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reinterpret_cast problem

derek6433 · 2003-08-13T18:22:14

Ok, I have a function that returns a (void *) from a linked list. The purpose of this void * is obviously to allow any variable, no matter what type, to be pointed to. When I use this function I am using it with reinterpret_cast like so And because of some umm technical difficulties with the html I was forced into use "|"'s of "< & >"'s variable_type bob = reinterpret_cast |_variable_type| FindVariableByName("bob"); I want to though,use reinterpret_cast iwthout know what the variables type is. ............................. Don't know that is an int ......................................\/ int bob = reinterpret_cast |int| FindVariableByName("bob"); Is there any way I can find what type 'bob'(the variable) is so I can use that type in the reinterpret_cast? Heres what I mean in psuedo-code Is there like a function or something that returns a type? ........................................\/ int bob = reinterpret_cast |typeofvariable(bob)| FindVariableByName("bob"); I know I could check the size of the pointer with all of the variable types to determine what type it is, But that would be very ineffecient Any help would be appreciated, Derek [edited by - derek6433 on August 5, 2003 12:54:47 AM]

General and Gameplay Programming Programming

Started by derek6433 August 05, 2003 11:15 PM

14 comments, last by derek6433 20 years, 8 months ago

FrancoisSoft

August 13, 2003 01:34 PM

quote:Original post by derek6433

variable_type bob = reinterpret_cast |_variable_type| FindVariableByName("bob");

[edited by - derek6433 on August 5, 2003 12:54:47 AM]

Why do I see "reinterpret_cast" used so much? What is the point? I never used it and I didn't run into problems.

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[edited by - FrancoisSoft on August 13, 2003 2:35:28 PM]

FrancoisSoft

chiuyan

122

August 13, 2003 03:00 PM

FrancoisSoft wrote ...
"Why do I see "reinterpret_cast" used so much? What is the point? I never used it and I didn''t run into problems."

If you have never used it, you are either using C-style casts, and that is _BAD_, or you have never come across a situation where you needed to use it.

In the OPs code he is converting void* to other variable types. As long as he is converting void pointers to some other pointers, a static_cast would be fine, but if he wanted to convert a void* to an int, for instance, static_cast wouldn''t work and he would have to use a reinterpret_cast.

VizOne

598

August 13, 2003 03:27 PM

Why do you think do static_cast, reinterpret_cast, dynamic_cast and const_cast look as ugly as they do? Because they want to remind you that you are doing something ugly. Besides some basic convertions (float to int e.g.), casts are almost always a bad idea and show a lack of good design. Casting each and everything from and to void * or being dependent on such EReturnDataType-nonsens slaps OOP in its face!!

What do you think, templates, virtual functions, design patterns and so on are good for? :D

Regards, VizOne

Andre Loker | Personal blog on .NET

psykr

295

August 13, 2003 05:28 PM

Is there a difference between reinterpret_cast and C-style casting? Besides the fact that one was hit with the ugly stick too many times..

Krunk

122

August 13, 2003 05:44 PM

quote:Original post by psykr
Is there a difference between reinterpret_cast and C-style casting? Besides the fact that one was hit with the ugly stick too many times..

That's kind of the point. The new casts stick out like a sore thumb, so they're like a big red flag over potentially dodgy code. That's particularly useful with reinterpret_cast because it's non-portable. Also, they're much easier to search for than a typename in parentheses, which makes it easier to find reinterpret_casts when you're porting code.

The other good thing about them is that they are more specific, so it's harder to get the wrong cast by mistake.

[edited by - Krunk on August 13, 2003 7:10:40 PM]

Agent1

130

August 13, 2003 06:22 PM

If you know what type of variable you''ll be placing the data into, why do you need to find the type of the data pointed to by the pointer?

-Agent1

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