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Module `std.typecons`

This module implements a variety of type constructors, i.e., templates that allow construction of new, useful general-purpose types.


Category	Symbols
Tuple	`isTuple` `Tuple` `tuple` `reverse`
Flags	`BitFlags` `isBitFlagEnum` `Flag` `No` `Yes`
Memory allocation	`SafeRefCounted` `safeRefCounted` `RefCountedAutoInitialize` `scoped` `Unique`
Code generation	`AutoImplement` `BlackHole` `generateAssertTrap` `generateEmptyFunction` `WhiteHole`
Nullable	`Nullable` `nullable` `NullableRef` `nullableRef`
Proxies	`Proxy` `rebindable` `Rebindable` `ReplaceType` `unwrap` `wrap`
Types	`alignForSize` `Ternary` `Typedef` `TypedefType` `UnqualRef`

Example

Value tuples

alias Coord = Tuple!(int, "x", int, "y", int, "z");
Coord c;
c[1] = 1;       // access by index
c.z = 1;        // access by given name
writeln(c); // Coord(0, 1, 1)

// names can be omitted, types can be mixed
alias DictEntry = Tuple!(string, int);
auto dict = DictEntry("seven", 7);

// element types can be inferred
writeln(tuple(2, 3, 4)[1]); // 3
// type inference works with names too
auto tup = tuple!("x", "y", "z")(2, 3, 4);
writeln(tup.y); // 3

Example

Rebindable references to const and immutable objects

class Widget
{
    void foo() const @safe {}
}
const w1 = new Widget, w2 = new Widget;
w1.foo();
// w1 = w2 would not work; can't rebind const object

auto r = Rebindable!(const Widget)(w1);
// invoke method as if r were a Widget object
r.foo();
// rebind r to refer to another object
r = w2;

Functions

Name	Description
`alignForSize()`	Order the provided members to minimize size while preserving alignment. Alignment is not always optimal for 80-bit reals, nor for structs declared as align(1).
`nullable(t)`	Defines a value paired with a distinctive "null" state that denotes the absence of a value. If default constructed, a `Nullable!T` object starts in the null state. Assigning it renders it non-null. Calling `nullify` can nullify it again.
`nullable(t)`	Just like `Nullable!T`, except that the null state is defined as a particular value. For example, `Nullable!(uint, uint.max)` is an `uint` that sets aside the value `uint.max` to denote a null state. `Nullable!(T, nullValue)` is more storage-efficient than `Nullable!T` because it does not need to store an extra `bool`.
`nullableRef(t)`	Just like `Nullable!T`, except that the object refers to a value sitting elsewhere in memory. This makes assignments overwrite the initially assigned value. Internally `NullableRef!T` only stores a pointer to `T` (i.e., `Nullable!T.sizeof == (T*).sizeof`).
`rebindable(obj)`	Convenience function for creating a `Rebindable` using automatic type inference.
`rebindable(obj)`	This function simply returns the `Rebindable` object passed in. It's useful in generic programming cases when a given object may be either a regular `class` or a `Rebindable`.
`refCounted(val)`	Like `safeRefCounted` but used to initialize `RefCounted` instead. Intended for backwards compatibility, otherwise it is preferable to use `safeRefCounted`.
`reverse(t)`	Creates a copy of a `Tuple` with its fields in reverse order.
`safeRefCounted(val)`	Initializes a `SafeRefCounted` with `val`. The template parameter `T` of `SafeRefCounted` is inferred from `val`. This function can be used to move non-copyable values to the heap. It also disables the `autoInit` option of `SafeRefCounted`.

Classes

Name	Description
`AutoImplement`	`AutoImplement` automatically implements (by default) all abstract member functions in the class or interface `Base` in specified way.

Structs

Name	Description
`BitFlags`	A typesafe structure for storing combinations of enum values.
`No`	Convenience names that allow using e.g. `Yes.encryption` instead of `Flag!"encryption".yes` and `No.encryption` instead of `Flag!"encryption".no`.
`Nullable`	Defines a value paired with a distinctive "null" state that denotes the absence of a value. If default constructed, a `Nullable!T` object starts in the null state. Assigning it renders it non-null. Calling `nullify` can nullify it again.
`Nullable`	Just like `Nullable!T`, except that the null state is defined as a particular value. For example, `Nullable!(uint, uint.max)` is an `uint` that sets aside the value `uint.max` to denote a null state. `Nullable!(T, nullValue)` is more storage-efficient than `Nullable!T` because it does not need to store an extra `bool`.
`NullableRef`	Just like `Nullable!T`, except that the object refers to a value sitting elsewhere in memory. This makes assignments overwrite the initially assigned value. Internally `NullableRef!T` only stores a pointer to `T` (i.e., `Nullable!T.sizeof == (T*).sizeof`).
`RefCounted`	The old version of `SafeRefCounted`, before `borrow` existed. Old code may be relying on `@safe`ty of some of the member functions which cannot be safe in the new scheme, and can avoid breakage by continuing to use this. `SafeRefCounted` should be preferred, as this type is outdated and unrecommended for new code.
`SafeRefCounted`	Defines a reference-counted object containing a `T` value as payload.
`Ternary`	Ternary type with three truth values:
`Tuple`	Tuple of values, for example `Tuple!(int, string)` is a record that stores an `int` and a `string`. `Tuple` can be used to bundle values together, notably when returning multiple values from a function. If `obj` is a `Tuple`, the individual members are accessible with the syntax `obj[0]` for the first field, `obj[1]` for the second, and so on.
`Typedef`	Typedef allows the creation of a unique type which is based on an existing type. Unlike the `alias` feature, Typedef ensures the two types are not considered as equals.
`Unique`	Encapsulates unique ownership of a resource.
`UnqualRef`	Similar to `Rebindable!(T)` but strips all qualifiers from the reference as opposed to just constness / immutability. Primary intended use case is with shared (having thread-local reference to shared class data)
`Yes`	Convenience names that allow using e.g. `Yes.encryption` instead of `Flag!"encryption".yes` and `No.encryption` instead of `Flag!"encryption".no`.

Enums

Name	Description
`Flag`	Defines a simple, self-documenting yes/no flag. This makes it easy for APIs to define functions accepting flags without resorting to `bool`, which is opaque in calls, and without needing to define an enumerated type separately. Using `Flag!"Name"` instead of `bool` makes the flag's meaning visible in calls. Each yes/no flag has its own type, which makes confusions and mix-ups impossible.
`RefCountedAutoInitialize`	Options regarding auto-initialization of a `SafeRefCounted` object (see the definition of `SafeRefCounted` below).

Templates

Name	Description
`apply`	Unpacks the content of a `Nullable`, performs an operation and packs it again. Does nothing if isNull.
`borrow`	Borrows the payload of `SafeRefCounted` for use in `fun`. Inferred as `@safe` if `fun` is `@safe` and does not escape a reference to the payload. The reference count will be incremented for the duration of the operation, so destroying the last reference will not leave dangling references in `fun`.
`Proxy`	Creates a proxy for the value `a` that will forward all operations while disabling implicit conversions. The aliased item `a` must be an lvalue. This is useful for creating a new type from the "base" type (though this is not a subtype-supertype relationship; the new type is not related to the old type in any way, by design).
`scoped`	Allocates a `class` object right inside the current scope, therefore avoiding the overhead of `new`. This facility is unsafe; it is the responsibility of the user to not escape a reference to the object outside the scope.
`tuple`	Constructs a `Tuple` object instantiated and initialized according to the given arguments.
`unwrap`	Supports structural based typesafe conversion.
`wrap`	Supports structural based typesafe conversion.

Manifest constants

Name	Type	Description
`generateAssertTrap`		Predefined how-policies for `AutoImplement`. These templates are also used by `BlackHole` and `WhiteHole`, respectively.
`generateEmptyFunction`		Predefined how-policies for `AutoImplement`. These templates are also used by `BlackHole` and `WhiteHole`, respectively.
`isBitFlagEnum`		Detect whether an enum is of integral type and has only "flag" values (i.e. values with a bit count of exactly 1). Additionally, a zero value is allowed for compatibility with enums including a "None" value.
`isTuple`		Returns `true` if and only if `T` is an instance of `Tuple`.

Aliases

Name	Type	Description
`BlackHole`	`AutoImplement!(Base,generateEmptyFunction,isAbstractFunction)`	`BlackHole!Base` is a subclass of `Base` which automatically implements all abstract member functions in `Base` as do-nothing functions. Each auto-implemented function just returns the default value of the return type without doing anything.
`Rebindable`	`const(ElementEncodingType!T)[]`	`Rebindable!(T)` is a simple, efficient wrapper that behaves just like an object of type `T`, except that you can reassign it to refer to another object. For completeness, `Rebindable!(T)` aliases itself away to `T` if `T` is a non-const object type.
`ReplaceType`	`ReplaceTypeUnless!(false_,From,To,T)`	Replaces all occurrences of `From` into `To`, in one or more types `T`. For example, `ReplaceType!(int, uint, Tuple!(int, float)[string])` yields `Tuple!(uint, float)[string]`. The types in which replacement is performed may be arbitrarily complex, including qualifiers, built-in type constructors (pointers, arrays, associative arrays, functions, and delegates), and template instantiations; replacement proceeds transitively through the type definition. However, member types in `struct`s or `class`es are not replaced because there are no ways to express the types resulting after replacement.
`ReplaceTypeUnless`	`T[0]`	Like `ReplaceType`, but does not perform replacement in types for which `pred` evaluates to `true`.
`TypedefType`	`Arg`	Get the underlying type which a `Typedef` wraps. If `T` is not a `Typedef` it will alias itself to `T`.
`unwrap`	`unwrap!(Unqual!Target)`	Supports structural based typesafe conversion.
`WhiteHole`	`AutoImplement!(Base,generateAssertTrap,isAbstractFunction)`	`WhiteHole!Base` is a subclass of `Base` which automatically implements all abstract member functions as functions that always fail. These functions simply throw an `Error` and never return. `Whitehole` is useful for trapping the use of class member functions that haven't been implemented.
`wrap`	`wrap!(staticMap!(Unqual,Targets))`	Supports structural based typesafe conversion.

Authors

Andrei Alexandrescu, Bartosz Milewski, Don Clugston, Shin Fujishiro, Kenji Hara

License

Boost License 1.0.

API Documentation

Module std.typecons

Example

Example

Functions

Classes

Structs

Enums

Templates

Manifest constants

Aliases

Authors

License

Module `std.typecons`