doc/maps.dox
author hegyi
Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:40:01 +0000
changeset 1124 12623f7ecb37
parent 1043 52a2201a88e9
child 1167 ccbca6ba8b59
permissions -rw-r--r--
Dijkstra documentation is getting ready, but one decision is missing about naming conventions about named_params
     1 namespace lemon{
     2 /*!
     3 
     4 \page maps-page Maps
     5 
     6 Maps play central role in LEMON. As their name suggests, they map a
     7 certain range of \e keys to certain \e values. Each map has two
     8 <tt>typedef</tt>'s to determine the types of keys and values, like this:
     9 
    10 \code
    11   typedef Edge Key;
    12   typedef double Value;
    13 \endcode
    14 
    15 A map can \e readable (\ref lemon::concept::ReadMap "ReadMap", for short),
    16 \e writable (\ref lemon::concept::WriteMap "WriteMap") or both
    17 (\ref lemon::concept::ReadWriteMap "ReadWriteMap").
    18 There also exists a special type of
    19 ReadWrite map called \ref lemon::concept::ReferenceMap "reference map".
    20 In addition that you can
    21 read and write the values of a key, a reference map
    22 can also give you a reference to the
    23 value belonging to a key, so you have a direct access to the memory address
    24 where it is stored.
    25 
    26 Each graph structure in LEMON provides two standard map templates called
    27 \c EdgeMap and \c NodeMap. Both are reference maps and you can easily
    28 assign data to the nodes and to the edges of the graph. For example if you
    29 have a graph \c G defined as
    30 \code
    31   ListGraph G;
    32 \endcode
    33 and you want to assign a floating point value to each edge, you can do
    34 it like this.
    35 \code
    36   ListGraph::EdgeMap<double> length(G);
    37 \endcode
    38 Note that you must give the underlying graph to the constructor.
    39 
    40 The value of a readable map can be obtained by <tt>operator[]</tt>.
    41 \code
    42   d=length[e];
    43 \endcode
    44 where \c e is an instance of \c ListGraph::Edge.
    45 (Or anything else
    46 that converts to \c ListGraph::Edge, like  \c ListGraph::EdgeIt or
    47 \c ListGraph::OutEdgeIt etc.)
    48 
    49 There are two ways the assign a new value to a key
    50 
    51 - In case of a <em>reference map</em> <tt>operator[]</tt>
    52 gives you a reference to the
    53 value, thus you can use this.
    54 \code
    55   length[e]=3.5;
    56 \endcode
    57 - <em>Writable maps</em> have
    58 a member function \c set(Key,const Value &)
    59 for this purpose.
    60 \code
    61   length.set(e,3.5);
    62 \endcode
    63 
    64 The first case is more comfortable and if you store complex structures in your
    65 map, it might be more efficient. However, there are writable but
    66 not reference maps, so if you want to write a generic algorithm, you should
    67 insist on the second way.
    68 
    69 \section how-to-write-your-own-map How to Write Your Own Maps
    70 
    71 \subsection read-maps Readable Maps
    72 
    73 Readable maps are very frequently used as the input of the
    74 algorithms.  For this purpose the most straightforward way is the use of the
    75 default maps provided by LEMON's graph structures.
    76 Very often however, it is more
    77 convenient and/or more efficient to write your own readable map.
    78 
    79 You can find some examples below. In these examples \c Graph is the
    80 type of the particular graph structure you use.
    81 
    82 
    83 This simple map assigns \f$\pi\f$ to each edge.
    84 
    85 \code
    86 struct MyMap 
    87 {
    88   typedef double Value;
    89   typedef Graph::Edge Key;
    90   double operator[](Key e) const { return M_PI;}
    91 };
    92 \endcode
    93 
    94 An alternative way to define maps is to use \c MapBase
    95 
    96 \todo For this, \c MapBase seems to be a better name then \c NullMap.
    97 
    98 \code
    99 struct MyMap : public MapBase<Graph::Edge,double>
   100 {
   101   Value operator[](Key e) const { return M_PI;}
   102 };
   103 \endcode
   104 
   105 Here is a bit more complex example.
   106 It provides a length function obtained
   107 from a base length function shifted by a potential difference.
   108 
   109 \code
   110 class ReducedLengthMap  : public MapBase<Graph::Edge,double>
   111 {
   112   const Graph &g;
   113   const Graph::EdgeMap<double> &orig_len;
   114   const Graph::NodeMap<double> &pot;
   115   
   116 public:
   117   Value operator[](Key e) const {
   118     return orig_len.get(e)-pot.get(G.target(e))-pot.get(G.source(e));
   119   }
   120   
   121   ReducedLengthMap(const Graph &_g,
   122                    const Graph::EdgeMap &o,
   123                    const Graph::NodeMap &p)
   124     : G(g), orig_len(o), pot(p) {};
   125 };
   126 \endcode
   127 
   128 Then, you can call e.g. Dijkstra algoritm on this map like this:
   129 \code
   130   ...
   131   ReducedLengthMap rm(g,len,pot);
   132   Dijkstra<Graph,ReducedLengthMap> dij(g,rm);
   133   dij.run(s);
   134   ...
   135 \endcode
   136 
   137 
   138 \subsection write-maps Writable Maps
   139 
   140 To be written...
   141 
   142 \subsection side-effect-maps Maps with Side Effect
   143 
   144 To be written...
   145 
   146 */
   147 }