Template function as a template argument

Question

I've just got confused how to implement something in a generic way in C++. It's a bit convoluted, so let me explain step by step.

---

Consider such code:

void a(int) {
    // do something
}
void b(int) {
    // something else
}


void function1() {
    a(123);
    a(456);
}
void function2() {
    b(123);
    b(456);
}

void test() {
    function1();
    function2();
}

It's easily noticable that function1 and function2 do the same, with the only different part being the internal function.

Therefore, I want to make function generic to avoid code redundancy. I can do it using function pointers or templates. Let me choose the latter for now. My thinking is that it's better since the compiler will surely be able to inline the functions - am I correct? Can compilers still inline the calls if they are made via function pointers? This is a side-question.

OK, back to the original point... A solution with templates:

void a(int) {
    // do something
}
void b(int) {
    // something else
}

template<void (*param)(int) >
void function() {
    param(123);
    param(456);
}

void test() {
    function<a>();
    function<b>();
}

All OK. But I'm running into a problem: Can I still do that if a and b are generics themselves?

template<typename T>
void a(T t) {
   // do something
}

template<typename T>
void b(T t) {
   // something else
}

template< ...param... > // ???
void function() {
    param<SomeType>(someobj);
    param<AnotherType>(someotherobj);
}

void test() {
    function<a>();
    function<b>();
}

I know that a template parameter can be one of:

• a type,
• a template type,
• a value of a type.

None of those seems to cover my situation. My main question is hence: How do I solve that, i.e. define function() in the last example?

(Yes, function pointers seem to be a workaround in this exact case - provided they can also be inlined - but I'm looking for a general solution for this class of problems).

Answer 1

In order to solve this problem with templates, you have to use a template template parameter. Unfortunately, you cannot pass template template function as a type, because it has to be instantiated first. But there is a workaround with dummy structures. Here is an example:

template <typename T>
struct a {

    static void foo (T = T ())
    {
    }

};

template <typename T>
struct b {

    static void foo (T = T ())
    {
    }

};

struct SomeObj {};
struct SomeOtherObj {};

template <template <typename P> class T>
void function ()
{
    T<SomeObj>::foo ();
    T<SomeOtherObj>::foo ();
}

int main ()
{
    function<a>();
    function<b>();
}