Transforming a Boost C++ Phoenix Expression Tree

Question

In the Boost Phoenix article, "Transforming the Expression Tree", here, a set of specialisations of a custom invert_actions class, are used to invert binary arithmetic expressions. For example a+b becomes a-b; a*b becomes a/b; and vice versa for both.

This involves a recursive traversal of the expression tree - however, this traversal stops when an expression involving an operator not explicitly handled is encountered. For example, _1+_2-_3 will become _1-_2+_3, but _1+_1&_2 will stay as it is (there is no handler for &). let(_a = 1, _b = 2) [ _a+_b ] will also be left unchanged.

I had thought this was as intended by the article, but looking at the tests listed at the end, I see that if_(_1 * _4)[_2 - _3] is expected to change; with the code supplied (here), I find that it doesn't.

How then can I define a generic Boost Phoenix expression tree transform which applies to all of a set of explicitly listed (n-ary) operators; leaving the others unchanged?

Some code may be useful. I'd like the following C++11 code (auto) to output 0, and not 2; without explicitly handling the &, or any other operator/statement.

#include <iostream>
#include <boost/phoenix.hpp>
#include <boost/proto/proto.hpp>

using namespace boost;
using namespace proto;
using namespace phoenix;
using namespace arg_names;

struct invrt {
  template <typename Rule> struct when : proto::_ {};
};

template <>
struct invrt::when<rule::plus>
  : proto::call<
    proto::functional::make_expr<proto::tag::minus>(
        evaluator(_left, _context), evaluator(_right, _context)
    )
  >
{};

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  auto f = phoenix::eval( _1+_1&_2 , make_context(make_env(), invrt()) );
  std::cout << f(1,2) << std::endl; // Alas 2 instead of 0
  return 0;
}

Answer 1

This is how you do it with straight Proto:

#include <iostream>
#include <boost/phoenix.hpp>
#include <boost/proto/proto.hpp>
namespace proto = boost::proto;
using namespace boost::phoenix;
using namespace arg_names;

struct invrt:
  proto::or_<
    proto::when<
      // Turn plus nodes into minus
      proto::plus<proto::_, proto::_>,
      proto::functional::make_expr<proto::tag::minus>(
        invrt(proto::_left), invrt(proto::_right)
      )
    >,
    proto::otherwise<
      // This recurses on children, transforming them with invrt
      proto::nary_expr<proto::_, proto::vararg<invrt> >
    >
  >
{};

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
  auto f = invrt()(_1+_1&_2);
  proto::display_expr(f);
  std::cout << f(1,2) << std::endl;
  return 0;
}

Phoenix has layered a bunch of stuff on top of Proto. I don't know the semantics of pheonix::eval or why what you tried didn't work. Perhaps someone knowledgeable of Phoenix will chime in.

==== EDIT ====

I figured out the problem with the Phoenix example. It's not recursing for the non-plus case. Your code should be as follows:

#include <iostream>
#include <boost/phoenix.hpp>
#include <boost/proto/proto.hpp>

using namespace boost;
using namespace proto;
using namespace phoenix;
using namespace arg_names;

struct invrt {
  template <typename Rule>
  struct when :
    // NOTE!!! recursively transform children and reassemble
    nary_expr<_, vararg<proto::when<_, evaluator(_, _context)> > >
  {};
};

template <>
struct invrt::when<rule::plus> :
  proto::call<
    proto::functional::make_expr<proto::tag::minus>(
      evaluator(_left, _context), evaluator(_right, _context)
    )
  >
{};

int main()
{
  auto f = phoenix::eval( _1+_1&_2 , make_context(make_env(), invrt()) );
  display_expr(f);
  std::cout << f(1,2) << std::endl; // Prints 0. Huzzah!
}

Whether you consider that simpler or more complicated than the straight Proto solution is for you to decide.