Space-efficient pointer storage that embeds flags in unused low-order bits. More...

#include <PointerWithFlags.h>

Public Member Functions
	ezPointerWithFlags ()=default
	Initializes the pointer and flags with zero.

	ezPointerWithFlags (PtrType *pPtr, ezUInt8 uiFlags=0)
	Initializes the pointer and flags.

void	SetPtrAndFlags (PtrType *pPtr, ezUInt8 uiFlags)
	Changes the pointer and flags.

const PtrType *	GetPtr () const
	Returns the masked off pointer value.

PtrType *	GetPtr ()
	Returns the masked off pointer value.

void	SetPtr (PtrType *pPtr)
	Changes the pointer value only. Flags stay unchanged.

ezUInt8	GetFlags () const
	Returns the flags value only.

void	SetFlags (ezUInt8 uiFlags)
	Changes only the flags value. The given value must fit into the reserved bits.

	operator PtrType * ()
	Returns the masked off pointer value.

	operator const PtrType * () const
	Returns the masked off pointer value.

void	operator= (PtrType *pPtr)
	Changes the pointer value only. Flags stay unchanged.

template<typename = typename std::enable_if<std::is_const<PtrType>::value == false>>
bool	operator== (const PtrType *pPtr) const
	Compares the pointer part for equality (flags are ignored)

bool	operator== (const ezPointerWithFlags< PtrType, NumFlagBits > &rhs) const

	EZ_ADD_DEFAULT_OPERATOR_NOTEQUAL (const ezPointerWithFlags< PtrType, NumFlagBits > &)

bool	operator== (PtrType *pPtr) const
	Compares the pointer part for equality (flags are ignored)

	EZ_ADD_DEFAULT_OPERATOR_NOTEQUAL (PtrType *)

bool	operator== (std::nullptr_t) const
	Compares the pointer part for equality (flags are ignored)

	EZ_ADD_DEFAULT_OPERATOR_NOTEQUAL (std::nullptr_t)

	operator bool () const
	Checks whether the pointer part is not nullptr (flags are ignored)

const PtrType *	operator-> () const
	Dereferences the pointer.

PtrType *	operator-> ()
	Dereferences the pointer.

const PtrType &	operator* () const
	Dereferences the pointer.

PtrType &	operator* ()
	Dereferences the pointer.

Detailed Description

template<typename PtrType, ezUInt8 NumFlagBits = 2>
class ezPointerWithFlags< PtrType, NumFlagBits >

Space-efficient pointer storage that embeds flags in unused low-order bits.

Exploits the fact that aligned pointers have zero bits in their lower positions to store additional flag data without increasing memory usage. The number of available bits depends on alignment: 8-byte aligned pointers provide 3 bits, 4-byte aligned provide 2 bits, etc.

When accessing the pointer, the flag bits are automatically masked off to yield the original pointer value. Flag operations are independent of pointer operations, allowing separate manipulation of the embedded data.

Common use cases include storing object state flags alongside pointers in data structures, reducing memory overhead in pointer-heavy applications like trees or linked lists.

The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

/home/runner/work/ezEngine/ezEngine/Code/Engine/Foundation/Types/PointerWithFlags.h

Public Member Functions

Detailed Description