How to create a class with a customizable codeblock? - c#

I am currently trying to make a console for my game, and decided making a class called Command which can then be used to create commands easily was a good idea. I made the class but of course these classes are going to do vastly different thing, as such I was thinking of making a property which would basically act like a function, aka I could construct a command with properties commandName, arguments and then the customizable code block which would then be executed upon writing the command. How would I go about this?
public class Command : MonoBehaviour
{
string inputCommand;
int arguments;
void execution()
{
//this is where to codeblock to be executed upon typing the command would go
}
}
Edit:
I made what seems to be progress but still can't seem to get it right. Also each action needs to be able to have different amounts of arguments (for example "runes.add" needs an integer for runes to add and "updatestore" needs none). Any help would be greatly appreciated
public class Command : MonoBehaviour
{
public string InputCommand { get; set; }
public int Arguments { get; set; }
public Action ExecuteAction { get; set; }
}
public class Commands
{
public List<Command> commandCollection = new List<Command>()
{
new Command()
{
InputCommand = "",
Arguments = 1,
ExecuteAction = new Action(()=>{code to execute goes here})
}
};
}

First of all, you shouldn't derive Command from MonoBehaviour if you want to construct Command with object constructor (not Instantiate).
I think you should make abstract Command class and create commands as classes derived from Command class.
Also what you call "code block" can be done using polymorphism.
So, what you need to do:
Create Command class
public abstract class Command
{
public abstract void Execute(string[] args);
}
Execute method is abstract so we can override realisation of this method in subclasses. This methods takes an array of command arguments as the parameter.
Create some test commands
public class TestCommand : Command
{
public override void Execute(string[] args)
{
Debug.Log("Test command invoked, passed parameters count: " + args.Length);
}
}
Create CommandRegistry class (it's your Commands class)
public class CommandRegistry
{
private Dictionary<string, Command> _commands;
public CommandRegistry()
{
_commands = new Dictionary<string, Command>();
}
public void RegisterCommand(string name, Command command)
{
// You should also check here if command already exists
if(_commands.ContainsKey(name))
{
// Print error here or throw an exception
return;
}
_commands[name] = command;
}
public void RegisterAllCommands()
{
// Add here every new command to register it
RegisterCommand("test", new TestCommand());
}
// Returns false if command not found
public bool ExecuteCommand(string commandName, string[] args)
{
if(_commands.ContainsKey(commandName) == false)
return false;
_commands[commandName].Execute(args);
return true;
}
}
That's it. You need to call ExecuteCommand method to execute a command and pass a name and arguments of the command.
You should check argument count inside a Command.Execute method.
Also if you need to access your game methods/fields (for example to add runes) you should provide static access to this fields/methods or create something like CommandContext class (or GameContext).
An instance of this class will be passed to every command and it contains references to objects that can do things like adding runes.
Then you will need to add a new parameter (CommandContext) to GameRegistry.ExecuteCommand and Command.Execute method.

Related

How to reference a monobehavior class in abstract class

I recently decided to make a command console for my game, and then proceeded to make some groundwork. My issue is I cannot use it to change any relevant variables, as I have gotten stuck trying to get references to the classes where said variables are stored.
I have an abstract class for my command:
public abstract class Command
{
public abstract void Execute(string[] args);
}
Then I have a class deriving from above class for my command
public class RunesAdd : Command
{
public override void Execute(string[] args)
{
int number;
if(args.Length == 1 && int.TryParse(args[0], out number))
{
Debug.Log(number);
RunCtr.runes += number;
}
else
{
ConCtr.addLogEntry("Incorrect syntax, correct syntax is: runes.add <runes>");
}
}
}
and finally my registry of commands
public class CommandRegistry
{
private Dictionary<string, Command> _commands;
public CommandRegistry()
{
_commands = new Dictionary<string, Command>();
}
public void RegisterCommand(string name, Command command)
{
if (_commands.ContainsKey(name))
{
Debug.Log("Created command already exists");
}
_commands[name] = command;
}
public void RegisterAllCommands()
{
RegisterCommand("testcommand", new TestCommand());
RegisterCommand("runes.add", new RunesAdd());
}
public bool ExecuteCommand(string commandName, string[] args)
{
if (_commands.ContainsKey(commandName) == false)
return false;
_commands[commandName].Execute(args);
return true;
}
}
My problem is that I am unable to get a reference to my class with the variable for runes. I first tried to get a reference to the class in the Command class, so that those variables would be available in all children, but in order to do that I must make a method to actually assign those references, which would look like this:
public void GetReferences()
{
controllerObject = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("Controller Object");
RunCtr = controllerObject.GetComponent<Runes_Controller>();
ConCtr = controllerObject.GetComponent<Console_Controller>();
}
The issue here is that since I cannot get a reference the Command class (due to it being abstract) in any of my monobehavior scripts which have the void Start() method, I cannot actually execute this method to assign the references. I then tried to make another class called GetReferences, which looks like this:
public class GetReferences
{
public GameObject controllerObject;
public Runes_Controller RunCtr;
public Console_Controller ConCtr;
public void GetReferencesMethod()
{
controllerObject = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("Controller Object");
RunCtr = controllerObject.GetComponent<Runes_Controller>();
ConCtr = controllerObject.GetComponent<Console_Controller>();
}
}
Then I made the Command class derive from my GetReferences class, called the GetReferencesMethod() from a monobehavior script on start. Doing this I no longer get an error for not having assigned my classes to references, but whenever I try to edit the values it just does nothing. I have been searching the web for 2 hours now, but no dice. If I explained myself poorly please let me know. Any help is much appreciated, and thanks in advance!
Ok from what I understand is that you are trying to get your Command class using the GetComponent<> method. I might be wrong on this, so correct me if I am wrong.
If it is, then the issue is GetComponent<> only works with MonoBehaviour derived classes. Meaning you have to implement your class as a MonoBehaviour, which should be as simple as this:
public abstract class Command : MonoBehaviour {...}
EDIT
After reading your comments I believe you can use of the a Singleton pattern.
If you place your RuneController & CommandController on the same object and add another class called GameManager or InGameManager.
Then you can use a singleton pattern to access it.
public class GameManager
{
public GameManager Instance { get; private set; }
public RuneController RuneController { get; private set; }
public CommandController CommandController { get; private set; }
void Awake ()
{
// If there is an instance, and it's not me, delete myself.
if (Instance != null && Instance != this)
{
Destroy(this);
}
else
{
Instance = this;
}
}
void Start()
{
this.RuneController = GetComponent<RuneController>();
this.CommandController = GetComponent<CommandController>()
}
}
So the usage will look as follow:
GameManager.Instance.RuneController.Execute(command);

Extract inherited class argument from constructor

first of all sorry if I'll be using a messy terminology, I'm still learning a lot about the Command pattern and C#.
I'm trying to implement the command pattern in Unity3D using C#, specifically this implementation readapted to my case.
Given the Command.cs and the GameController.cs scripts, I've created a DoThing class, inheriting from the Command class, implemented with the following code:
public class DoThing : Command
{
public string name;
public int healthPoints;
public DoThing(string name, int healthPoints)
{
this.name = name;
this.healthPoints = healthPoints;
}
}
Now, since I passed some arguments to the Commands through a constructor (name, healthPoints), I'd want to extract those from another script.
I tried (successfully) to pass the arguments to a command in the following line and to save the command in a stack:
var doCommand = new DoThing("asdf", 123);
Stack<Command> listOfCommands = new Stack<Command>();
listOfCommands.Push(doCommand);
And I tried (successfully) retrieving those arguments in the watch window, during code execution:
listOfCommands.Peek().name //returns "asdf"
But then this doesn't work in the script, meaning that the arguments can't be seen:
Debug.Log(listOfCommands.Peek().name) //throws error
is there a way to extract the argument?
Since your listOfCommands is a Stack of Command, listOfCommands.Peek() returns a Command which does not have the name variable. You have to check the type of the variable returned by the function and cast it before accessing the variable.
Command command = listOfCommands.Peek();
if(command is DoThing)
{
Debug.Log(((DoThing) command).name);
}
or more compact
if(listOfCommands.Peek() is DoThing doThing)
{
Debug.Log(doThing.name);
}
or
DoThing doThing = listOfCommands.Peek() as DoThing;
if(doThing != null)
{
Debug.Log(doThing.name);
}
From Command pattern wiki:
A command object knows about receiver and invokes a method of the receiver. Values for parameters of the receiver method are stored in the
command. The receiver object to execute these methods is also stored
in the command object by aggregation. The receiver then does the work
when the execute() method in command is called. An invoker object
knows how to execute a command, and optionally does bookkeeping about
the command execution. The invoker does not know anything about a
concrete command, it knows only about the command interface.
So if what the DoThing command does is log a message to the console, it should look like this:
public abstract class Command
{
public abstract void Execute();
}
public class DoThing : Command
{
public string name;
public int healthPoints;
public DoThing(string name, int healthPoints)
{
this.name = name;
this.healthPoints = healthPoints;
}
public override void Execute(){
Debug.Log(name);
// whatever else the command does
}
}
And you would call execute on the command.

How to share the same context between commands in Command-Pattern with C#?

I've implemented the command pattern (in a multi-support way) in my application.
Structure:
class MultiCommand : BaseCommand
abstract class BaseCommand : ICommand
Process Flow:
var commandsGroup = new MultiCommand(new List<ICommand>()
{
new Command1(),
new Command2(),
new Command3(),
});
commandsGroup.Execute()
Now, suppose that in Command1 a somethingID is changed and I'll use this new value in Command2... And also, that there are plenty of other properties and objects that are being affected during the whole execution process.
Also, there are some interface implementations that should be available at any command just using the context object like:
Context.ServerController.something();
The instantiation of the IServerController will take place just before the multiCommandGroup initialization.
How can I have a shared context like this for all Commands of the group?
Example of the Context class:
public class CommandContext
{
public IServerController ServerController;
public RequiredData Data { get; set; }
public CommandContext(){}
}
IMPORTANT
A minimal implementation Code is here
1) If you want to keep this interface, then you have to pass this context as constructor parameter:
new MultiCommand(new List<ICommand>()
{
new Command1(context),
new Command2(context),
new Command3(context),
})
2) As another option you can accept list of delegates instead of list of commands.
MultiCommand will be look like this:
class MultiCommand : ICommand
{
public MultiCommand(List<Func<Context, Command>> commands, Context context)
}
That is almost the same except MultiCommand is responsible for all the commands share the same context.
3) Looks like commands in MultiCommand depends on result of previous command. In this case Command pattern is not probably the best. Maybe you should try to implement Middleware chain here?
interface IMiddleware<TContext>
{
void Run(TContext context);
}
class Chain<TContext>
{
private List<IMiddleware<TContext>> handlers;
void Register(IMiddleware<TContext> m);
public void Run(TContext context)
{
handlers.ForEach(h => h.Run(context));
}
}
I would suggest to make somethings generic. Here is a super simple example.
class MultiCommand<TContext>
{
List<Command<TContext>> Commands;
TContext Context;
}
You could have a constructor on your BaseCommand class (and its derived classes) that would accept a Context class of some kind. When instantiating the commands that will belong to the same group, you could provide them all the same context object. Maybe something like:
public class CommandContext
{
// The object that will be the target of the commands' actions.
public object Data { get; set; }
// ... any other properties that might be useful as shared state between commands...
}
public abstract class BaseCommand : ICommand
{
protected CommandContext Context { get; private set; }
public BaseCommand(CommandContext ctx)
{
Context = ctx;
}
}
public class ChangeSomethingIDCommand : BaseCommand
{
public ChangeSomethingIDCommand(CommandContext ctx) : base(ctx)
{ }
public void Execute()
{
var target = (SomeDomainClass)Context.Data;
target.SomethingID++;
}
}
// Elsewhere in your code (assuming 'myTargetDomainClassInstance' is
// a SomeDomainClass instance that has been instantiated elsewhere and
// represents the object upon which the commands will do work):
var ctx = new CommandContext { Data = myTargetDomainClassInstance };
var commandGroup = new MultiItemCommand(ctx, new List<ICommand>
{
new ChangeSomethingIDCommand(ctx),
new Command2(ctx),
new Command3(ctx)
});
commandGroup.Execute();
Consider a Functional Style
public class SomeMainClass{
public void MultiCommandInit()
{
MultiCommand.New()
.Add(new Command1())
.Add(new Command2())
.Add(new Command3())
.SharedContext(CC => {
CC.Data = new RequiredData();
CC.ServerController = GetServerController();
});
}
private IServerController GetServerController()
{
// return proper instance of server controller
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
Requires this extension method / function...
public static class XMultiCommand
{
// How can I have a shared context like this for all Commands of the group?
public static MultiCommand SharedContext(this MultiCommand mc, Action<CommandContext> CallBack)
{
var cc = new CommandContext();
CallBack(cc);
mc.SharedContext = cc;
return mc;
}
}
Finally, these changes to MultiCommand
public class MultiCommand
{
private System.Collections.Generic.List<ICommand> list;
public List<ICommand> Commands { get { return list; } }
public CommandContext SharedContext { get; set; }
public MultiCommand() { }
public MultiCommand(System.Collections.Generic.List<ICommand> list)
{
this.list = list;
}
public MultiCommand Add(ICommand cc)
{
list.Add(cc);
return this;
}
internal void Execute()
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public static MultiCommand New()
{
return new MultiCommand();
}
}
Cool Things Happen Using Functional Styles
Re-usability soars!
Hyper focus on Single Responsibility concerns
Composition becomes the Norm
Code Maintenance becomes simple
Intellisense becomes your built-in API (just use code commenting)
No radical OOP design patterns are needed
Fluent code becomes very enjoyable to work with
Nested / Decorated Functions are much more easy to imagine and implement
You will never repeat youerself
The Open/Closed principal becomes your religion
Code is now always Clear, Complete and Concise
Some even say no interfaces are needed any longer
In your case, going with injecting context through constructor is fine as mentioned by others. But in general, I would go with injecting the context through method parameters instead:
public class Command1: BaseCommand
{
//inject as parameter instead
public void Execute(Context ctx)
{
}
}
The reasons are:
The context should be managed by CommandGroup so that we have better encapsulation.
The CommandGroup is responsible for executing its list of commands so that it's possible for the CommandGroup to pass to each Command only the parameters each Command really needs, these parameters may be constructed at runtime (maybe by previous Commands) so that it's not possible to pass in these objects as the time we construct the list of commands. Therefore, it's easier to reuse Command and also simplify unit testing these Commands as we don't need to construct the whole context object in unit tests.
Maybe you don't need to care about these things at the moment, but method injection gives more flexibility. If you have worked with some frameworks in .NET, you would see something similar like OwinContext, FilterContext,.. they are passed as parameters and contain relevant information for that context.
In my opinion, your case is not a good fit for Command pattern. A Command represents a user request (action) and these objects could be created dynamically at runtime, but you're predefining your Commands at coding time.
What you're trying to do looks like owin middleware or asp.net web api message handler which are http://www.dofactory.com/net/chain-of-responsibility-design-pattern
And what about changing your approach? I did an architecture for DDD recently and executing a commad implies atomic operation (retrieve aggregate root from persitence, apply domain rules and pesist the aggregate) so I do not in needed of a share context and can batch multiple commands whithout worries.
Here you have an cqrs architecture that use command pattern with the above strategy I posted.
My 0.02:
1) The MultiCommand class looks like a Composite pattern.
You may want to add a GetParentCommand() method at the base command class and add an AddChildCommand() method at the MultiCommand class, which set every children's parent.
Then the children commands could get the context object from its parent. (Context object should also be defined in base class. And it may be of generic type.)
edit:
abstract class BaseCommand<T> : ICommand
{
public T Context { get; set; }
public BaseCommand Parent { get; set; }
}
class MultiCommand : BaseCommand
{
public void AddChildCommand(BaseCommand command)
{
command.parent = this; // we can get parent's context from children now
// put the command in an internal list
}
}
var commandsGroup = new MultiCommand();
commandsGroup.AddChildCommand(new Command1());
commandsGroup.AddChildCommand(new Command2());
commandsGroup.AddChildCommand(new Command3());
commandsGroup.Execute()
2) We may create a global singleton context object. In MultiCommand's Execute function, we could set the current context object before executing children's Execute function. Then child command could just access the singleton context object. And after all children's execution, the MultiCommand could reset the context. (The context is actually a stack here.)
edit:
abstract class BaseCommand : ICommand
{
// it could be put anywhere else as long as it can be accessed in command's Execute
// it can also be a stack
public static CommandContext Context {get; set;}
}
class MutliCommand : BaseCommand
{
public void Execute()
{
// do something to BaseCommand.Context
ChildCommand.Execute();
// do something to BaseCommand.Context
}
}
class ChildComand: BaseCommand
{
void Execute()
{
// do something with BaseCommand.Context
}
}
Another option is to put the context object as a parameter of the Execute function:
class MultiCommand : BaseCommand
{
void Execute(CommandContext context)
{
Children.Execute(context);
}
}

Save actions or funcs on secondary memory

I am creating a program where the user creates custom commands and execute them when needed. as a result I have a class similar to:
public class Command
{
Action c { get; set; }
// Overloaded Constructors------------------------------------
// changes the volume
public Command(int volumeChange)
{
c = ()=>
SomeClass.ChangeMasterVolume(volumeChange);
}
// Animate something
public Command(int x, int y)
{
c = ()=>
SomeClass.MoveMouse(x,y);
}
// etc.. there are more contructors....
//---------------------------------------------------------
public void ExecuteCommand()
{
c();
}
}
When the user closes the application I will like to save those commands somewhere on disk. There are about 200 different commands and it will be nice if I could serialize an instance from that class. Since it contains an Action it is not possible to serialize it.
It will be nice if I don't have to create a huge switch statement in order to determine what command to execute. What is the best way of dealing with this?
Sounds to me like you simply need to keep an interface around instead of a delegate.
public interface IDoThingy
{
void DoStuff();
}
public class IncreaseVolumeThingy : IDoThingy
{
public int Volume { get; set; }
public IncreaseVolumeThingy(int volume)
{
Volume = volume;
}
public void DoStuff()
{
SomeClass.ChangeMasterVolume(Volume);
}
}
public class Command
{
protected IDoThingy _thingy = null;
public Command(IDoThingy thingy)
{
_thingy = thingy;
}
public void ExecuteCommand()
{
_thingy.DoStuff();
}
}
So instead of creating a set of constructors, you simply make some form of factory based on the command specified. If the user is setting up a Increase volume command, then you new an instance of the IncreaseVolumeThingy and store it. When it is serialized, it can be recreated from state without a delegate.
Use reflection to call a class method by its name. Serialize the class and method name.
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/19911/Dynamically-Invoke-A-Method-Given-Strings-with-Met

Internal global property..bad smell?

I have run into a bit of a desgin issue with some code that I have been working on:
My code basic looks like this:
Main COM wrapper:
public class MapinfoWrapper
{
public MapinfoWrapper()
{
Publics.InternalMapinfo = new MapinfoWrapper();
}
public void Do(string cmd)
{
//Call COM do command
}
public string Eval(string cmd)
{
//Return value from COM eval command
}
}
Public static class to hold internal referance to wrapper:
internal static class Publics
{
private static MapinfoWrapper _internalwrapper;
internal static MapinfoWrapper InternalMapinfo
{
get
{
return _internalwrapper;
}
set
{
_internalwrapper = value;
}
}
}
Code that uses internal wrapper instance:
public class TableInfo
{
public string Name {
get { return Publics.InternalMapinfo.Eval("String comman to get the name"); }
set { Publics.InternalMapinfo.Do("String command to set the name"); }
}
}
Does this smell bad to anyone? Should I be using a internal property to hold a reference to the main wrapper object or should I be using a different design here?
Note: The MapinfoWrapper object will be used by the outside world, so I don't really want to make that a singleton.
You are reducing the testability of your TableInfo class by not injecting the MapInfoWrapper into the class itself. Whether you use a global cache of these MapInfoWrapper classes depends on the class -- you need to decide whether it is necessary or not, but it would improve your design to pass a wrapper into TableInfo and use it there rather than referencing a global copy directly inside TableInfo methods. Do this in conjunction with the definition of an interface (i.e., "refactor to interfaces").
I would also do lazy instantiation in the getter(s) of Publics to make sure the object is available if it hasn't already been created rather than setting it in the constructor of MapInfoWrapper.
public class TableInfo
{
private IMapinfoWrapper wrapper;
public TableInfo() : this(null) {}
public TableInfo( IMapinfoWrapper wrapper )
{
// use from cache if not supplied, could create new here
this.wrapper = wrapper ?? Publics.InternalMapInfo;
}
public string Name {
get { return wrapper.Eval("String comman to get the name"); }
set { wrapper.Do("String command to set the name"); }
}
}
public interface IMapinfoWrapper
{
void Do( string cmd );
void Eval( string cmd );
}
public class MapinfoWrapper
{
public MapinfoWrapper()
{
}
public void Do(string cmd)
{
//Call COM do command
}
public string Eval(string cmd)
{
//Return value from COM eval command
}
}
internal static class Publics
{
private static MapinfoWrapper _internalwrapper;
internal static MapinfoWrapper InternalMapinfo
{
get
{
if (_internalwrapper == null)
{
_internalwrapper = new MapinfoWrapper();
}
return _internalwrapper;
}
}
}
Now, when you test the TableInfo methods, you can mock out the MapInfoWrapper easily by providing your own implementation to the constructor. Ex (assuming a hand mock):
[TestMethod]
[ExpectedException(typeof(ApplicationException))]
public void TestTableInfoName()
{
IMapinfoWrapper mockWrapper = new MockMapinfoWrapper();
mockWrapper.ThrowDoException(typeof(ApplicationException));
TableInfo info = new TableInfo( mockWrapper );
info.Do( "invalid command" );
}
I thought about adding this to my original response, but it is really a different issue.
You might want to consider whether the MapinfoWrapper class needs to be thread-safe if you store and use a cached copy. Anytime you use a single, global copy you need to consider if it will be used by more than one thread at a time and build it so that any critical sections (anywhere data may be changed or must be assumed to not change) are thread-safe. If a multithreaded environment must be supported -- say in a web site -- then this might argue against using a single, global copy unless the cost of creating the class is very high. Of course, if your class relies on other classes that are also not thread-safe, then you may need to make your class thread-safe anyway.

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