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authorLorry Tar Creator <lorry-tar-importer@baserock.org>2009-08-18 20:56:02 +0000
committerLorry <lorry@roadtrain.codethink.co.uk>2012-09-25 16:59:08 +0000
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+<html>
+<head>
+<title>SWIG:Examples:java:class</title>
+</head>
+
+<body bgcolor="#ffffff">
+
+
+<tt>SWIG/Examples/java/class/</tt>
+<hr>
+
+<H2>Wrapping a simple C++ class</H2>
+
+<p>
+This example illustrates the high level form of C++ class wrapping performed
+by SWIG. In this case, a C++ class has a proxy Java class, which
+provides access to C++ class members.
+
+<h2>The C++ Code</h2>
+
+Suppose you have some C++ classes described by the following (and admittedly lame)
+header file:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+/* File : example.h */
+
+class Shape {
+public:
+ Shape() {
+ nshapes++;
+ }
+ virtual ~Shape() {
+ nshapes--;
+ };
+ double x, y;
+ void move(double dx, double dy);
+ virtual double area() = 0;
+ virtual double perimeter() = 0;
+ static int nshapes;
+};
+
+class Circle : public Shape {
+private:
+ double radius;
+public:
+ Circle(double r) : radius(r) { };
+ virtual double area();
+ virtual double perimeter();
+};
+
+class Square : public Shape {
+private:
+ double width;
+public:
+ Square(double w) : width(w) { };
+ virtual double area();
+ virtual double perimeter();
+};
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<h2>The SWIG interface</h2>
+
+A simple SWIG interface for this can be built by simply grabbing the header file
+like this:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+/* File : example.i */
+%module example
+
+%{
+#include "example.h"
+%}
+
+/* Let's just grab the original header file here */
+%include "example.h"
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+Note: when creating a C++ extension, you must run SWIG with the <tt>-c++</tt> option like this:
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+% swig -c++ -java example.i
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<h2>A sample Java program</h2>
+
+Click <a href="runme.java">here</a> to see a Java program that calls the C++ functions from Java.
+
+<h2>Key points</h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li>To create a new object, you call a constructor like this:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+Circle c = new Circle(10);
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>To access member data, a pair of accessor functions are used.
+For example:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+c.setX(15); // Set member data
+x = c.getX(); // Get member data
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>To invoke a member function, you simply do this
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+System.out.println( "The area is " + c.area() );
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>To invoke a destructor, simply do this
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+c.delete(); // Deletes a shape
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>Static member variables are wrapped with java static get and set access functions. For example:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+n = Shape.getNshapes(); // Get a static data member
+Shape.setNshapes(13); // Set a static data member
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+</ul>
+
+<h2>General Comments</h2>
+
+<ul>
+<li>This high-level interface using proxy classes is not the only way to handle C++ code.
+A low level interface using c functions to access member variables and member functions is the alternative SWIG
+approach. This entails passing around the c pointer or c++ 'this' pointer and as such it is not difficult to crash the JVM.
+The abstraction of the underlying pointer by the java proxy classes far better fits the java programming paradigm.
+
+<p>
+<li>SWIG *does* know how to properly perform upcasting of objects in an inheritance
+hierarchy (including multiple inheritance). However Java classes can only derive from one base class so multiple inheritance
+is not implemented. Java classes can implement more than one interface so there is scope for improvement in the future.
+
+<p>
+<li>A wide variety of C++ features are not currently supported by SWIG. Here is the
+short and incomplete list:
+
+<p>
+<ul>
+<li>Overloaded methods and functions. SWIG wrappers don't know how to resolve name
+conflicts so you must give an alternative name to any overloaded method name using the
+%name directive like this:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+void foo(int a);
+%name(foo2) void foo(double a, double b);
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>Overloaded operators. Not supported at all. The only workaround for this is
+to write a helper function. For example:
+
+<blockquote>
+<pre>
+%inline %{
+ Vector *vector_add(Vector *a, Vector *b) {
+ ... whatever ...
+ }
+%}
+</pre>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<li>Namespaces. Not supported at all. Won't be supported until SWIG2.0 (if at all).
+
+</ul>
+</ul>
+
+<hr>
+</body>
+</html>