Is this the right way to check if a NSString is nil? - nsstring

NSUserDefaults *prefs = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults];
// getting the string
iapstring = [prefs stringForKey:#"stringVal"];
if (iapstring == nil) {
//Action
}
if (iapstring !== nil) {
//Action
}
The problem is in the 2nd if I get exptected expression before = token
Is this the right or wrong way to do it?

In C, the opposite of == is != (not !==). So you want if (iapstring != nil).
However, in Objective-C, nil is just (id)0, a false value. So you can safely use if (iapstring) to test that iapstring has an assigned value.

Related

Overloading == and !== when object is a pointer

I am new to writing operators (in this case == and !=). I have done a bit of research and so far came up with:
bool operator==(const SPECIAL_EVENT_S &rsEvent)
{
bool bSame = false;
if (rsEvent.datEvent == m_datSpecialEvent &&
rsEvent.strEvent == m_strNotes &&
rsEvent.strLocation == m_strLocation &&
rsEvent.datEventStartTime == m_datEventStartTime &&
rsEvent.datEventFinishTime == m_datEventFinishTime &&
gsl::narrow<bool>(rsEvent.bEventAllDay) == m_bEventAllDay &&
gsl::narrow<bool>(rsEvent.bSetReminder) == m_bSetReminder &&
rsEvent.iReminderUnitType == m_iReminderUnitType &&
rsEvent.iReminderInterval == m_iReminderInterval &&
rsEvent.iImageWidthPercent == m_wImageWidthPercent &&
rsEvent.strImagePath == m_strImagePath &&
rsEvent.strTextBeforeImage == m_strTextBeforeImage &&
rsEvent.strTextAfterImage == m_strTextAfterImage &&
rsEvent.eType == m_eVideoconfType &&
rsEvent.sBSSTI == m_sBSSTI)
{
// The fundamental information is unchanged
bSame = true;
}
// Now compare the MWB Event Type
if (bSame)
{
switch (rsEvent.eMWBEventType)
{
case EventTypeMWB::MWBBethelSpeakerServiceTalk:
return m_bSpecialEventBethelServiceTalk;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBVideoconferenceAssembly:
return m_bSpecialEventVideoconf && m_eVideoconfType == VideoConferenceEventType::Live;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBVideoconferenceConvention:
return m_bSpecialEventVideoconf && m_eVideoconfType == VideoConferenceEventType::Recorded;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBSpecialEvent:
return m_bSpecialEvent;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBMemorial:
return m_bEventMemorial;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBCircuitOverseerMeeting:
return m_bCircuitVisit || m_bCircuitVisitGroup;
case EventTypeMWB::MWBMeeting:
return !m_bNoMeeting;
default:
bSame = false;
}
}
return bSame;
}
bool operator!=(const SPECIAL_EVENT_S& rsEvent)
{
return !(rsEvent == *this);
}
What surprised me what when I then tried to use these operators:
if (pEntry != sEvent)
{
AfxMessageBox(_T("The special event information has changed"));
}
It does not like pEntry being a pointer. In the end I did this:
if (*pEntry != sEvent)
{
AfxMessageBox(_T("The special event information has changed"));
}
Why was this an issue in the first place? I ask that because if this was a standard function it would not matter if the object was a pointer or not.
What is the correct way to cater for this scenario?
For example:
object->Function(value)
object.Function(value)
Function can be used both by the object when it is / is not a pointer. So why not with an operator?
Function can be used both by the object when it is / is not a pointer.
Actually, no it can't. In a statement/expression like object->Function(value) the -> (member access) and () (function call) operators have the same precedence and left-to-right associativity. So, the -> is applied first and that automatically dereferences the pointer. So, the effect is the same as (*object).Function(value) – and Function is still being called on an object, rather than on a pointer.
So why not with an operator?
The syntax for calling an operator function is (or can be) rather different: because it is defined as an operator, you can call it using the operator token (between the two operands) rather than by using an explicit function call. But then, you have to pass objects, as that's what the operands are defined to be.
However, should you really want to, you can still call an operator override using explicit function-call syntax; and, in that case, you can use the -> on a pointer; like this (where operator== is effectively the 'name' of the function):
if (!pEntry->operator==(sEvent))
{
AfxMessageBox(_T("The special event information has changed"));
}
However, this seems like a lot of hard work and your *pEntry != sEvent is actually the 'correct' way to use the override.
PS: As bonus, if you're using a compiler that supports the C++20 (or later) Standard, you can add a "defaulted" operator== to your structures/classes, which would save you explicitly comparing each individual data member:
struct foo {
int a;
double b;
bool operator==(const foo&) const = default; // Compares "a" and "b"
};
struct bar {
foo f;
int c;
int d;
bool operator==(const bar&) const = default; // Compares "c", "d" and "f"
};

Function to check whether a binary tree is binary search tree or not?

I attempted writing the following method which tells whether a Binary Tree is Binary Search Tree or not? I pass only half of the test cases. What am I doing wrong?
boolean checkBST(Node root) {
boolean leftflag = false;
boolean rightflag = false;
Node l = root.left;
Node r = root.right;
if(l!=null) {
if(root.data <= l.data) {
leftflag = false;
}
else {
leftflag = true;
checkBST(l);
}
}
if(leftflag == false)
return false;
if(r != null) {
if(root.data >= r.data) {
rightflag = false;
}
else {
rightflag = true;
checkBST(r);
}
}
if(rightflag == false)
return false;
return true;
}
I can see a case where your program could return wrongly false.
Imagine you have a tree with 3 branches deep going as follow :
7
/ \
3 8
\ / \
4 6 9
Your program starts up at 7 (root), creates two boolean at false (leftflag and rightflag), checks if left is null. It isn't. It then checks if the data of left <= the data of right. It is.
So you recursively call your function with a new root node left (3 in the example). Again, it creates your two boolean at false initial value, checks if left node is null. It is ! So it skips the whole if, goes directly to your other if before the return.
// The condition here is respected, there is no left node
// But the tree is an actual search tree, you didn't check right node
// Before returning false.
if(leftflag == false)
return false
What i'd do is
if(l != null)
{
if(root.data<=l.data)
{
return false;
}
else
{
// recursive call here
}
}
if(r != null)
{
// Same as left node here
}
so even if your left node is null, the program still checks for the right node. Hope i helped out a little bit !
Your primary mistake is that you ignore the return value of your recursive calls. For instance:
else {
leftflag = true;
checkBST(l);
}
}
if(leftflag == false)
return false;
If checkBST(l) returns false, you ignore it. You never save the value. Thus, your subsequent check for leftflag is utterly ignorant of the subtree's suitability. Semantically, your routine assumes that all subtrees are BSTs -- you set the flag, recur on the subtree, but don't change the flag. Try this logic:
else
leftflag = checkBST(l)
Now, please get comfortable with Boolean expressions. For instance, testing a Boolean value against a Boolean constant is a little wasteful. Instead of
if (flag == false)
Just check directly:
if (!flag)
Checking a pointer for null is similar in most languages:
if (l)
Finally, don't initialize your flags if you're simply going to set them to the same value as the first action.
Now, your code might appear like this:
boolean leftflag = false;
boolean rightflag = false;
if(l) {
if(root.data > l.data) {
leftflag = checkBST(l);
}
}
if(!leftflag)
return false;
if(r) {
if(root.data < r.data) {
rightflag = checkBST(r);
}
}
if(rightflag == false)
return false;
return true;
}
Now it's a little easier to follow the logic flow. Note that you have a basic failure in your base case: a null tree is balanced, but you return false.
Now, if you care to learn more about logic short-circuiting and boolean expressions, you can reduce your routine to something more like this:
return
(!root.left || // Is left subtree a BST?
(root.data > root.left.data &&
checkBST(root.left)))
&&
(!root.right || // Is right subtree a BST?
(root.data > root.right.data &&
checkBST(root.right)))

Reflection and typeChecking for optionals

Playing with reflections in swift 2.0 i'm trying to type check a child value.
The problem: each element of the children array in the Mirror of Any item is not optional, but his type can be optional... What happens is that of course i have the child value even if the value is nil
Maybe it is not clear so i put here some code to explain better.
For convenience i defined a subscript in a Mirror extension that fetches the child object with a given label
extension Mirror {
public subscript(key: String)->Child?{
var child = children.filter {
var valid = false
if let label = $0.label {
valid = label == key
}
return valid
}.last
if child == nil,
let superMirror = superclassMirror() {
child = superMirror[key]
}
return child
}
}
perfect, now let's say i have this class
class Rule: NSObject, AProtocol {
var hello: String?
var subRule: Rule?
}
Ok, now the problem
let aRule = Rule()
let mirroredRule = Mirror(reflecting:aRule)
if let child = mirroredRule["subRule"] {
//child.value always exists
//i can't do child.value is AProtocol? because child.value is not optional
//child.value is AProtocol of course returns false
//child.dynamicType is Optional(Rule)
if let unwrapped = unwrap(child.value) where unwrapped is AProtocol {
//This of course works only if child.value is not nil
//so the unwrap function returns an unwrapped value
//this is not a definitive solution
}
}
child.value has not been initialized so it is nil, and i can't check his type using the unwrap function. I'm writing a deserializer so i need to check the var also if it is nil because in the dictionary that will be used for the deserialization it could be defined.
private func unwrap(subject: Any) -> Any? {
var value: Any?
let mirrored = Mirror(reflecting:subject)
if mirrored.displayStyle != .Optional {
value = subject
} else if let firstChild = mirrored.children.first {
value = firstChild.value
}
return value
}
I hope the problem is clear. Any suggestions?
Based on this answer, I recommend using if case Optional<Any>.some(_).
I did something recently to make sure I have at least one optional set on my struct. You can paste into playgrounds:
struct ErrorResponse: Codable {
let message: String?
let authorizationException: [String: String]?
let validationException: String?
let generalException: String?
var isValid: Bool {
var hasAtLeastOneNonNilErrorValue = false
Mirror(reflecting: self).children.forEach {
if case Optional<Any>.some(_) = $0.value {
hasAtLeastOneNonNilErrorValue = true
}
}
return hasAtLeastOneNonNilErrorValue
}
}
let errorTest = ErrorResponse(message: "some message", authorizationException: nil, validationException: nil, generalException: nil)
let errorTest2 = ErrorResponse(message: nil, authorizationException: nil, validationException: nil, generalException: nil)
print("is valid: \(errorTest.isValid)") //is valid: true
print("is valid: \(errorTest2.isValid)") //is valid: false

Go reflect. How to check whether reflect.Type is an error type?

I need to assuredly check whether a reflect.Type is an error.
There is no reflect kind for error. What is the formal/idiomatic manner to check for type error in go reflect?
Go Playground Full Example
//return map of default values, based on each return type of a function
// error => err=nil
// bool => true
// struct => new struct
func getDefaultValue(originalFunction interface{}) map[int]reflect.Value {
defaultValues := make(map[int]reflect.Value)
typeOfFunc := reflect.ValueOf(originalFunction).Type()
numOut := typeOfFunc.NumOut() //number of function returns
for i := 0; i < numOut; i++ {
typeOut := typeOfFunc.Out(i) // type of return for index i
switch typeOut.Kind() {
case reflect.Bool:
defaultValues[i] = reflect.ValueOf(true)
case reflect.Struct:
defaultValues[i] = reflect.New(typeOut()).Elem()
// --> How to identify reflect.Type error assuredly, using switch or if...
//case reflect.error: //don't exists
// var err error = nil
// defaultValues[i] = reflect.ValueOf(&err).Elem()
default:
//var err error = nil
//defaultValues[i] = reflect.ValueOf(&err).Elem()
fmt.Println("type of return index ", i, " was not identified")
}
fmt.Println("type of return index ", i, typeOut, "kind", typeOut.Kind(), "assign to err ", typeOut.AssignableTo(reflect.TypeOf(errors.New(""))))
}
return defaultValues
}
In Go error is not something special. error is just a predeclared interface type so it doesn't have its own Kind in reflect.
Try something along:
errorInterface := reflect.TypeOf((*error)(nil)).Elem()
...
case reflect.Interface:
if typOute.Implements(errorInterface) // it's an error
Create a new value of the reflected type and do a type assertion:
...
default:
typeOutValue := reflect.New(typeOut)
if _, ok := typeOutValue.Interface().(*error); ok {
defaultValues[i] = typeOutValue.Elem()
} else {
fmt.Println("type of return index ", i, " was not identified")
}
}
or switch on its interface type:
...
default:
typeOutValue := reflect.New(typeOut)
switch typeOutValue.Interface().(type) {
case *error:
defaultValues[i] = typeOutValue.Elem()
default:
fmt.Println("type of return index ", i, " was not identified")
}
This way you can handle also any other interface type that you can (and want to) be particular about, with a more idiomatic Go code and reduced reliance on (or, at least, calls into) the reflect package (overhead and all that).
You could also just use the type's name.

What is the different between stringvariable != NullValue.String and !string.IsNullOrEmpty(stringvariable) in asp.net?

Is there any different between stringvariable != NullValue.String and !string.IsNullOrEmpty(stringvariable) in asp.net ? then which is best ?
The first tests that the string isn't "".
As strings can be null (because they are actually references) this test could fail.
By using IsNullOrEmpty you are wrapping:
if (string != null && string.Length > 0)
in one test.
IsNullOrEmpty is implemented like:
public static bool IsNullOrEmpty(string value)
{
if (value != null)
{
return (value.Length == 0);
}
return true;
}
So it checks both an empty string, and a null string. (Where is NullValue.String defined, I cannot seem to find a reference to it in any docs, but I assume it's eiter String.Empty or "null", so your first check only checks for one of these conditions.)
.Net4 has a new function called IsNullOrWhiteSpace(string value) which also returns true if the string contains only white space.

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