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Type Class Reference

#include <Type.h>

Inheritance diagram for Type:

List of all members.

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Detailed Description

Type: the type descriptor for any object.

This class allows programs to access reflectively the type of any object and create new instances of a given Type. A Type descriptor is obtained by calling the type() method of any Object. Type descriptors may also be created explicitly using Type(StringID). You can compare() two Type descriptors and access the name() of a Type. The create() method creates an instance of this Type (ie of the Object-type denoted by this descriptor).

Type maintains a registry of known Object types. A prototype instance of each type must be registered using Type::notify() before Type can create() objects of this type. Type::registry() returns the registry, a Map from String type names to Object prototype instances.

Public Member Functions
	Type ()
	Construct a default Type.
virtual	~Type ()
	Release an unused Type.
	Type (StringID)
	Construct a Type from a String type name.
virtual ObjectID	clone () const
	Clone a shallow copy of this Type.
virtual Natural	hash () const
	Return a quasi-unique hash code for this type.
virtual Order	compare (ObjectID) const
	Compare this Type with another Object.
Order	compare (TypeID) const
	Compare this Type with another Type.
StringID	name () const
	Return the name of this Type.
ObjectID	create () const
	Create a default Object of this Type.
Static Public Member Functions
MapID	registry ()
	Type's shared registry of Type names and Objects.
Void	notify (ObjectID)
	Notify Type's registry of a new prototype.
ObjectID	create (StringID)
	Create a default instance of the named Type.

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Constructor & Destructor Documentation

Type::Type (   )

Construct a default Type. This creates a Type whose name is the String "Void". Returns: a Type descriptor for the Void type.

Type::~Type (   )  [virtual]

Release an unused Type.

Type::Type (  StringID  name  )

Construct a Type from a String type name. All SCL type identifiers are capitalised alphabetic strings, with internal capitalisation used to indicate word boundaries in multi-word identifiers. Block-type identifiers append the block-size as digits in square brackets. Parameters: name  - a String, the type name. Returns: a Type descriptor for the named type.

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Member Function Documentation

ObjectID Type::clone (   )  const [virtual]

Clone a shallow copy of this Type. Returns: a shallow copy of this Type. Reimplemented from Object.

Order Type::compare (  TypeID  type  )  const

Compare this Type with another Type. Lexicographic comparison, which compares the name of this Type against the name of the other Type, returning an Order in { LESS, EQUAL, MORE }. Parameters: type  - another Type descriptor. Returns: an Order in {LESS, EQUAL, MORE}

Order Type::compare (  ObjectID  object  )  const [virtual]

Compare this Type with another Object. Generic comparison that tries to convert the other Object into a Type and proceeds to compare according to the lexicographic order of Type names. If the other Object is not a Type, the comparison is undefined and the answer is NONE. Parameters: object  - another Object. Returns: an Order in {NONE, LESS, EQUAL, MORE} Reimplemented from Object.

ObjectID Type::create (  StringID  name  )  [static]

Create a default instance of the named Type. Creates a default instance of the named Type by cloning the prototype instance stored in Type's shared registry of known Objects and Types. Any type of Object that has been registered using notify() can be created. Raises a NullPointer exception if the requested Type of Object is unknown.

ObjectID Type::create (   )  const

Create a default Object of this Type. Creates a default instance of the requested Type by cloning the prototype instance stored in Type's shared registry of known Objects and Types. Any type of Object that has been registered using notify() can be created. Raises a NullPointer exception if the requested Type of Object is unknown. Returns: an instance of this Type.

Natural Type::hash (   )  const [virtual]

Return a quasi-unique hash code for this type. Hashes on the type name for this Type. Returns the hash code of the typeName String. Reimplemented from Object.

StringID Type::name (   )  const

Return the name of this Type. By convention, all SCL type identifiers are capitalised alphabetic strings, with internal capitalisation used to indicate word boundaries in multi-word identifiers. Block-type identifiers append the block-size as digits in square brackets. Returns: the name of this Type.

Void Type::notify (  ObjectID  prototype  )  [static]

Notify Type's registry of a new prototype. The prototype Object will be stored opposite its type name in the shared Type registry. Parameters: prototype  - the Object prototype to register

MapID Type::registry (   )  [static]

Type's shared registry of Type names and Objects.

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following files:

• Type.h
• Basic.cc
• Type.cc

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