How can I declare a pointer based on a generic type?

Question

I have a class like this:

type A = class
    procedure<T> DoStuff(tPtr: ^T);
end;

But when I try to compile, Delphi gives me this error:

[DCC Error] RPML.pas(57): E2029 Identifier expected but '^' found

How can I use a pointer to a parameterized type in a Delphi procedure? I don't want to make the whole class a template class.

Answer 1

To do this you need to declare a pointer type as a nested type in the generic class:

type 
  TMyGeneric<T> = class
  type
    P = ^T;
  public
    procedure DoStuff(tPtr: P);
  end;

And if you want a class method (i.e. not an instance method) you can do it this way:

type
  TMyGeneric<T> = record
  type
    P = ^T;
  public
    class procedure DoStuff(tPtr: P); static;
  end;

var
  int: Integer;
...
TMyGeneric<Integer>.DoStuff(@int);

Or using a var parameter:

type
  TMyGeneric<T> = record
  public
    class procedure DoStuff(var a: T); static;
  end;

It seems to be common to use records rather than classes for generic types that don't ever get instantiated.

Finally, you cannot have, in Delphi, a generic method without making the class generic. In other words there is no analogue of the following C++ template code:

Thorsten's answer shows how to implement a generic method without making the class generic, that is the Delphi analogue of of the following C++ template code:

class C {
public:
   template <typename T>
   int SomeTemplateFunction(T* data) {
      printf("Address of parameter is %p\n", data);
      return 0;
   }
};

int a; 
char c; 
C cinst; 
cinst.SomeTemplateFunction<int>(&a); 
cinst.SomeTemplateFunction<char>(&c);

Thorsten's answer gives you a class function but in the comments you state you are looking for a normal member function.

type
  TMyClass = class
  public
    procedure DoStuff<T>(var a: T);
  end;

procedure TMyClass.DoStuff<T>(var a: T);
begin
end;

...
var
  instance: TMyClass;
  i: Integer;
  s: string;
...
  instance.DoStuff<Integer>(i);
  instance.DoStuff<string>(s);

However, what I'm struggling with is how exactly you could do anything very useful with this, in Delphi, that could not be done just as effectively without a generic solution.

I'd appreciate any suggestions and would be happy to edit the answer to accommodate them.

Answer 2

You can move the generic parameter from the class to the method, and use var instead of a pointer type:

type
  TMyGeneric = record
    class procedure DoStuff<T>(var aParam: T); static;
  end;

var
  int : Integer;
  s   : string;
...
TMyGeneric.DoStuff<Integer>(int);
TMyGeneric.DoStuff<string>(s);

EDIT: Unfortunately the Delphi compiler doesn't seem to be able to perform type inference when var parameters are used which makes it necessary to explicitly specify the generic paramter type using <..> on the method calls.

Without the "var" the <..> can be omitted (but then the method can no longer modify the passed in variable).