documented _PTR versions of WX_DEFINE_ARRAY macros
[wxWidgets.git] / docs / latex / wx / array.tex
1 \section{\class{wxArray}}\label{wxarray}
2
3 This section describes the so called {\it dynamic arrays}. This is a C
4 array-like data structure i.e. the member access time is constant (and not
5 linear according to the number of container elements as for linked lists). However, these
6 arrays are dynamic in the sense that they will automatically allocate more
7 memory if there is not enough of it for adding a new element. They also perform
8 range checking on the index values but in debug mode only, so please be sure to
9 compile your application in debug mode to use it (see \helpref{debugging overview}{debuggingoverview} for
10 details). So, unlike the arrays in some other
11 languages, attempt to access an element beyond the arrays bound doesn't
12 automatically expand the array but provokes an assertion failure instead in
13 debug build and does nothing (except possibly crashing your program) in the
14 release build.
15
16 The array classes were designed to be reasonably efficient, both in terms of
17 run-time speed and memory consumption and the executable size. The speed of
18 array item access is, of course, constant (independent of the number of elements)
19 making them much more efficient than linked lists (\helpref{wxList}{wxlist}).
20 Adding items to the arrays is also implemented in more or less constant time -
21 but the price is preallocating the memory in advance. In the \helpref{memory management}{wxarraymemorymanagement} section
22 you may find some useful hints about optimizing wxArray memory usage. As for executable size, all
23 wxArray functions are inline, so they do not take {\it any space at all}.
24
25 wxWindows has three different kinds of array. All of them derive from
26 wxBaseArray class which works with untyped data and can not be used directly.
27 The standard macros WX\_DEFINE\_ARRAY(), WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_ARRAY() and
28 WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY() are used to define a new class deriving from it. The
29 classes declared will be called in this documentation wxArray, wxSortedArray and
30 wxObjArray but you should keep in mind that no classes with such names actually
31 exist, each time you use one of WX\_DEFINE\_XXXARRAY macro you define a class
32 with a new name. In fact, these names are "template" names and each usage of one
33 of the macros mentioned above creates a template specialization for the given
34 element type.
35
36 wxArray is suitable for storing integer types and pointers which it does not
37 treat as objects in any way, i.e. the element pointed to by the pointer is not
38 deleted when the element is removed from the array. It should be noted that
39 all of wxArray's functions are inline, so it costs strictly nothing to define as
40 many array types as you want (either in terms of the executable size or the
41 speed) as long as at least one of them is defined and this is always the case
42 because wxArrays are used by wxWindows internally. This class has one serious
43 limitation: it can only be used for storing integral types (bool, char, short,
44 int, long and their unsigned variants) or pointers (of any kind). An attempt
45 to use with objects of sizeof() greater than sizeof(long) will provoke a
46 runtime assertion failure, however declaring a wxArray of floats will not (on
47 the machines where sizeof(float) <= sizeof(long)), yet it will {\bf not} work,
48 please use wxObjArray for storing floats and doubles (NB: a more efficient
49 wxArrayDouble class is scheduled for the next release of wxWindows).
50
51 wxSortedArray is a wxArray variant which should be used when searching in the
52 array is a frequently used operation. It requires you to define an additional
53 function for comparing two elements of the array element type and always stores
54 its items in the sorted order (according to this function). Thus, it is
55 \helpref{Index()}{wxarrayindex} function execution time is $O(log(N))$ instead of
56 $O(N)$ for the usual arrays but the \helpref{Add()}{wxarrayadd} method is
57 slower: it is $O(log(N))$ instead of constant time (neglecting time spent in
58 memory allocation routine). However, in a usual situation elements are added to
59 an array much less often than searched inside it, so wxSortedArray may lead to
60 huge performance improvements compared to wxArray. Finally, it should be
61 noticed that, as wxArray, wxSortedArray can be only used for storing integral
62 types or pointers.
63
64 wxObjArray class treats its elements like "objects". It may delete them when
65 they are removed from the array (invoking the correct destructor) and copies
66 them using the objects copy constructor. In order to implement this behaviour
67 the definition of the wxObjArray arrays is split in two parts: first, you should
68 declare the new wxObjArray class using WX\_DECLARE\_OBJARRAY() macro and then
69 you must include the file defining the implementation of template type:
70 <wx/arrimpl.cpp> and define the array class with WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY() macro
71 from a point where the full (as opposed to `forward') declaration of the array
72 elements class is in scope. As it probably sounds very complicated here is an
73 example:
74
75 \begin{verbatim}
76 #include <wx/dynarray.h>
77
78 // we must forward declare the array because it is used inside the class
79 // declaration
80 class MyDirectory;
81 class MyFile;
82
83 // this defines two new types: ArrayOfDirectories and ArrayOfFiles which can be
84 // now used as shown below
85 WX_DECLARE_OBJARRAY(MyDirectory, ArrayOfDirectories);
86 WX_DECLARE_OBJARRAY(MyFile, ArrayOfFiles);
87
88 class MyDirectory
89 {
90 ...
91 ArrayOfDirectories m_subdirectories; // all subdirectories
92 ArrayOfFiles m_files; // all files in this directory
93 };
94
95 ...
96
97 // now that we have MyDirectory declaration in scope we may finish the
98 // definition of ArrayOfDirectories -- note that this expands into some C++
99 // code and so should only be compiled once (i.e., don't put this in the
100 // header, but into a source file or you will get linking errors)
101 #include <wx/arrimpl.cpp> // this is a magic incantation which must be done!
102 WX_DEFINE_OBJARRAY(ArrayOfDirectories);
103
104 // that's all!
105 \end{verbatim}
106
107 It is not as elegant as writing
108
109 \begin{verbatim}
110 typedef std::vector<MyDirectory> ArrayOfDirectories;
111 \end{verbatim}
112
113 but is not that complicated and allows the code to be compiled with any, however
114 dumb, C++ compiler in the world.
115
116 Things are much simpler for wxArray and wxSortedArray however: it is enough
117 just to write
118
119 \begin{verbatim}
120 WX_DEFINE_ARRAY(int, ArrayOfDirectories);
121 WX_DEFINE_SORTED_ARRAY(int, ArrayOfFiles);
122 \end{verbatim}
123
124 i.e. there is only one {\tt DEFINE} macro and no need for separate
125 {\tt DECLARE} one.
126
127
128 \wxheading{See also:}
129
130 \helpref{Container classes overview}{wxcontaineroverview}, \helpref{wxList}{wxlist}
131
132 \wxheading{Include files}
133
134 <wx/dynarray.h> for wxArray and wxSortedArray and additionally <wx/arrimpl.cpp>
135 for wxObjArray.
136
137 \latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Function groups}}}
138
139 \membersection{Macros for template array definition}
140
141 To use an array you must first define the array class. This is done with the
142 help of the macros in this section. The class of array elements must be (at
143 least) forward declared for WX\_DEFINE\_ARRAY, WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_ARRAY and
144 WX\_DECLARE\_OBJARRAY macros and must be fully declared before you use
145 WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY macro.
146
147 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_ARRAY}{wxdefinearray}\\
148 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{wxdefinearray}\\
149 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{wxdefinearray}\\
150 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_ARRAY}{wxdefinesortedarray}\\
151 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{wxdefinesortedarray}\\
152 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_USER\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{wxdefinesortedarray}\\
153 \helpref{WX\_DECLARE\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{wxdeclareobjarray}\\
154 \helpref{WX\_DECLARE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{wxdeclareobjarray}\\
155 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY}{wxdefineobjarray}\\
156 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{wxdefineobjarray}\\
157 \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{wxdefineobjarray}
158
159 To slightly complicate the matters even further, the operator $->$ defined by
160 default for the array iterators by these macros only makes sense if the array
161 element type is not a pointer itself and, although it still works, this
162 provokes warnings from some compilers and to avoid them you should use the
163 {\tt \_PTR} versions of the macros above. For example, to define an array of
164 pointers to {\tt double} you should use
165
166 \begin{verbatim}
167 WX_DEFINE_ARRAY_PTR(double *, MyArrayOfDoublePointers);
168 \end{verbatim}
169
170 \membersection{Constructors and destructors}
171
172 Array classes are 100\% C++ objects and as such they have the appropriate copy
173 constructors and assignment operators. Copying wxArray just copies the elements
174 but copying wxObjArray copies the arrays items. However, for memory-efficiency
175 sake, neither of these classes has virtual destructor. It is not very important
176 for wxArray which has trivial destructor anyhow, but it does mean that you
177 should avoid deleting wxObjArray through a wxBaseArray pointer (as you would
178 never use wxBaseArray anyhow it shouldn't be a problem) and that you should not
179 derive your own classes from the array classes.
180
181 \helpref{wxArray default constructor}{wxarrayctordef}\\
182 \helpref{wxArray copy constructors and assignment operators}{wxarrayctorcopy}\\
183 \helpref{\destruct{wxArray}}{wxarraydtor}
184
185 \membersection{Memory management}\label{wxarraymemorymanagement}
186
187 Automatic array memory management is quite trivial: the array starts by
188 preallocating some minimal amount of memory (defined by
189 WX\_ARRAY\_DEFAULT\_INITIAL\_SIZE) and when further new items exhaust already
190 allocated memory it reallocates it adding 50\% of the currently allocated
191 amount, but no more than some maximal number which is defined by
192 ARRAY\_MAXSIZE\_INCREMENT constant. Of course, this may lead to some memory
193 being wasted (ARRAY\_MAXSIZE\_INCREMENT in the worst case, i.e. 4Kb in the
194 current implementation), so the \helpref{Shrink()}{wxarrayshrink} function is
195 provided to deallocate the extra memory. The \helpref{Alloc()}{wxarrayalloc}
196 function can also be quite useful if you know in advance how many items you are
197 going to put in the array and will prevent the array code from reallocating the
198 memory more times than needed.
199
200 \helpref{Alloc}{wxarrayalloc}\\
201 \helpref{Shrink}{wxarrayshrink}
202
203 \membersection{Number of elements and simple item access}
204
205 Functions in this section return the total number of array elements and allow to
206 retrieve them - possibly using just the C array indexing $[]$ operator which
207 does exactly the same as \helpref{Item()}{wxarrayitem} method.
208
209 \helpref{Count}{wxarraycount}\\
210 \helpref{GetCount}{wxarraygetcount}\\
211 \helpref{IsEmpty}{wxarrayisempty}\\
212 \helpref{Item}{wxarrayitem}\\
213 \helpref{Last}{wxarraylast}
214
215 \membersection{Adding items}
216
217 \helpref{Add}{wxarrayadd}\\
218 \helpref{Insert}{wxarrayinsert}\\
219 \helpref{SetCount}{wxarraysetcount}\\
220 \helpref{WX\_APPEND\_ARRAY}{wxappendarray}
221
222 \membersection{Removing items}
223
224 \helpref{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}{wxcleararray}\\
225 \helpref{Empty}{wxarrayempty}\\
226 \helpref{Clear}{wxarrayclear}\\
227 \helpref{RemoveAt}{wxarrayremoveat}\\
228 \helpref{Remove}{wxarrayremove}
229
230 \membersection{Searching and sorting}
231
232 \helpref{Index}{wxarrayindex}\\
233 \helpref{Sort}{wxarraysort}
234
235 %%%%% MEMBERS HERE %%%%%
236 \helponly{\insertatlevel{2}{
237
238 \wxheading{Members}
239
240 }}
241
242 \membersection{WX\_DEFINE\_ARRAY}\label{wxdefinearray}
243
244 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
245
246 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
247
248 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}, \param{}{exportspec}}
249
250 This macro defines a new array class named {\it name} and containing the
251 elements of type {\it T}. The second form is used when compiling wxWindows as
252 a DLL under Windows and array needs to be visible outside the DLL. The third is
253 needed for exporting an array from a user DLL.
254
255 Example:
256
257 \begin{verbatim}
258 WX_DEFINE_ARRAY(int, wxArrayInt);
259
260 class MyClass;
261 WX_DEFINE_ARRAY(MyClass *, wxArrayOfMyClass);
262 \end{verbatim}
263
264 Note that wxWindows predefines the following standard array classes: wxArrayInt,
265 wxArrayLong and wxArrayPtrVoid.
266
267 \membersection{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_ARRAY}\label{wxdefinesortedarray}
268
269 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
270
271 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
272
273 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_SORTED\_USER\_EXPORTED\_ARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
274
275 This macro defines a new sorted array class named {\it name} and containing
276 the elements of type {\it T}. The second form is used when compiling wxWindows as
277 a DLL under Windows and array needs to be visible outside the DLL. The third is
278 needed for exporting an array from a user DLL.
279
280 Example:
281
282 \begin{verbatim}
283 WX_DEFINE_SORTED_ARRAY(int, wxSortedArrayInt);
284
285 class MyClass;
286 WX_DEFINE_SORTED_ARRAY(MyClass *, wxArrayOfMyClass);
287 \end{verbatim}
288
289 You will have to initialize the objects of this class by passing a comparison
290 function to the array object constructor like this:
291
292 \begin{verbatim}
293 int CompareInts(int n1, int n2)
294 {
295 return n1 - n2;
296 }
297
298 wxSortedArrayInt sorted(CompareInts);
299
300 int CompareMyClassObjects(MyClass *item1, MyClass *item2)
301 {
302 // sort the items by their address...
303 return Stricmp(item1->GetAddress(), item2->GetAddress());
304 }
305
306 wxArrayOfMyClass another(CompareMyClassObjects);
307 \end{verbatim}
308
309 \membersection{WX\_DECLARE\_OBJARRAY}\label{wxdeclareobjarray}
310
311 \func{}{WX\_DECLARE\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
312
313 \func{}{WX\_DECLARE\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
314
315 \func{}{WX\_DECLARE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{T}, \param{}{name}}
316
317 This macro declares a new object array class named {\it name} and containing
318 the elements of type {\it T}. The second form is used when compiling wxWindows as
319 a DLL under Windows and array needs to be visible outside the DLL. The third is
320 needed for exporting an array from a user DLL.
321
322 Example:
323
324 \begin{verbatim}
325 class MyClass;
326 WX_DECLARE_OBJARRAY(MyClass, wxArrayOfMyClass); // note: not "MyClass *"!
327 \end{verbatim}
328
329 You must use \helpref{WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY()}{wxdefineobjarray} macro to define
330 the array class - otherwise you would get link errors.
331
332 \membersection{WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY}\label{wxdefineobjarray}
333
334 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{name}}
335
336 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{name}}
337
338 \func{}{WX\_DEFINE\_USER\_EXPORTED\_OBJARRAY}{\param{}{name}}
339
340 This macro defines the methods of the array class {\it name} not defined by the
341 \helpref{WX\_DECLARE\_OBJARRAY()}{wxdeclareobjarray} macro. You must include the
342 file <wx/arrimpl.cpp> before using this macro and you must have the full
343 declaration of the class of array elements in scope! If you forget to do the
344 first, the error will be caught by the compiler, but, unfortunately, many
345 compilers will not give any warnings if you forget to do the second - but the
346 objects of the class will not be copied correctly and their real destructor will
347 not be called. The latter two forms are merely aliases of the first to satisfy
348 some people's sense of symmetry when using the exported declarations.
349
350 Example of usage:
351
352 \begin{verbatim}
353 // first declare the class!
354 class MyClass
355 {
356 public:
357 MyClass(const MyClass&);
358
359 ...
360
361 virtual ~MyClass();
362 };
363
364 #include <wx/arrimpl.cpp>
365 WX_DEFINE_OBJARRAY(wxArrayOfMyClass);
366 \end{verbatim}
367
368 \membersection{WX\_APPEND\_ARRAY}\label{wxappendarray}
369
370 \func{void}{WX\_APPEND\_ARRAY}{\param{wxArray\& }{array}, \param{wxArray\& }{other}}
371
372 This macro may be used to append all elements of the {\it other} array to the
373 {\it array}. The two arrays must be of the same type.
374
375 \membersection{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}\label{wxcleararray}
376
377 \func{void}{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}{\param{wxArray\& }{array}}
378
379 This macro may be used to delete all elements of the array before emptying it.
380 It can not be used with wxObjArrays - but they will delete their elements anyhow
381 when you call Empty().
382
383 \membersection{Default constructors}\label{wxarrayctordef}
384
385 \func{}{wxArray}{\void}
386
387 \func{}{wxObjArray}{\void}
388
389 Default constructor initializes an empty array object.
390
391 \func{}{wxSortedArray}{\param{int (*)(T first, T second)}{compareFunction}}
392
393 There is no default constructor for wxSortedArray classes - you must initialize it
394 with a function to use for item comparison. It is a function which is passed
395 two arguments of type {\it T} where {\it T} is the array element type and which
396 should return a negative, zero or positive value according to whether the first
397 element passed to it is less than, equal to or greater than the second one.
398
399 \membersection{wxArray copy constructor and assignment operator}\label{wxarrayctorcopy}
400
401 \func{}{wxArray}{\param{const wxArray\& }{array}}
402
403 \func{}{wxSortedArray}{\param{const wxSortedArray\& }{array}}
404
405 \func{}{wxObjArray}{\param{const wxObjArray\& }{array}}
406
407 \func{wxArray\&}{operator$=$}{\param{const wxArray\& }{array}}
408
409 \func{wxSortedArray\&}{operator$=$}{\param{const wxSortedArray\& }{array}}
410
411 \func{wxObjArray\&}{operator$=$}{\param{const wxObjArray\& }{array}}
412
413 The copy constructors and assignment operators perform a shallow array copy
414 (i.e. they don't copy the objects pointed to even if the source array contains
415 the items of pointer type) for wxArray and wxSortedArray and a deep copy (i.e.
416 the array element are copied too) for wxObjArray.
417
418 \membersection{wxArray::\destruct{wxArray}}\label{wxarraydtor}
419
420 \func{}{\destruct{wxArray}}{\void}
421
422 \func{}{\destruct{wxSortedArray}}{\void}
423
424 \func{}{\destruct{wxObjArray}}{\void}
425
426 The wxObjArray destructor deletes all the items owned by the array. This is not
427 done by wxArray and wxSortedArray versions - you may use
428 \helpref{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}{wxcleararray} macro for this.
429
430 \membersection{wxArray::Add}\label{wxarrayadd}
431
432 \func{void}{Add}{\param{T }{item}, \param{size\_t}{ copies = $1$}}
433
434 \func{void}{Add}{\param{T *}{item}}
435
436 \func{void}{Add}{\param{T \&}{item}, \param{size\_t}{ copies = $1$}}
437
438 Appends the given number of {\it copies} of the {\it item} to the array
439 consisting of the elements of type {\it T}.
440
441 The first version is used with wxArray and wxSortedArray. The second and the
442 third are used with wxObjArray. There is an important difference between
443 them: if you give a pointer to the array, it will take ownership of it, i.e.
444 will delete it when the item is deleted from the array. If you give a reference
445 to the array, however, the array will make a copy of the item and will not take
446 ownership of the original item. Once again, it only makes sense for wxObjArrays
447 because the other array types never take ownership of their elements. Also note
448 that you cannot append more than one pointer as reusing it would lead to
449 deleting it twice (or more) and hence to a crash.
450
451 You may also use \helpref{WX\_APPEND\_ARRAY}{wxappendarray} macro to append all
452 elements of one array to another one but it is more efficient to use
453 {\it copies} parameter and modify the elements in place later if you plan to
454 append a lot of items.
455
456 \membersection{wxArray::Alloc}\label{wxarrayalloc}
457
458 \func{void}{Alloc}{\param{size\_t }{count}}
459
460 Preallocates memory for a given number of array elements. It is worth calling
461 when the number of items which are going to be added to the array is known in
462 advance because it will save unneeded memory reallocation. If the array already
463 has enough memory for the given number of items, nothing happens.
464
465 \membersection{wxArray::Clear}\label{wxarrayclear}
466
467 \func{void}{Clear}{\void}
468
469 This function does the same as \helpref{Empty()}{wxarrayempty} and additionally
470 frees the memory allocated to the array.
471
472 \membersection{wxArray::Count}\label{wxarraycount}
473
474 \constfunc{size\_t}{Count}{\void}
475
476 Same as \helpref{GetCount()}{wxarraygetcount}. This function is deprecated -
477 it exists only for compatibility.
478
479 \membersection{wxObjArray::Detach}\label{wxobjarraydetach}
480
481 \func{T *}{Detach}{\param{size\_t }{index}}
482
483 Removes the element from the array, but, unlike,
484 \helpref{Remove()}{wxarrayremove} doesn't delete it. The function returns the
485 pointer to the removed element.
486
487 \membersection{wxArray::Empty}\label{wxarrayempty}
488
489 \func{void}{Empty}{\void}
490
491 Empties the array. For wxObjArray classes, this destroys all of the array
492 elements. For wxArray and wxSortedArray this does nothing except marking the
493 array of being empty - this function does not free the allocated memory, use
494 \helpref{Clear()}{wxarrayclear} for this.
495
496 \membersection{wxArray::GetCount}\label{wxarraygetcount}
497
498 \constfunc{size\_t}{GetCount}{\void}
499
500 Return the number of items in the array.
501
502 \membersection{wxArray::Index}\label{wxarrayindex}
503
504 \func{int}{Index}{\param{T\& }{item}, \param{bool }{searchFromEnd = false}}
505
506 \func{int}{Index}{\param{T\& }{item}}
507
508 The first version of the function is for wxArray and wxObjArray, the second is
509 for wxSortedArray only.
510
511 Searches the element in the array, starting from either beginning or the end
512 depending on the value of {\it searchFromEnd} parameter. wxNOT\_FOUND is
513 returned if the element is not found, otherwise the index of the element is
514 returned.
515
516 Linear search is used for the wxArray and wxObjArray classes but binary search
517 in the sorted array is used for wxSortedArray (this is why searchFromEnd
518 parameter doesn't make sense for it).
519
520 {\bf NB:} even for wxObjArray classes, the operator==() of the elements in the
521 array is {\bf not} used by this function. It searches exactly the given
522 element in the array and so will only succeed if this element had been
523 previously added to the array, but fail even if another, identical, element is
524 in the array.
525
526 \membersection{wxArray::Insert}\label{wxarrayinsert}
527
528 \func{void}{Insert}{\param{T }{item}, \param{size\_t }{n}, \param{size\_t }{copies = $1$}}
529
530 \func{void}{Insert}{\param{T *}{item}, \param{size\_t }{n}}
531
532 \func{void}{Insert}{\param{T \&}{item}, \param{size\_t }{n}, \param{size\_t }{copies = $1$}}
533
534 Insert the given number of {\it copies} of the {\it item} into the array before
535 the existing item {\it n} - thus, {\it Insert(something, 0u)} will insert an
536 item in such way that it will become the first array element.
537
538 Please see \helpref{Add()}{wxarrayadd} for explanation of the differences
539 between the overloaded versions of this function.
540
541 \membersection{wxArray::IsEmpty}\label{wxarrayisempty}
542
543 \constfunc{bool}{IsEmpty}{\void}
544
545 Returns true if the array is empty, false otherwise.
546
547 \membersection{wxArray::Item}\label{wxarrayitem}
548
549 \constfunc{T\&}{Item}{\param{size\_t }{index}}
550
551 Returns the item at the given position in the array. If {\it index} is out of
552 bounds, an assert failure is raised in the debug builds but nothing special is
553 done in the release build.
554
555 The returned value is of type "reference to the array element type" for all of
556 the array classes.
557
558 \membersection{wxArray::Last}\label{wxarraylast}
559
560 \constfunc{T\&}{Last}{\void}
561
562 Returns the last element in the array, i.e. is the same as Item(GetCount() - 1).
563 An assert failure is raised in the debug mode if the array is empty.
564
565 The returned value is of type "reference to the array element type" for all of
566 the array classes.
567
568 \membersection{wxArray::Remove}\label{wxarrayremove}
569
570 \func{\void}{Remove}{\param{T }{item}}
571
572 Removes an element from the array by value: the first item of the
573 array equal to {\it item} is removed, an assert failure will result from an
574 attempt to remove an item which doesn't exist in the array.
575
576 When an element is removed from wxObjArray it is deleted by the array - use
577 \helpref{Detach()}{wxobjarraydetach} if you don't want this to happen. On the
578 other hand, when an object is removed from a wxArray nothing happens - you
579 should delete it manually if required:
580
581 \begin{verbatim}
582 T *item = array[n];
583 delete item;
584 array.Remove(n)
585 \end{verbatim}
586
587 See also \helpref{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}{wxcleararray} macro which deletes all
588 elements of a wxArray (supposed to contain pointers).
589
590 \membersection{wxArray::RemoveAt}\label{wxarrayremoveat}
591
592 \func{\void}{RemoveAt}{\param{size\_t }{index}, \param{size\_t }{count = $1$}}
593
594 Removes {\it count} elements starting at {\it index} from the array. When an
595 element is removed from wxObjArray it is deleted by the array - use
596 \helpref{Detach()}{wxobjarraydetach} if you don't want this to happen. On
597 the other hand, when an object is removed from a wxArray nothing happens -
598 you should delete it manually if required:
599
600 \begin{verbatim}
601 T *item = array[n];
602 delete item;
603 array.RemoveAt(n)
604 \end{verbatim}
605
606 See also \helpref{WX\_CLEAR\_ARRAY}{wxcleararray} macro which deletes all
607 elements of a wxArray (supposed to contain pointers).
608
609 \membersection{wxArray::SetCount}\label{wxarraysetcount}
610
611 \func{void}{SetCount}{\param{size\_t }{count}, \param{T }{defval = T($0$)}}
612
613 This function ensures that the number of array elements is at least
614 {\it count}. If the array has already {\it count} or mroe items, nothing is
615 done. Otherwise, {\tt count - GetCount()} elements are added and initialized to
616 the value {\it defval}.
617
618 \wxheading{See also}
619
620 \helpref{GetCount}{wxarraygetcount}
621
622 \membersection{wxArray::Shrink}\label{wxarrayshrink}
623
624 \func{void}{Shrink}{\void}
625
626 Frees all memory unused by the array. If the program knows that no new items
627 will be added to the array it may call Shrink() to reduce its memory usage.
628 However, if a new item is added to the array, some extra memory will be
629 allocated again.
630
631 \membersection{wxArray::Sort}\label{wxarraysort}
632
633 \func{void}{Sort}{\param{CMPFUNC<T> }{compareFunction}}
634
635 The notation CMPFUNC<T> should be read as if we had the following declaration:
636
637 \begin{verbatim}
638 template int CMPFUNC(T *first, T *second);
639 \end{verbatim}
640
641 where {\it T} is the type of the array elements. I.e. it is a function returning
642 {\it int} which is passed two arguments of type {\it T *}.
643
644 Sorts the array using the specified compare function: this function should
645 return a negative, zero or positive value according to whether the first element
646 passed to it is less than, equal to or greater than the second one.
647
648 wxSortedArray doesn't have this function because it is always sorted.
649