[C++-sig] contained structure access

[Graeme Lufkin]

>> I tried
>>       .def("__getitem__", &MyClass::operator[])
>> but it complained about sizeof() being applied to an unspecified
>> type.
>
>Can you show the complete error message?
	Aha, I wasn't being precise enough.  My operator[] returns a reference,
so that I can do things like
m = MyClass()
m[0] = 3.14
m[2] = 2.71828
If I change my operator[] to return a value, the .def() works, and I can
access the values.  If I leave it as returning a reference, and use
return_internal_reference<>, it doesn't compile.  Here's the code:

struct Atom {
	double x, y, z;
	double& operator[](const int i) {
		switch(i) {
			case 0: return x;
			case 1: return y;
			case 2: return z;
		}
		return x;
	}
};
class_<Atom>("Atom")
.def_readwrite("x", &Atom::x)
.def_readwrite("y", &Atom::y)
.def_readwrite("z", &Atom::z)
.def("__getitem__", &Atom::operator[], return_internal_reference<>());

	Given this, I get a long error chain with tons of templated goodness,
the last few 'instantied from's of which follow:
/net/mondo-1/nbody/gwl/projects/boost_1_29_0/boost/python/class.hpp:325:   instantiated from `boost::python::class_<T, X1, X2, X3>::def_impl (const char *, Fn, const Keywords &, const Policies &, const char *, ...) [with Fn = double &(Atom::*) (int), Policies = boost::python::return_internal_reference<1, boost::python::default_call_policies>, Keywords = boost::python::detail::keywords<0>, T = Atom, X1 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X2 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X3 = boost::python::detail::not_specified]'
/net/mondo-1/nbody/gwl/projects/boost_1_29_0/boost/python/class.hpp:369:   instantiated from `boost::python::class_<T, X1, X2, X3>::dispatch_def (const void *, const char *, Fn, const A1 &) [with Fn = double &(Atom::*) (int), A1 = boost::python::return_internal_reference<1, boost::python::default_call_policies>, T = Atom, X1 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X2 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X3 = boost::python::detail::not_specified]'
/net/mondo-1/nbody/gwl/projects/boost_1_29_0/boost/python/class.hpp:227:   instantiated from `boost::python::class_<T, X1, X2, X3>::def (const char *, Arg1T, const Arg2T &) [with Arg1T = double &(Atom::*) (int), Arg2T = boost::python::return_internal_reference<1, boost::python::default_call_policies>, T = Atom, X1 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X2 = boost::python::detail::not_specified, X3 = boost::python::detail::not_specified]'
TestModule.cpp:26:   instantiated from here
/net/mondo-1/nbody/gwl/projects/boost_1_29_0/boost/python/object/make_instance.hpp:22: `sizeof' applied 
to incomplete type `boost::STATIC_ASSERTION_FAILURE<false>'

    g++  -c -Wall -ftemplate-depth-100  -DBOOST_PYTHON_DYNAMIC_LIB  -g
-O0 -fno-inline -fPIC   -I"../../../libs/python/TestModule"  -isystem
"/usr/include/python2.2" -isystem
"/net/mondo-1/nbody/gwl/projects/boost_1_29_0"  -o
"../../../libs/python/TestModule/bin/TestModule.so/gcc/debug/runtime-link-dynamic/shared-linkable-true/TestModule.o"  "TestModule.cpp"

	Hey, you asked for it!  Seriously, if you want the whole thing, I'll
email it to you directly.

	The other question: I'm still not sure I understand the business with
properties and return_internal_reference<>.  I don't get why the extra
level of member-ness (i.e. x.y.z) reveals the copy business, which
doesn't appear one level lower (i.e. x.y).  But I can make it work, so
maybe I'll just forget it.
	Regarding the *= float(), I'm using python 2.2, and will live with
doing 'v = v * 2' until I can upgrade.
	Also, I commend you (Dave) on your ridiculously fast response time. 
You're making my life easier.
-- 
	- Graeme Lufkin
	gwl at u.washington.edu
"The experiment was inconclusive, so we had to use statistics."