Design Pattern in C - Reading from multiple devices and interfaces - c

Question

I'm need to implement a few functions that read messages from different devices that have different interface possibilities and different message structure. (but the messages have pretty much the same data)
Eg
Device_A {
message type: A
iface 1: tcp
}
Device_B {
message type: B
iface 1: serial
iface 2: tcp
}
... and so on
In my main...
struct msg_data;
while(user_wants_to_read) {
read_msg(); // reads and sets data in msg_data
do_work(msg_data);
}
In an OO Language I would use the strategy pattern. I think I could do this with a void* read_func;?
I'm inexperienced in C and I want to learn to program this like a good C programmer would do. What sort of design pattern/functions should I implement?

Answer 1

It sounds like you got two or more different abstractions to solve for:
Different stream sources (TCP vs. Serial). Is the the TCP protocol the same for device A and device B?
Different message types that are structurally different but semantically the same.
Different device classes (device A vs Device B)
I would focus on a strategy pattern with factories for reading from a stream. And then perhaps an adapter or strategy pattern for getting more data into message objects. But I wouldn't get held up on "which design pattern". More likely, just think in terms of interfaces.
So to start, perhaps abstracting out the serial and TCP streaming into different implementations with the same interface. One implementation that knows how connect and read bytes from a TCP socket without regard to the message contents. Another that knows how to read from a serial port. They should have the same "interface". Here's a lightweight example of a a "byte stream interface" with some hacked up socket code thrown. Forgive me if this doesn't compile. I might have a typo valid in C++ by wrong in C. In any case, it's just an example demonstrating interfaces through function table pointers.
My thinking on suggesting this is, "how would I implement this in C++?" And then I'm transposing my answer to pure "C". (Note: I'm likely making some declaration mistakes below.)
struct ByteStreamer;
typedef int (*ReadFunc)(ByteStreamer*, char* buffer, int count);
typedef int (*OpenFunc)(ByteStreamer*, char* url); // maybe 'open' isn't needed if it's handled by the factory
typedef int (*CloseFunc)(ByteStreamer*);
typedef void (*DisposeFunc)(ByteStreamer*);
typedef struct _ByteStreamer
{
ReadFunc readfunc;
OpenFunc openfunc;
CloseFunc closefunc;
DisposeFunc dispose;
// private data meant for the "class"
void* instancedata;
} ByteStreamer;
struct _tcpconnection
{
int socket;
sockaddr_in addrRemote;
} TCPConnection;
struct _serialconnection
{
int filehandle;
int baud;
} SerialConnection;
// ---------------------------------------
ByteStream* CreateStreamForTCP(const sockaddr_in *pAddr) // pass additional parameter as needed
{
ByteStreamer* pStream = (ByteStreamre*)malloc(sizeof(ByteStreamer));
TCPConnection* pTCPConnection = (TCPConnection*)malloc(sizeof(TCPConnection*));
pTCPConnection->socket = -1;
pTCPConnection->addrRemote = *pAddr;
pStream->instancedata = pTCPConnection;
pStream->ReadFunc = TCPRead;
pStream->OpenFunc = TCPOpen;
pStream->CloseFunc = TCPClose;
pStream->DisposeFunc = TCPDispose;
pStream->type = STREAM_TYPE_TCP;
return pStream;
}
int TCPRead(ByteStream* pStream, char* buffer, int count)
{
return recv(((TCPConnection*)pStream->instancedata)->socket, buffer, count, 0);
}
int TCPOpen(ByteStream* pStream, char* url)
{
// it's up to you if you want to encapsulate the socket address in url or in the instance data
TCPConnection* pConn = (TCPConnection*)(pStream->instancedata);
int sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
connect(&pConn->addrRemote, sizeof(pConn->addrRemote));
return (pConn->sock >= 0); // true/false return;
}
void TCPClose(ByteStream* pStream)
{
TCPConnection* pConn = (TCPConnection*)(pStream->instancedata);
close(pConn->sock);
}
void TCPDispose(ByteStream* pStream)
{
free(pStream->instancedata);
free(pStream);
}
Now replace all the TCP code above with an equivalent serial port implementation. It would also be a good idea to implement a "file stream" (or "in memory stream") version of the ByteStream struct. Because it will be very useful in unit tests for higher level code.
So after you get all the byte stream implementations worked out, then move onto parsing device specific messages.
typedef struct _Message_A
{
// A specific data fields
} Message_A;
struct _Message_B
{
// B specific data fields
} Message_B;
struct Message
{
// commonality between Message_A and Message_B
};
typedef (*ReadMessageFromStream)(MessageReader* pReader, Message* pMsg); // pStream is an in-param, pMSg is an out-param.
typedef (*MessageReaderDispose)();
struct MessageReader
{
ReadMessageFromStream reader;
MessageReaderDispose dispose;
// -----------------------------
ByteStream* pStream;
void *instancedata;
};
// function to read a "Message_A" from a stream - and then transpose it to the generic Message type
int ReadMessage_A(ByteStream* pStream, Message* pMsg);
// function to read a "Message_B" from a stream - and then transpose it to the generic Message type
int ReadMessage_B(ByteStream* pStream, Message* pMsg);
So what's really cool about implementing ReadMessage_A and ReadMessage_B is that you can pass that "file stream" implementation of ByteStream and make some really good unit tests. So when you plug in the TCP or serial version, it has a high chance of just working (assuming your TCP and serial code are tested seperately).
And then perhaps a factory method off each class for creating the uber ReadMessageFromStream:
MessageReader* CreateTCPReaderForDeviceA(DeviceA* pA, sockaddr_in* pAddr)
{
MessageReader *pMR = (vMessageReader*)malloc(sizeof(MessageReader));
pMR->pStream = CreateStreamForTCP(pAddr);
pMR->pStream->Open();
pMR->reader = ReadMessage_A;
return pMR;
}
MessageReader* CreateSerialReaderForDeviceB(DeviceB* pB, int comport)
{
MessageReader *pMR = (vMessageReader*)malloc(sizeof(MessageReader));
pMR->pStream = CreateStreamForSerial(comport);
pMR->pStream->Open();
pMR->reader = ReadMessage_B;
return pMR;
}
And then your main loop looks something like the following:
if ((type == DEVICE_A) && (source == TCP))
pReader = CreateTCPReaderForDeviceA(pDevice, &addr)
else if ((type == DEVICE_B) && (source == SERIAL))
pReader = CreateSerialReaderForDeviceB(pDeviceB, 1);
// read the message
Message msg;
pReader->reader(pReader, &msg);
pReader->Dispose(); // free all the data allocated and close connections/files
Wooh.... I'm tired of typing this point. hope this helps.

Answer 2

I would agree with #rsaxvc. Function pointers are probably the best way to go about this. A google search turned up this: Strategy pattern in C

Answer 3

And for your message struct, you could use nested struct to emulate OO class inheritance
struct base {
// common members
}
struct child1 {
struct base;
// other data members
}
or simplely:
struct child2 {
// same data members as base
// other data members
}
use a base* parameter