.. _structs: ====== Struct ====== .. index:: single: Structs Daslang uses a structure mechanism similar to languages like C/C++, Java, C#, etc. However, there are some important difference. Structures are first class objects like integers or strings and can be stored in table slots, other structures, local variables, arrays, tuples, variants, etc., and passed as function parameters. ------------------ Struct Declaration ------------------ .. index:: pair: declaration; Struct single: Struct Declaration A structure object is created through the keyword ``struct``:: struct Foo x, y: int xf: float Sturctures can be ``private`` or ``public``:: struct private Foo x, y: int struct public Bar xf: float If not specified, structures inherit module publicity (i.e. in public modules structures are public, and in private modules structures are private). Structure instances are created through a 'new expression' or a variable declaration statement:: let foo: Foo let foo: Foo? = new Foo There are intentionally no member functions. There are only data members, since it is a data type itself. Structures can handle members with a function type as data (meaning it's a function pointer that can be changed during execution). There are initializers that simplify writing complex structure initialization. Basically, a function with same name as the structure itself works as an initializer. The compiler will generate a 'default' initializer if there are any members with an initializer:: struct Foo x: int = 1 y: int = 2 Structure fields are initialized to zero by default, regardless of 'initializers' for members, unless you specifically call the initializer:: let fZero : Foo // no initializer is called, x, y = 0 let fInited = Foo() // initializer is called, x = 1, y = 2 Structure field types are inferred, where possible:: struct Foo x = 1 // inferred as int y = 2.0 // inferred as float Explicit structure initialization during creation leaves all uninitialized members zeroed:: let fExplicit = [[Foo x=13]] // x = 13, y = 0 The previous code example is syntactic sugar for:: let fExplicit: Foo fExplicit.x = 13 Post-construction initialization only needs to specify overwritten fields:: let fPostConstruction = [[Foo() x=13]] // x = 13, y = 2 The previous code example is syntactic sugar for:: let fPostConstruction: Foo fPostConstruction.x = 13 fPostConstruction.y = 2 The "Clone initializer" is useful pattern for creating a clone of an existing structure when both structures are on the heap:: def Foo ( p : Foo? ) // "clone initializer" takes pointer to existing structure var self := *p return <- self ... let a = new [[Foo x=1, y=2.]] // create new instance of Foo on the heap, initialize it let b = new Foo(a) // clone of b is created here -------------------------- Structure Function Members -------------------------- Daslang doesn't have embedded structure member functions, virtual (that can be overridden in inherited structures) or non-virtual. Those features are implemented for classes. For ease of Objected Oriented Programming, non-virtual member functions can be easily emulated with the pipe operator ``|>``:: struct Foo x, y: int = 0 def setXY(var thisFoo: Foo; X, Y: int) with thisFoo x = X y = Y var foo: Foo foo |> setXY(10, 11) // this is syntactic sugar for setXY(foo, 10, 11) setXY(foo, 10, 11) // exactly same thing as the line above Since function pointers are a thing, one can emulate 'virtual' functions by storing function pointers as members:: struct Foo x, y: int = 0 set = @@setXY def setXY(var thisFoo: Foo; X, Y: int) with thisFoo x = X y = Y ... var foo: Foo = Foo() foo->set(1, 2) // this one can call something else, if overridden in derived class. // It is also just syntactic sugar for function pointer call invoke(foo.set, foo, 1, 2) // exactly same thing as above This makes the difference between virtual and non-virtual calls in the OOP paradigm explicit. In fact, Daslang classes implement virtual functions in exactly this manner. ----------- Inheritance ----------- .. index:: pair: inheritance; Struct single: Inheritance Daslang's structures support single inheritance by adding a ' : ', followed by the parent structure's name in the structure declaration. The syntax for a derived struct is the following:: struct Bar: Foo yf: float When a derived structure is declared, Daslang first copies all base's members to the new structure and then proceeds with evaluating the rest of the declaration. A derived structure has all members of its base structure. It is just syntactic sugar for copying all the members manually first. .. _structs_alignment: --------- Alignment --------- Structure size and alignment are similar to that of C++: * individual members are aligned individually * overall structure alignment is that of the largest member's alignment Inherited structure alignment can be controlled via the [cpp_layout] annotation:: [cpp_layout (pod=false)] struct CppS1 vtable : void? // we are simulating C++ class b : int64 = 2l c : int = 3 [cpp_layout (pod=false)] struct CppS2 : CppS1 // d will be aligned on the class bounds d : int = 4 --- OOP --- There is sufficient amount of infrastructure to support basic OOP on top of the structures. However, it is already available in form of classes with some fixed memory overhead (see :ref:`Classes `). It's possible to override the method of the base class with override syntax. Here an example: :: struct Foo x, y: int = 0 set = @@Foo_setXY def Foo_setXY(var this: Foo; x, y: int) this.x = x this.y = y struct Foo3D: Foo z: int = 3 override set = cast @@Foo3D_setXY def Foo3D_setXY(var thisFoo: Foo3D; x, y: int) thisFoo.x = x thisFoo.y = y thisFoo.z = -1 It is safe to use the ``cast`` keyword to cast a derived structure instance into its parent type:: var f3d: Foo3D = Foo3D() (cast f3d).y = 5 It is unsafe to cast a base struct to it's derived child type:: var f3d: Foo3D = Foo3D() def foo(var foo: Foo) (cast foo).z = 5 // error, won't compile If needed, the upcast can be used with the ``unsafe`` keyword:: struct Foo x: int struct Foo2:Foo y: int def setY(var foo: Foo; y: int) // Warning! Can make awful things to your app if its not really Foo2 unsafe (upcast foo).y = y As the example above is very dangerous, and in order to make it safer, you can modify it to following:: struct Foo x: int typeTag: uint = hash("Foo") struct Foo2:Foo y: int override typeTag: uint = hash("Foo2") def setY(var foo: Foo; y: int) // this won't do anything really bad, but will panic on wrong reference unsafe if foo.typeTag == hash("Foo2") (upcast foo).y = y print("Foo2 type references was passed\n") else assert(false, "Not Foo2 type references was passed\n")