How to inherit from a regular matrix - julia

Question

using ShiftedArrays
struct CircularMatrix{T} <: AbstractArray{T,2}
data::Array{T,2}
view::CircShiftedArray
currentIndex::Int
function CircularMatrix{T}(dims...) where T
data = zeros(T, dims...)
CircularMatrix(data, ShiftedArrays.circshift(data, (0, -1)), 1)
end
end
Base.size(M::CircularMatrix) = size(M.data)
Base.eltype(::Type{CircularMatrix{T}}) where {T} = T
function shift_forward!(M::CircularMatrix)
M.shift_forward!(1)
end
function shift_forward!(M::CircularMatrix, n)
# replace the view with a view shifted forwards.
M.currentIndex += n
M.view = ShiftedArrays.circshift(M.data, (n, M.currentIndex))
end
#inline Base.#propagate_inbounds function Base.getindex(M::CircularMatrix, i) = M.view[i]
#inline Base.#propagate_inbounds function Base.setindex!(M::CircularMatrix, data, i) = M.view[i] = data
How can I make CircularMatrix act just like a regular matrix.
So that I can access it like
m = CircularMatrix{Int}(4,4)
m[1, 1] = 5
x = view(m, 1, :)

Answer 1

Your matrix type is defined to be a subtype of AbstractArray{T, 2}. You need to implement a few methods in the informal array interface of Julia for your type to make functions and features that work on AbstractArray{T, 2} to also work on your custom type, that is, to make your CircularMatrix an iterable, indexable, completely functioning matrix.
The methods to implement are
size(M::CircularMatrix)
getindex(M::CircularMatrix, i::Int)
getindex(M::CircularMatrix, I::Vararg{Int, N})
setindex!(M::CircularMatrix, v, i::Int)
setindex!(M::CircularMatrix, v, I::Vararg{Int, N})
You already implement 1, 2 and 4 but have not yet set your indexing style. You might not need 3 and 5 if you choose linear indexing style. You only need to set IndexStyle to be IndexLinear() and maybe a few modifications, then everything should just work for your matrix.
1. size(M::CircularMatrix)
The first one is size. size(A::CircularMatrix) returns a Tuple of dimensions of A. I believe for your matrix probably something like the following
Base.size(M::CircularMatrix) = size(M.data)
2. getindex(M::CircularMatrix, i::Int)
This method is needed if you choose linear indexing style. getindex(M, i::Int) should give you the value at linear index i. You already implement it in your code. If you choose linear indexing, you need to set IndexStyle for your type and then you simply skip 3 and 5. Julia will automatically convert multiple index accesses, e.g. a[3, 5], to a linear index access.
Base.IndexStyle(::Type{<:CircularMatrix}) = IndexLinear()
Base.#propogate_inbounds function Base.getindex(M::CircularMatrix, i::Int)
#boundscheck checkbounds(M, i)
#inbounds M.view[i]
end
It might be better to use #inbounds here on the second line. If the caller doesn't use #inbounds, we check the bounds first and this hopefully makes the subsequent bounds check unnecessary. You might want to omit this during development, though.
3. getindex(M::CircularMatrix, I::Vararg{Int, N})
The third one is for Cartesian indexing style. If you choose this style you need to implement this method. Vararg{Int, N} in the signature stands for "exactly N Int arguments". Here N should be equal to the dimensionality of CircularMatrix. Since this is a matrix, N should be two. If you choose this style, you need to define something like the following
Base.#propogate_inbounds function Base.getindex(A::CircularMatrix, I::Vararg{Int, 2})
#boundscheck checkbounds(A, I...)
#inbounds A.view[# convert I[1]` and `I[2]` to a linear index in `view`]
end
or since your dimensionality is not parametric and a matrix is 2D, simply
Base.#propogate_inbounds function Base.getindex(A::CircularMatrix, i::Int, j::Int)
#boundscheck checkbounds(A, i, j)
#inbounds A.view[# convert i` and `j` to a linear index in `view`]
end
4. setindex!(M::CircularMatrix, v, i::Int)
The fourth one is similar to the second. This method should set the value at linear index i, if you choose linear indexing style.
5. setindex!(M::CircularMatrix, v, I::Vararg{Int, N})
The fifth one should be similar to the third, if you choose Cartesian indexing style.
After the implementations for 1, 2, and 4 and setting IndexStyle, you should have a custom matrix type that just works.
m[1, 1] = 5
x = view(m, 1, :)
for e in
...
end
for i in eachindex(m)
...
end
display(m)
println(m)
length(m)
ndims(m)
map(f, A)
....
These should all work.
A few notes
There is a documentation for Abstract Arrays interface here with a few examples. You can also see Optional Methods to implement.
There is a JuliaArray organization on GitHub that provides lots of useful custom array implementations including StaticArrays, OffsetArrays, etc. and also a JuliaMatrices organization that provides custom matrix types. You might want to take a look at their implementations.
#inline is redundant if you use Base.#propogate_inbounds.
#propagate_inbounds
Tells the compiler to inline a function while retaining the caller's
inbounds context.
You do not need to define eltype for your matrix, since there is already a definition for AbstractArray{T, N} which returns T.