Allow C++ constants to be a default function parameter using Rcpp Attributes - r

Question

I created a cumsum function in an R package with rcpp which will cumulatively sum a vector until it hits the user defined ceiling or floor. However, if one wants the cumsum to be bounded above, the user must still specify a floor.
Example:
a = c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
If i wanted to cumsum a and have an upper bound of 3, I could cumsum_bounded(a, lower = 1, upper = 3). I would rather not have to specify the lower bound.
My code:
#include <Rcpp.h>
#include <float.h>
#include <cmath>
using namespace Rcpp;
// [[Rcpp::export]]
NumericVector cumsum_bounded(NumericVector x, int upper, int lower) {
NumericVector res(x.size());
double acc = 0;
for (int i=0; i < x.size(); ++i) {
acc += x[i];
if (acc < lower) acc = lower;
else if (acc > upper) acc = upper;
res[i] = acc;
}
return res;
}
What I would like:
#include <Rcpp.h>
#include <float.h>
#include <cmath>
#include <climits> //for LLONG_MIN and LLONG_MAX
using namespace Rcpp;
// [[Rcpp::export]]
NumericVector cumsum_bounded(NumericVector x, long long int upper = LLONG_MAX, long long int lower = LLONG_MIN) {
NumericVector res(x.size());
double acc = 0;
for (int i=0; i < x.size(); ++i) {
acc += x[i];
if (acc < lower) acc = lower;
else if (acc > upper) acc = upper;
res[i] = acc;
}
return res;
}

Answer 1

In short, yes its possible but it requires finesse that involves creating an intermediary function or embedding sorting logic within the main function.
In long, Rcpp attributes only supports a limit feature set of values. These values are listed in the Rcpp FAQ 3.12 entry
String literals delimited by quotes (e.g. "foo")
Integer and Decimal numeric values (e.g. 10 or 4.5)
Pre-defined constants including:
Booleans: true and false
Null Values: R_NilValue, NA_STRING, NA_INTEGER, NA_REAL, and NA_LOGICAL.
Selected vector types can be instantiated using the
empty form of the ::create static member function.
CharacterVector, IntegerVector, and NumericVector
Matrix types instantiated using the rows, cols constructor Rcpp::Matrix n(rows,cols)
CharacterMatrix, IntegerMatrix, and NumericMatrix)
If you were to specify numerical values for LLONG_MAX and LLONG_MIN this would meet the criteria to directly use Rcpp attributes on the function. However, these values are implementation specific. Thus, it would not be ideal to hardcode them. Thus, we have to seek an outside solution: the Rcpp::Nullable<T> class to enable the default NULL value. The reason why we have to wrap the parameter type with Rcpp::Nullable<T> is that NULL is a very special and can cause heartache if not careful.
The NULL value, unlike others on the real number line, will not be used to bound your values in this case. As a result, it is the perfect candidate to use on the function call. There are two choices you then have to make: use Rcpp::Nullable<T> as the parameters on the main function or create a "logic" helper function that has the correct parameters and can be used elsewhere within your application without worry. I've opted for the later below.
#include <Rcpp.h>
#include <float.h>
#include <cmath>
#include <climits> //for LLONG_MIN and LLONG_MAX
using namespace Rcpp;
NumericVector cumsum_bounded_logic(NumericVector x,
long long int upper = LLONG_MAX,
long long int lower = LLONG_MIN) {
NumericVector res(x.size());
double acc = 0;
for (int i=0; i < x.size(); ++i) {
acc += x[i];
if (acc < lower) acc = lower;
else if (acc > upper) acc = upper;
res[i] = acc;
}
return res;
}
// [[Rcpp::export]]
NumericVector cumsum_bounded(NumericVector x,
Rcpp::Nullable<long long int> upper = R_NilValue,
Rcpp::Nullable<long long int> lower = R_NilValue) {
if(upper.isNotNull() && lower.isNotNull()){
return cumsum_bounded_logic(x, Rcpp::as< long long int >(upper), Rcpp::as< long long int >(lower));
} else if(upper.isNull() && lower.isNotNull()){
return cumsum_bounded_logic(x, LLONG_MAX, Rcpp::as< long long int >(lower));
} else if(upper.isNotNull() && lower.isNull()) {
return cumsum_bounded_logic(x, Rcpp::as< long long int >(upper), LLONG_MIN);
} else {
return cumsum_bounded_logic(x, LLONG_MAX, LLONG_MIN);
}
// Required to quiet compiler
return x;
}
Test Output
cumsum_bounded(a, 5)
## [1] 1 2 3 4 5 5 5
cumsum_bounded(a, 5, 2)
## [1] 2 3 4 5 5 5 5