4. Defining a data type via IDL

This section describes the data types that can be defined using IDL files, as well as other mechanisms for building data types using IDL files.

4.1. Supported IDL types

4.1.1. Primitive types

The following table shows the basic IDL types supported by Fast DDS-Gen and how they are mapped to C++11.

IDL	C++11
char	char
octet	uint8_t
short	int16_t
unsigned short	uint16_t
long	int32_t
unsigned long	uint32_t
long long	int64_t
unsigned long long	uint64_t
float	float
double	double
long double	long double
boolean	bool
string	std::string

4.1.2. Arrays

Fast DDS-Gen supports unidimensional and multidimensional arrays. Arrays are always mapped to std::array containers. The following table shows the array types supported and their mapping.

IDL	C++11
char a[5]	std::array<char,5> a
octet a[5]	std::array<uint8_t,5> a
short a[5]	std::array<int16_t,5> a
unsigned short a[5]	std::array<uint16_t,5> a
long a[5]	std::array<int32_t,5> a
unsigned long a[5]	std::array<uint32_t,5> a
long long a[5]	std::array<int64_t,5> a
unsigned long long a[5]	std::array<uint64_t,5> a
float a[5]	std::array<float,5> a
double a[5]	std::array<double,5> a

4.1.3. Sequences

Fast DDS-Gen supports sequences, which map into the std::vector container. The following table represents how the map between IDL and C++11 is handled.

IDL	C++11
sequence<char>	std::vector<char>
sequence<octet>	std::vector<uint8_t>
sequence<short>	std::vector<int16_t>
sequence<unsigned short>	std::vector<uint16_t>
sequence<long>	std::vector<int32_t>
sequence<unsigned long>	std::vector<uint32_t>
sequence<long long>	std::vector<int64_t>
sequence<unsigned long long>	std::vector<uint64_t>
sequence<float>	std::vector<float>
sequence<double>	std::vector<double>

4.1.4. Maps

Fast DDS-Gen supports maps, which are equivalent to the std::map container. The equivalence between types is handled in the same way as for sequences.

IDL	C++11
map<char, unsigned long long>	std::map<char, uint64_T>

4.1.5. Structures

You can define an IDL structure with a set of members with multiple types. It will be converted into a C++ class in which the members of the structure defined via IDL are mapped to private data members of the class. Furthermore, set() and get() member functions are created to access these private data members.

The following IDL structure:

struct Structure
{
    octet octet_value;
    long long_value;
    string string_value;
};

Would be converted to:

class Structure
{
public:
    Structure();
    ~Structure();
    Structure(const Structure &x);
    Structure(Structure &&x);
    Structure& operator=(const Structure &x);
    Structure& operator=(Structure &&x);

    void octet_value(uint8_t _octet_value);
    uint8_t octet_value() const;
    uint8_t& octet_value();
    void long_value(int64_t _long_value);
    int64_t long_value() const;
    int64_t& long_value();
    void string_value(const std::string
        &_string_value);
    void string_value(std::string &&_string_value);
    const std::string& string_value() const;
    std::string& string_value();

private:
    uint8_t m_octet_value;
    int64_t m_long_value;
    std::string m_string_value;
};

Structures can inherit from other structures, extending their member set.

struct ParentStruct
{
    octet parent_member;
};

struct ChildStruct : ParentStruct
{
    long child_member;
};

In this case, the resulting C++ code will be:

class ParentStruct
{
    octet parent_member;
};

class ChildStruct : public ParentStruct
{
    long child_member;
};

4.1.6. Unions

In IDL, a union is defined as a sequence of members with their own types and a discriminant that specifies which member is in use. An IDL union type is mapped as a C++ class with member functions to access the union members and the discriminant.

The following IDL union:

union Union switch(long)
{
   case 1:
    octet octet_value;
  case 2:
    long long_value;
  case 3:
    string string_value;
};

Would be converted to:

class Union
{
public:
    Union();
    ~Union();
    Union(const Union &x);
    Union(Union &&x);
    Union& operator=(const Union &x);
    Union& operator=(Union &&x);

    void d(int32_t __d);
    int32_t _d() const;
    int32_t& _d();

    void octet_value(uint8_t _octet_value);
    uint8_t octet_value() const;
    uint8_t& octet_value();
    void long_value(int64_t _long_value);
    int64_t long_value() const;
    int64_t& long_value();
    void string_value(const std::string
        &_string_value);
    void string_value(std:: string &&_string_value);
    const std::string& string_value() const;
    std::string& string_value();

private:
    int32_t m__d;
    uint8_t m_octet_value;
    int64_t m_long_value;
    std::string m_string_value;
};

4.1.7. Bitsets

Bitsets are a special kind of structure, which encloses a set of bits. A bitset can represent up to 64 bits. Each member is defined as bitfield and eases the access to a part of the bitset.

For example:

bitset MyBitset
{
    bitfield<3> a;
    bitfield<10> b;
    bitfield<12, int> c;
};

The type MyBitset will store a total of 25 bits (3 + 10 + 12) and will require 32 bits in memory (lowest primitive type to store the bitset’s size).

• The bitfield ‘a’ allows us to access to the first 3 bits (0..2).

• The bitfield ‘b’ allows us to access to the next 10 bits (3..12).

• The bitfield ‘c’ allows us to access to the next 12 bits (13..24).

The resulting C++ code will be similar to:

class MyBitset
{
public:
    void a(char _a);
    char a() const;

    void b(uint16_t _b);
    uint16_t b() const;

    void c(int32_t _c);
    int32_t c() const;

private:
    std::bitset<25> m_bitset;
};

Internally, it is stored as a std::bitset. For each bitfield, get() and set() member functions are generated with the smaller possible primitive unsigned type to access it. In the case of bitfield ‘c’, the user has established that this accessing type will be int, so the generated code uses int32_t instead of automatically use uint16_t.

Bitsets can inherit from other bitsets, extending their member set.

bitset ParentBitset
{
    bitfield<3> parent_member;
};

bitset ChildBitset : ParentBitset
{
    bitfield<10> child_member;
};

In this case, the resulting C++ code will be:

class ParentBitset
{
    std::bitset<3> parent_member;
};

class ChildBitset : public ParentBitset
{
    std::bitset<10> child_member;
};

Note that in this case, ChildBitset will have two std::bitset data members, one belonging to ParentBitset and the other belonging to ChildBitset.

4.1.8. Enumerations

An enumeration in IDL format is a collection of identifiers that have an associated numeric value. An IDL enumeration type is mapped directly to the corresponding C++11 enumeration definition.

The following IDL enumeration:

enum Enumeration
{
    RED,
    GREEN,
    BLUE
};

Would be converted to:

enum Enumeration : uint32_t
{
    RED,
    GREEN,
    BLUE
};

4.1.9. Bitmasks

Bitmasks are a special kind of Enumeration to manage masks of bits. It allows defining bit masks based on their position.

The following IDL bitmask:

@bit_bound(8)
bitmask MyBitMask
{
    @position(0) flag0,
    @position(1) flag1,
    @position(4) flag4,
    @position(6) flag6,
    flag7
};

Would be converted to:

enum MyBitMask : uint8_t
{
    flag0 = 0x01 << 0,
    flag1 = 0x01 << 1,
    flag4 = 0x01 << 4,
    flag6 = 0x01 << 6,
    flag7 = 0x01 << 7
};

The annotation bit_bound defines the width of the associated enumeration. It must be a positive number between 1 and 64. If omitted, it will be 32 bits. For each flag, the user can use the annotation position to define the position of the flag. If omitted, it will be auto incremented from the last defined flag, starting at 0.

4.1.10. Data types with a key

In order to use keyed topics, the user should define some key members inside the structure. This is achieved by writing the @Key annotation before the members of the structure that are used as keys. For example in the following IDL file the id and type field would be the keys:

struct MyType
{
    @Key long id;
    @Key string type;
    long positionX;
    long positionY;
};

Fast DDS-Gen automatically detects these tags and correctly generates the serialization methods for the key generation function in TopicDataType (getKey()). This function will obtain the 128-bit MD5 digest of the big-endian serialization of the Key Members.

4.2. Including other IDL files

Other IDL files can be included in addition to the current IDL file. Fast DDS-Gen uses a C/C++ preprocessor for this purpose, and #include directive can be used to include an IDL file.

#include "OtherFile.idl"
#include <AnotherFile.idl>

If Fast DDS-Gen does not find a C/C++ preprocessor in default system paths, the preprocessor path can be specified using parameter -ppPath. The parameter -ppDisable can be used to disable the usage of the C/C++ preprocessor.

4.3. Annotations

The application allows the user to define and use their own annotations as defined in the OMG IDL 4.2 specification. User annotations will be passed to TypeObject generated code if the -typeobject argument was used.

@annotation MyAnnotation
{
    long value;
    string name;
};

Additionally, the following standard annotations are builtin (recognized and passed to TypeObject when unimplemented).

Annotation	Implemented behavior
@id	Unimplemented.
@autoid	Unimplemented.
@optional	Unimplemented.
@extensibility	Unimplemented.
@final	Unimplemented.
@appendable	Unimplemented.
@mutable	Unimplemented.
@position	Used by bitmasks.
@value	Allows to set a constant value to any element.
@key	Alias for eProsima’s @Key annotation.
@must_understand	Unimplemented.
@default_literal	Allows selecting one member as the default within a collection.
@default	Allows specifying the default value of the annotated element.
@range	Unimplemented.
@min	Unimplemented.
@max	Unimplemented.
@unit	Unimplemented.
@bit_bound	Allows setting a size to a bitmasks.
@external	Unimplemented.
@nested	Unimplemented.
@verbatim	Unimplemented.
@service	Unimplemented.
@oneway	Unimplemented.
@ami	Unimplemented.
@non_serialized	The annotated member will be omitted from serialization.

Most unimplemented annotations are related to Extended Types.

4.4. Forward declaration

Fast DDS-Gen supports forward declarations. This allows declaring inter-dependant structures, unions, etc.

struct ForwardStruct;

union ForwardUnion;

struct ForwardStruct
{
    ForwardUnion fw_union;
};

union ForwardUnion switch (long)
{
    case 0:
        ForwardStruct fw_struct;
    default:
        string empty;
};

4.5. IDL 4.2 aliases

IDL 4.2 allows using the following names for primitive types:

int8

uint8

int16

uint16

int32

uint32

int64

uint64

4.6. IDL 4.2 comments

There are two ways to write IDL comments:

• The characters /* start a comment, which terminates with the characters */.

• The characters // start a comment, which terminates at the end of the line on which they occur.

Please refer to the IDL 4.2 specification (Section 7.2 Lexical Conventions) for more information on IDL conventions.

/* MyStruct definition */
struct MyStruc
{
    string mymessage;   // mymessage data member.
};