Thread: templated members in non-template classes

  1. #1
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    Oct 2005
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    templated members in non-template classes

    Given a class with a templated member:
    Code:
    template<typename T> class tmpl_class {};
    
    class some_class
    {
      tmpl_class<T>& tmpl_member;
    public:
      template<typename T>
      some_class( tmpl_class<T>& oc )
        : tmpl_member(oc)
      {}
    };
    I can't tell if this is valid code (no compiler atm). I'm sure there has to be a way to have a non-template class have templated members, but I haven't figured it out yet. In fact, I just came up with the idea above right now, even though I've been trying to figure this out for a week. Sorry if it's offensively incorrect.

  2. #2
    Software Developer jverkoey's Avatar
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    Feb 2003
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    New York
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    Why are you trying to do this exactly? If you want to have templated members, then you need to declare the class with a template. Unless you're trying to do the following:

    Code:
    template<typename T> class tmpl_class {};
    
    class some_class
    {
      tmpl_class<std::string>& tmpl_member;
    public:
      some_class( tmpl_class<std::string>& oc )
        : tmpl_member(oc)
      {}
    };
    Which more or less defeats the purpose of tmpl_class.

  3. #3
    Registered User
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    In code, I'd do something like this:
    Code:
    void f()
    {
      tmpl_class<std::string> service; // std::string is just an example
      some_class handle(service);
    }
    I simply want some_class to work with any type of service, and for the code to show that (ie. some_class shouldn't be templated). The thing is, if I were using inheritance from an ABC rather than a templated class, doing this would be simple. I'd essentially be using the bridge pattern. Surely there's a way to transpose that idea over to templates?

    A more direct question would be: can a non-template class have a member that is itself a template, whose template parameter depends on what the class is constructed with?

  4. #4
    Registered User Noir's Avatar
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    Mar 2007
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    can a non-template class have a member that is itself a template, whose template parameter depends on what the class is constructed with?
    No, because the constructor is called at run time but the template argument type needs to be known at compile time to build a template for compilation.

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