I want to store Particle objects in a vector object, so I can access it later.
These particles (Electrons and Protons) are inherited from the Particle class which contains a toString() virtual method. This toString() method is then overrided in Electron and Proton classes.
When I read the vector container, I want to access to the toString() method specific to Electron or Proton, and not to Particle.
Apparently, one way is to use std::unique_ptr. Here is the part of the code I try to run:
int main(){
/**/
std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Particle>> particles(nbParticles);
particles.push_back(std::unique_ptr<Electron>( new Electron(1.0, 2.0, 3.0)));
particles.push_back(std::unique_ptr<Proton>(new Proton(1.0, 2.0, 3.0)));
particles.push_back(std::unique_ptr<Particle>(new Particle(0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0)));
if (particles[0]==nullptr){
std::cout<< "index=0 : nullptr"<<std::endl; //There is a null_ptr at particles[0]
}
if (particles[2]==nullptr){
std::cout<< "index=2 : nullptr"<<std::endl; //There is not a null_ptr at particles[2]
}
std::cout<<particles[0]->toString()<<std::endl; //This is what I'm trying to do
/**/
}
A pointer to a Particle object seems to be fine, but not to an Electron or Proton. I guess there is something wrong with the constructors ?
class Particle
{
public:
Particle();
Particle(double mass, double charge, double posX, double posY, double posZ);
virtual std::string toString() const;
}
class Electron : public Particle
{
public:
Electron(double PosX, double PosY, double PosZ);
virtual std::string toString() const;
}
class Proton : public Particle
{
public:
Proton(double PosX, double PosY, double PosZ);
virtual std::string toString() const;
}
and the definitions:
Particle::Particle(double mass, double charge, double posX, double posY, double posZ) :
m_mass(mass), m_charge(charge),
m_posX(posX), m_posY(posY), m_posZ(posZ) {}
Electron::Electron(double PosX, double PosY, double PosZ) :
Particle(9.109E-31, -1.602E-19, PosX, PosY, PosZ){}
Proton::Proton(double PosX, double PosY, double PosZ) :
Particle(9.109E-31, +1.602E-19, PosX, PosY, PosZ){}