Property does not show value - f#

I define a property in a class like:
type Customer() =
let mutable _lastName = String.Empty
member val LastName = _lastName with get
And in the method QueryData I assign a value to _lastName:
member self.QueryData () =
// CODE
let addressData = bp.GetStructure("PE_PERSONALDATA")
_lastName <- addressData.GetString("LASTNAME")
null
| RfcCommunication ex ->
let basedComm = ex :> Exception
basedComm
| RfcLogon ex ->
let basedLogon = ex :> Exception
basedLogon
| RfcAbapRuntime ex ->
let basedAbap = ex :> Exception
basedAbap
In the main function I created an instance of Customer() and read the LastName property:
[<EntryPoint>]
let main argv =
let customer = CustomerBapi.Customer()
let ex = customer.QueryData()
if ex <> null then printfn "%s" ex.Message
printfn "%s" customer.LastName
The result is empty string. I tried to debug the program and see that _lastName is not empty
Why is the LastName property is empty?

Your property should look like this:
member this.LastName with get () = _lastName
The type of property you are using is passing _lastName as the value to initialise it with.
Explanation from MSDN:
Private values that hold the data for properties are called backing
stores. To have the compiler create the backing store automatically,
use the keywords member val, omit the self-identifier, then provide an
expression to initialize the property. If the property is to be
mutable, include with get, set. For example, the following class type
includes two automatically implemented properties. Property1 is
read-only and is initialized to the argument provided to the primary
constructor, and Property2 is a settable property initialized to an
empty string:
type MyClass(property1 : int) =
member val Property1 = property1
member val Property2 = "" with get, set

Related

Extend F# Arrays with lookup for bigint

I would like to extend F# Arrays such that I can use arrays without converting to the finite int. Instead I want to work with bigint directly.
I was able to add a second length method to the array type as follows:
type 'T ``[]`` with
member this.LengthI: bigint =
bigint this.Length
member this.Item(index: bigint): 'T =
this.[int index]
However the Item method cannot be called with the .[ ] syntax.
Any ideas how this could be achieved? I this possible at all?
I strongly suspect this isn't possible for native arrays. You can verify yourself that you can overload indexed access just fine for other collections.
If you compile the following code:
let myArray = [| "a" |]
let myList = [ "a" ]
let arrayElement = myArray.[11111]
let listElement = myList.[22222]
and inspect the resulting IL, you'll see that while accessing the list element compiles to a regular virtual call, there is a special CIL instruction for accessing a native array element, ldelem.
//000004: let arrayElement = myArray.[11111]
IL_002c: call string[] Fuduoqv1565::get_myArray()
IL_0031: ldc.i4 0x2b67
IL_0036: ldelem [mscorlib]System.String
IL_003b: stsfld string '<StartupCode$51dff40d-e00b-40e4-b9cc-15309089d437>'.$Fuduoqv1565::arrayElement#4
.line 5,5 : 1,33 ''
//000005: let listElement = myList.[22222]
IL_0040: call class [FSharp.Core]Microsoft.FSharp.Collections.FSharpList`1<string> Fuduoqv1565::get_myList()
IL_0045: ldc.i4 0x56ce
IL_004a: callvirt instance !0 class [FSharp.Core]Microsoft.FSharp.Collections.FSharpList`1<string>::get_Item(int32)
IL_004f: stsfld string '<StartupCode$51dff40d-e00b-40e4-b9cc-15309089d437>'.$Fuduoqv1565::listElement#5
IL_0054: ret
I would guess that the same compiler logic that special-case array access to that single instruction also bypass any overload resolution involving extension methods and the like.
One way to circumvent this is to wrap the array in a custom type, where overloaded indexers will work as you expect. Making the wrapper type a struct should reduce the performance loss in most cases:
type [<Struct>] BigArray<'T>(array : 'T[]) =
member this.LengthI: bigint =
bigint array.Length
member this.Item
with get(index : int) = array.[index]
and set (index : int) value = array.[index] <- value
member this.Item
with get(index : bigint) = array.[int index]
and set (index : bigint) value = array.[int index] <- value
let bigArray = BigArray myArray
let bigArrayElement = bigArray.[0]
let bigArrayElement2 = bigArray.[bigint 0]
Another one is to upcast the array to the base System.Array class, on which you can then define the same overloaded operator. This removes the need to create a wrapper type and duplicate all members of 'T[], as you can just upcast/downcast the same array object as necessary. However, since the base class is untyped, you will lose type safety and have to box/unbox the elements when using the indexed access, which is quite ugly:
type System.Array with
member this.Item
with get (index : int) = (this :?> 'T[]).[index]
and set (index : int) (value : 'T) = (this :?> 'T[]).[index] <- value
member this.Item
with get(index : bigint) : 'T = (this :?> 'T[]).[int index]
and set(index : bigint) (value : 'T) = (this :?> 'T[]).[int index] <- value
let untypedArray = myArray :> System.Array
let untypedArrayElement = box untypedArray.[0] :?> string
let untypedArrayElement2 = box untypedArray.[bigint 0] :?> string

How do I pass an object's property by reference into a function and mutate it?

How do I pass an object's property by reference into a function and mutate it?
Here's an example of what I would like to do:
let mutable myProperty = (uint8) 0
...
member x.MyProperty with get() = myProperty
and set(v) = myProperty <- v
I then want to update that property through a function call by reference:
let update(property:uint8 byref) =
property <- (uint8) 99
update(&x.MyProperty) // Doesn't compile
Error FS3236 Cannot take the address of the value returned from the
expression. Assign the returned value to a let-bound value before
taking the address.
I'm sure this error is obvious. Unfortunately, I'm still not sure how to resolve it. I did attempt to reference some documentation. However, I'm still stuck.
Any suggestions?
Probably only public fields would work:
type MyClass() =
[<DefaultValue>] val mutable Prop : (uint8)
let myInstance = MyClass()
update &myInstance.Prop
Make the getter and setter byref
type X() =
let mutable p = 0
member x.P with get() = &p and set(v: int byref) = p <- v
let update (p: int byref) = p <- 99
let x = X()
update &x.P

JSON serialization for option types

I'm running across an issue when I define a field of option type while serializing for JSON.
Before works (without option)
[<DataContract>]
type Article = {
[<field: DataMemberAttribute(Name="version") >]
version: string
}
After throws error (with option)
[<DataContract>]
type Article = {
[<field: DataMemberAttribute(Name="version") >]
version: string option
}
method threw exception:
System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException: Expecting state 'Element'.. Encountered 'Text' with name '', namespace ''.
Related Code
let response = request.GetResponse() :?> HttpWebResponse
use reader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream())
use memoryStream = new MemoryStream(ASCIIEncoding.Default.GetBytes(reader.ReadToEnd()))
let result = (new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof<Article>)).ReadObject(memoryStream) :?> Article
Here is a definition with a nullable int. String can already be null to which the zillions of Null reference exceptions attest...
open System
[<DataContract>]
type Person2 = {
[<DataMember(Name="Name") >]
entityName: Nullable<int>
[<DataMember(Name="Type") >]
entityType: String
}
However if you plan to fill this with a bunch of nulls maybe you should consider a class. This is really horrible but here's how it looks:
let p1 = { entityName = Nullable(10); entityType = "John"}
let p2 = { entityName = System.Nullable(); entityType = null}
val p1 : Person2 = {entityName = 10;
entityType = "John";}
val p2 : Person2 = {entityName = null;
entityType = null;}

F# alternate constructor assigning values to (mutable) let bindings

Suppose I have this class:
type Pet (name:string) as this =
let mutable age = 5
let mutable animal = "dog"
I want to be able to create a new Pet based on some serialized data, which I represent with this record:
type PetData = {
name : string
age : int
animal : string
}
(TLDR: I can't figure out the syntax to make a constructor that'll take a PetData to populate the let bindings. My various attempts follow.)
So I make a new Pet constructor that'll assign values to the let bindings. I try using the class initializer syntax:
new (data:PetData) =
Pet(name,
age = data.age,
animal = data.animal
)
Hmm, nope: No accessible member or object constructor named 'Pet' takes 1 arguments. The named argument 'age' doesn't correspond to any argument or settable return property for any overload.
I check to make sure I've got all the syntax: no missing commas, correct "assignment" (cough) operator, correct indentation.
Okay the, I'll try the record initializer syntax.
new (data:PetData) =
{
name = data.name;
age = data.age;
animal = data.name
}
Error: The type 'Pet' does not contain a field 'name'
Okay, so I need to call the main constructor. I guess there are probably two places I can put it, so let's try both:
new (data:PetData) =
{
Pet(data.name);
age = data.age;
animal = data.name
}
Nope: Invalid object, sequence or record expression
new (data:PetData) =
Pet(data.name)
{
age = data.age;
animal = data.name
}
And nope: This is not a valid object construction expression. Explicit object constructors must either call an alternate constructor or initialize all fields of the object and specify a call to a super class constructor.
I didn't want to have to do this, but maybe since the fields are mutable anyway, I can just assign values to the object after initializing it:
new (data:PetData) =
let p = Pet(data.name)
p.age <- data.age
p.animal <- data.animal
p
Type constraint mismatch. The type Pet is not compatible with type PetData The type 'Pet' is not compatible with the type 'PetData'
Lol, what??
Okay, let's try this:
let assign(data:PetData) =
this.age <- data.age
this.animal <- data.animal
new (data:PetData) =
let p = Pet(data.name)
p.assign(data)
p
The field, constructor or member 'assign' is not defined
Right, so it can't access let bindings from outside.
Let's try a member then:
new (data:PetData) =
let p = Pet(data.name)
p.Assign(data)
p
member x.Assign(data:PetData) =
this.age <- data.age
this.animal <- data.animal
This is not a valid object construction expression. Explicit object constructors must either call an alternate constructor or initialize all fields of the object and specify a call to a super class constructor.
Okay... let's try this whole thing differently then, using explicit fields:
type Pet =
[<DefaultValue>]val mutable private age : int
[<DefaultValue>]val mutable private animal : string
val private name : string
new(name:string) =
{ name = name }
new(data:PetData) =
{
name = data.name;
age = data.age;
animal = data.animal
}
Extraneous fields have been given values
And that's when I punch my elderly cat in the face.
Any other ideas? These error messages are throwing me off. I can't even find half of them on Google.
You could do this.
type Pet =
val mutable private age : int
val mutable private animal : string
val private name : string
new (name:string) =
{
name = name;
age = 5; // or age = Unchecked.defaultof<_>;
animal = "dog"; // or animal = Unchecked.defaultof<_>;
}
new (data:PetData) =
{
name = data.name;
age = data.age;
animal = data.animal;
}
F# has its own style which looks like this.
type Pet(name:string, age:int, animal:string) =
let mutable age = age
let mutable animal = animal
new (name:string) =
Pet(name, 5, "dog")
new (data:PetData) =
Pet(data.name, data.age, data.animal)
Edit
Added an event used in do per comment request.
type Pet(name:string, age:int, animal:string, start:IEvent<string>) =
let mutable age = age
let mutable animal = animal
// all three constructors will call this code.
do start.Add (fun _ -> printf "Pet was started")
new (name:string, start:IEvent<_>) =
// an example of different logic per constructor
// this is called before the `do` code.
let e = start |> Event.map (fun x -> x + " from 'name constructor'")
Pet(name, 5, "dog", e)
new (data:PetData, start:IEvent<_>) =
Pet(data.name, data.age, data.animal, start)
Let bindings in a type are private and there's not much you could do about that. As such you cannot use Named Arguments. By creating properties you can do it like so, but not from inside the Pet type:
type Pet (name:string) =
let mutable age = 5
let mutable animal = "dog"
member x.Age with get () = age and set v = age <- v
member x.Animal with get () = animal and set v = animal <- v
type PetData = {
name : string
age : int
animal : string
}
with
member x.ToPet =
new Pet (x.name, Age = x.age, Animal = x.animal)
The other option would be to create a more general constructor like Gradbot suggested, either accepting a PetData object directly or all three parameters.

Overloading constructor without initialization

I'm writing a generic class that has two constructors: the first one initializes every field, the second (parameter-less) should not initialize anything.
The only way I found to achieve this is calling the main constructor with "empty" arguments, i.e. Guid.Empty and null. Besides not looking good functional style to my untrained eyes, this means that I have to put a a' : null constraint on the second parameter, which I don't want:
type Container<'a when 'a : null>(id : Guid, content : 'a) =
let mutable _id = id
let mutable _content = content
new() = Container<'a>(Guid.Empty, null)
member this.Id
with get() = _id
and set(value) = _id <- value
member this.Content
with get() = _content
and set(value) = _content <- value
I see two ways to solve this:
use something like the default c# keyword instead of null (does such a thing exist in F#?)
use a different syntax to specify constructors and private fields (how?)
What is the best way to implement this class?
The F# analog to default is Unchecked.default<_>. It is also possible to use explicit fields which you don't initialize:
type Container<'a>() =
[<DefaultValue>]
val mutable _id : Guid
[<DefaultValue>]
val mutable _content : 'a
new (id, content) as this =
new Container<'a>() then
this._id <- id
this._content <- content
However, in general, your overall approach is somewhat unidiomatic for F#. Typically you'd use a simple record type (perhaps with a static method to create uninitialized containers, although this seems to have questionable benefit):
type 'a Container = { mutable id : Guid; mutable content : 'a } with
static member CreateEmpty() = { id = Guid.Empty; content = Unchecked.defaultof<_> }
In many situations, you could even use an immutable record type, and then use record update statements to generate new records with updated values:
type 'a Container = { id : Guid; content : 'a }
[<GeneralizableValue>]
let emptyContainer<'a> : 'a Container =
{ id = Guid.Empty;
content = Unchecked.defaultof<_> }
let someOtherContainer = { emptyContainer with content = 12 }
If the type will be used from languages other than F#, the following provides a natural interface in F#, and C#, for example.
type Container<'a>(?id : Guid, ?content : 'a) =
let orDefault value = defaultArg value Unchecked.defaultof<_>
let mutable _id = id |> orDefault
let mutable _content = content |> orDefault
new() = Container(?id = None, ?content = None)
new(id : Guid, content : 'a) = Container<_>(?id = Some id, ?content = Some content)
member this.Id
with get() = _id
and set(value) = _id <- value
member this.Content
with get() = _content
and set(value) = _content <- value
If it will only be used from F#, you can omit the following constructor overloads
new(id : Guid, content : 'a) = Container<_>(?id = Some id, ?content = Some content)
new() = Container()
because the overload accepting optional args handles both these cases equally well in F#.

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