:
using Foo::blah; // Only imports blah(double);
int blah(int);
};
</pre>
</div>
<li><p>Resolving ambiguity in overloading may prevent declarations from being
imported by <tt>using</tt>. For example:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename(blah_long) Foo::blah(long);
class Foo {
public:
int blah(int);
long blah(long); // Renamed to blah_long
};
class Bar : public Foo {
public:
using Foo::blah; // Only imports blah(int)
double blah(double x);
};
</pre>
</div>
</ul>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nested_classes">6.27 Nested classes</a></H2>
<p>
If the target language supports the nested classes concept (like Java), the nested C++ classes
are wrapped as nested target language proxy classes. (In case of Java - "static" nested classes.)
Only public nested classes are wrapped. Otherwise there is little difference between nested and
normal classes.
</p>
<p>
If the target language doesn't support nested classes directly, or the support is not implemented in the
language module (like for Python currently), then the visible nested classes are moved to the same name
space as the containing class (nesting hierarchy is "flattened"). The same behaviour may be turned on for
C# and Java by the %feature ("flatnested"); If there is a class with the same name in the outer namespace
the inner class (or the global one) may be renamed or ignored:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
%rename (Bar_Foo) Bar::Foo;
class Foo {};
class Bar {
public:
class Foo {};
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
If a nested class, within an outer class, has to be used as a template parameter within the outer class, then the template will
have to be instantiated with <tt>%template</tt> before the beginning of the outer class.
An example can be found in the
<a href="#SWIGPlus_template_nested_class_example">Templates</a> section.
</p>
<p>
<b>Compatibility Note:</b>
Prior to SWIG-3.0.0, there was limited nested class support. Nested classes were treated as opaque pointers.
However, there was a workaround for nested class support in these older versions requiring the user to replicate
the nested class in the global scope, adding in a typedef for the nested class in the global scope and
using the "nestedworkaround" feature on the nested class. This resulted in approximately the
same behaviour as the "flatnested" feature. With proper nested class support now available in SWIG-3.0.0, this
feature has been deprecated and no longer works requiring code changes. If you see the following warning:
</p>
<div class="shell">
<pre>
example.i:8: Warning 126: The nestedworkaround feature is deprecated
</pre>
</div>
<p>
consider using the "flatnested" feature discussed above which generates a non-nested proxy class, like the
"nestedworkaround" feature did. Alternatively, use the default nested class code generation, which may generate an
equivalent to a nested proxy class in the target language, depending on the target language support.
</p>
<p>
SWIG-1.3.40 and earlier versions did not have the <tt>nestedworkaround</tt> feature
and the generated code resulting from parsing nested classes did not always compile.
Nested class warnings could also not be suppressed using %warnfilter.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_const">6.28 A brief rant about const-correctness</a></H2>
<p>
A common issue when working with C++ programs is dealing with all
possible ways in which the <tt>const</tt> qualifier (or lack thereof)
will break your program, all programs linked against your program, and
all programs linked against those programs.
</p>
<p>
Although SWIG knows how to correctly deal with <tt>const</tt> in its
internal type system and it knows how to generate wrappers that are
free of const-related warnings, SWIG does not make any attempt to preserve
const-correctness in the target language. Thus, it is possible to
pass <tt>const</tt> qualified objects to non-const methods and functions.
For example, consider the following code in C++:
</p>
<div class="code">
<pre>
const Object * foo();
void bar(Object *);
...
// C++ code
void blah() {
bar(foo()); // Error: bar discards const
};
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Now, consider the behavior when wrapped into a Python module:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
&gt;&gt;&gt; bar(foo()) # Okay
&gt;&gt;&gt;
</pre>
</div>
<p>
Although this is clearly a violation of the C++ type-system, fixing
the problem doesn't seem to be worth the added implementation
complexity that would be required to support it in the SWIG run-time type
system. There are no plans to change this in future releases
(although we'll never rule anything out entirely).
</p>
<p>
The bottom line is that this particular issue does not appear to be a problem
for most SWIG projects. Of course, you might want to consider
using another tool if maintaining constness is the most important part
of your project.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_target_language_callbacks">6.29 Callbacks to the target language</a></H2>
<p>
C/C++ function pointers are often used for callbacks and this is discussed in the
<a href="SWIG.html#SWIG_nn30">Pointers to functions and callbacks</a> section.
The callback techniques described therein provide a way to control callbacks to a C/C++ function but not callbacks into the target language.
The techniques described below show how the director feature can be used to support callbacks from C/C++ to the target language.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_director_classes_introduction">6.29.1 Introduction to director classes</a></H3>
<p>
The director feature enables the ability for a target language class to derive from a wrapped C++ class.
The target language can override virtual methods of a wrapped C++ class, thereby supporting cross-language polymorphism.
Code can 'call up' from C++ into the target language by simply calling a virtual method overridden in a derived class in the target language.
The wrapped C++ classes that have this ability are termed 'director' classes.
The director feature is documented individually in each target language and the reader should locate and read this to obtain a full understanding of directors.
</p>
<H3><a name="SWIGPlus_directors_for_function_pointers">6.29.2 Using directors and target language callbacks</a></H3>
<p>
SWIG's primary goal is to make it possible to call C/C++ code from a target language, however, the director feature enables the reverse.
While there isn't simple direct support for calling target language code from C, the director feature makes this possible.
It does require some work and additional wrapper code to be provided by the user.
The additional code required must be C++ and not C code and hence may introduce a small dependency on C++ if using a pure C project.
In a nutshell, the user must create a C++ base class and turn it into a director class.
A virtual method in the director base class is required.
SWIG generates the code to call up into the target language when wrapping the director virtual method.
</p>
<p>
Let's look at some details next.
Consider the same function pointer for a callback called <tt>binary_op</tt> from the
<a href="SWIG.html#SWIG_nn30">Pointers to functions and callbacks</a> section.
For completeness, the code required for the module and director feature is also shown:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%module(directors="1") example
%{
int binary_op(int a, int b, int (*op)(int, int)) {
return op(a, b);
}
%}
</pre></div>
<p>
The goal is to have a target language function that gets called by <tt>binary_op</tt>.
The target language function should have the equivalent signature as the C/C++ function pointer <tt>int (*op)(int, int)</tt>.
As we are using directors, we need a C++ virtual method with this signature, so let's
define the C++ class and pure virtual method first and make it a director class via the
director feature:
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%feature("director") BinaryOp;
%inline %{
struct BinaryOp {
virtual int handle(int a, int b) = 0;
virtual ~BinaryOp() {}
};
%}
</pre></div>
<p>
The following <tt>handler_helper</tt> function and <tt>binary_op_wrapper</tt> function completes the code needed in the
C++/SWIG layer. The <tt>binary_op_wrapper</tt> function is wrapped by SWIG and is very similar to the <tt>binary_op</tt> function,
however, it takes a pointer to the director base class <tt>BinaryOp</tt> instead of a C/C++ function pointer.
</p>
<div class="code"><pre>
%{
static BinaryOp *handler_ptr = NULL;
static int handler_helper(int a, int b) {
// Make the call up to the target language when handler_ptr
// is an instance of a target language director class
return handler_ptr-&gt;handle(a, b);
}
// If desired, handler_ptr above could be changed to a thread-local variable in order to make thread-safe
%}
%inline %{
int binary_op_wrapper(int a, int b, BinaryOp *handler) {
handler_ptr = handler;
int result = binary_op(a, b, &amp;handler_helper);
handler = NULL;
return result;
}
%}
</pre></div>
<p>
On the target language side, we need to derive a class from <tt>BinaryOp</tt> and override the
<tt>handle</tt> method. In Python this could be as simple as:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
import example
# PythonBinaryOp class is defined and derived from C++ class BinaryOp
class PythonBinaryOp(example.BinaryOp):
# Define Python class 'constructor'
def __init__(self):
# Call C++ base class constructor
example.BinaryOp.__init__(self)
# Override C++ method: virtual int handle(int a, int b) = 0;
def handle(self, a, b):
# Return the product
return a * b
</pre>
</div>
<p>
For this to work from Python, an instance of the <tt>PythonBinaryOp</tt> class is created
and then passed to <tt>binary_op_wrapper</tt>. The net result is the <tt>binary_op</tt>
function will in turn be called which will call <tt>handler_helper</tt> which will call
the virtual <tt>handle</tt> method, that is, the Python method <tt>handle</tt> in the PythonBinaryOp class. The result will be the product of 10 and 20 and make its way back to Python and hence
200 will be printed with the following code:
</p>
<div class="targetlang">
<pre>
handler = PythonBinaryOp()
result = example.binary_op_wrapper(10, 20, handler)
print result
</pre>
</div>
<p>
This has thus demonstrated a C/C++ function pointer calling back into a target language function.
The code could be made a little more user friendly by using <tt>%rename</tt> to provide the
original <tt>binary_op</tt> name from the target language instead of <tt>binary_op_wrapper</tt>.
A C++ functor base class and Python functor class
could also be used instead, but these are left as exercises for the reader.
</p>
<H2><a name="SWIGPlus_nn42">6.30 Where to go for more information</a></H2>
<p>
If you're wrapping serious C++ code, you might want to pick up a copy
of "The Annotated C++ Reference Manual" by Ellis and Stroustrup. This
is the reference document we use to guide a lot of SWIG's C++ support.
</p>
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