Monovalue Types¶
A “monovalue type” is a type which can only hold a single value. This means that knowing the type is equivalent to knowing the value, and vice versa. We can convert back and forth between representing it as a type, and as a value, depending on our needs.
We named this concept because it occurs again and again in Au, and the name makes it easier to refer
to. The “monovalue” name is based on
std::monostate
, which has these
properties. However, “monostate” could have been confused with the monostate
pattern, which exposes actual, changeable,
global state to its users. “Monovalue” also emphasizes value semantics, which is a core property
of these types.
Identifying monovalue types¶
A type T
is a monovalue type when it fulfills these conditions.
T
can be instantiated.- Every instance of
T
behaves identically to every other instance, in every way, and this behavior does not depend on any program state. - Instances of
T
support some set of operations with other types.
These properties mean we can freely convert a monovalue object between its “type” and “value” representations. This is a core feature of monovalue types.
The second property also distinguishes monovalue types from the monostate pattern mentioned above.
The third property means there has to be something you can do with the instances.
Examples of monovalue types¶
Here are some canonical examples in Au.
Type | Instance | Example Operations |
---|---|---|
Zero |
ZERO |
Comparing to any Quantity |
Magnitude<> |
ONE |
|
Radians (and other units) |
Radians{} (no special pre-formed instance) |
Arithmetic with other units, such as Radians{} / Meters{} |
Switching between types and values¶
To get the value of a monovalue type T
, instantiate the type using T{}
.
To get the type of a monovalue type value t
, pass it to decltype(t)
. However, if t
is const
(including constexpr
), you’ll need to use std::decay_t<decltype(t)>
.
More details on when to use std::decay_t
It’s common to provide constexpr
instances of monovalue types, like the following.
In this case, decltype(ZERO)
would be const Zero
, not simply Zero
. If we tried comparing
this to Zero
in a type trait, it could fail.
Using std::decay_t
is a concise way to avoid this problem. However, it only arises for
const
or constexpr
instances — and only when comparing types for exact equality — so
most users won’t need to worry about this most of the time.
This diagram summarizes how to go back and forth using {}
and decltype()
.
flowchart LR
subgraph "#quot;Realm of Types#quot;"
Type
end
subgraph "#quot;Realm of Instances#quot;"
value
end
Type -->|"auto value =<br>Type{}"| value -->|"using Type =<br>decltype(value)"| Type