Is it possible to write a function that changes based on the template type?

Question

I'm trying to create a class that can generate a random variable. I want to be able to generate any random type based on the templated value at runtime. I figured I can do this by making this function works for ints, strings, and double data types by coding each one specifically.

template <typename T>
class Generator{
    private:
        int upper_bound;
        int lower_bound;
        int size;
        vector<T> data;
        vector<int> keys;
    public:  
        Generator(int size, int lower_bound, int upper_bound){
            this->size = size;
            this->upper_bound = upper_bound;
            this->lower_bound = lower_bound;
        }
    
        void generate_keys(){
            //key generater
            int rand_num;
            int row = 0;
            
            //uses srand and rand to get generator random keys and random data
            srand(time(0));           
            cout << "Generating the keys now..." << endl;
            cout << "upper bound - " << get_upper_bound() << endl;
            for(int i=0;i < size;i++){
                //rand_num = dist(rng);
                rand_num = (rand()%upper_bound)+lower_bound;
                cout << rand_num << " ";               
                keys.push_back(rand_num);  
                
                row++;
                if(row == 3){
                    cout << endl;
                    row = 0;
                }
            }
            cout << endl;    
        }
    
        //templated so this function can work with strings, doubles, and ints
        void generate_data(){
            
        }

You must write template specializations for each type. The compiler can't generate those code for you — aleck099, Mar 16 '22 at 03:33
"*based on the templated value at runtime*" - runtime values can't be passed to template arguments. Please provide an example of what you are trying to accomplish. — Remy Lebeau, Mar 16 '22 at 04:10
template T generate() {...} template<> int generate() {} template<> string generate() {} template<> type1 generate() {} template<> type2 generate() {} ... — aleck099, Mar 16 '22 at 04:39
It's extremely unclear what you mean. Can you provide some example code? — Passer By, Mar 16 '22 at 06:00
How exactly is this related to Intel's oneAPI, or specific to C++ 11? — molbdnilo, Mar 16 '22 at 08:40
I have been working on oneAPI while I work on it. As for the rest, I'll drop some of my code down below. — bob games, Mar 16 '22 at 23:31
https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/template_specialization — pm100, Mar 16 '22 at 23:49

score -2 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 22 '22 at 13:57

-2

You can use template specialization for generating random numbers in different data types.

use this code logic for floating-point random number generation

printf( "%f\t", (float)rand() / (float)(RAND_MAX / (max * 2)) - max);

answered Mar 22 '22 at 13:57

MadhuK_Intel

1

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52869166/why-is-the-use-of-rand-considered-bad – bolov Mar 22 '22 at 14:00
What has your printf to do with the question? How is your link to template specialization related to "templated value at runtime" from OP? No idea what your answer will help... – Klaus Mar 22 '22 at 14:04

Is it possible to write a function that changes based on the template type?

1 Answers1