SWIG - How to ignore C++ classes I don't need to expose (in Java)?

Question

Consider a SomeClass.h with the following functions declared

void doSomethingSimple(double);
void dealWithComplexClasses(ComplexClass&);

I want to expose doSomethingSimple(double) in Java, but NOT dealWithComplexClasses(ComplexClass&)

I have tried various things such as:

%ignore SomeClass::dealWithComplexClasses(ComplexClass&);
%ignore SomeClass::dealWithComplexClasses;

I also found this SO question which is answered but did not help me (while the problem is similar so I must be missing something) But in the end Swig always creates a proxy java class for ComplexClass and there is a dealWithComplexClasses(SWIGTYPE_p_ComplexClass class) in the SomeClass.java

How can I tell Swig to generate code only for what I want to expose in Java ? Or to ignore functions and classes I don't want to expose?

Answer 1

You are doing the right thing. The %ignore SomeClass::dealWithComplexClasses should have worked so I suspect you were trying other things at the same time and interpreted errors as indication that this hadn't worked. Try:

%ignore ComplexClass; // will not wrap ComplexClass
%ignore SomeClass::dealWithComplexClasses; // do not wrap that method or any of its overloads

Another possibility but can't tell from your post, is that your class is in a namespace. In this case you need the namespace prepended.

If it still doesn't work, need more info, post a minimal .i and .h for this.