Programming Forums > Application Development > C++

uman · May 30th, 2006, 12:21 AM

I'm writing a program that uses playing cards. In my card class, I'm not hardcoding the fact that there are four suits and thirteen numbers in each, because I want it to be flexible to allow me to in the future create decks of non-standard cards, e.g. tarot cards.

So I have this:

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//suits: number of suits
//numbers: number of members of each suit
template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Card
{
     /* ... */
}

So far so good. But now I have another class called Deck, which is basically a glorified container for Card. I have two thoughts on how to do this. Either

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template<class card_type> class Deck
{
     std::deque<card_type> card_container;
     /* ... */
}

or

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template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Deck
{
     std::deque<Card<suits,numbers>> card_container;
     /* ... */
}

Is there a standard as to which of these is better? If not, are there any advantages or disadvantages to either approach? If not, then it is just a matter of style; which do you prefer?

Note: There may be syntax errors in this post as I'm just getting back into programming after a long absense. I hope, however, that you can understand my point. If you find any errors, please correct me.

grumpy · May 30th, 2006, 5:14 AM

The answer is, simply, "it depends".

The first form allows you to create a deck of any type of card (as long as the type acts in a way that your Deck expects) while the second form only supports a deck of your Card<> type.

If all of your cards are going to be a specialisation of your Card class, use the second form. If you anticipate a potential need to use other types of card, use the first form.

uman · May 30th, 2006, 12:11 PM

Thanks for the input.

May 30th, 2006, 12:21 AM	#1
uman Expert Programmer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 794 Rep Power: 4	Which is preferable? I'm writing a program that uses playing cards. In my card class, I'm not hardcoding the fact that there are four suits and thirteen numbers in each, because I want it to be flexible to allow me to in the future create decks of non-standard cards, e.g. tarot cards. So I have this: (Toggle Plain Text) //suits: number of suits //numbers: number of members of each suit template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Card { /* ... / } //suits: number of suits //numbers: number of members of each suit template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Card { / ... / } So far so good. But now I have another class called Deck, which is basically a glorified container for Card. I have two thoughts on how to do this. Either (Toggle Plain Text) template<class card_type> class Deck { std::deque<card_type> card_container; / ... / } template<class card_type> class Deck { std::deque<card_type> card_container; / ... / } or (Toggle Plain Text) template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Deck { std::deque<Card<suits,numbers>> card_container; / ... / } template<unsigned suits, unsigned numbers> class Deck { std::deque<Card<suits,numbers>> card_container; / ... */ } Is there a standard as to which of these is better? If not, are there any advantages or disadvantages to either approach? If not, then it is just a matter of style; which do you prefer? Note: There may be syntax errors in this post as I'm just getting back into programming after a long absense. I hope, however, that you can understand my point. If you find any errors, please correct me. __________________ Few people deserve to be compared to (Rush) Limbaugh, most of them were convicted at the Nuremburg trials. --WilliamSChips on Slashdot

May 30th, 2006, 12:11 PM	#3
uman Expert Programmer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 794 Rep Power: 4	Thanks for the input. __________________ Few people deserve to be compared to (Rush) Limbaugh, most of them were convicted at the Nuremburg trials. --WilliamSChips on Slashdot

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May 30th, 2006, 5:14 AM	#2
grumpy Programming Guru Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 1,223 Rep Power: 5	The answer is, simply, "it depends". The first form allows you to create a deck of any type of card (as long as the type acts in a way that your Deck expects) while the second form only supports a deck of your Card<> type. If all of your cards are going to be a specialisation of your Card class, use the second form. If you anticipate a potential need to use other types of card, use the first form.

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Programming Forums > Application Development > C++

Which is preferable?