Lab 6 § Sequence class (using linked list)

COEN 79L - Object-Oriented Programming and Advanced Data Structures
Lab 6
§ Sequence class (using linked list)
In this project, first complete the implementation of linked list toolkit functions. Then
complete the implementation of the sequence class. Please note that we do not use all of these
functions for the implementation of the sequence class. For example, list_remove_dups()
and list_detect_loop() are not used by the sequence class. You can use node_test.cpp
to test the operation of toolkit functions.
The sequence class stores items in a forward linked list, in their sequence order. The
“current” item on the list can be maintained by a member variable that points to the node
that contains the current item. When the start function is activated, we set this “current
pointer” to point to the first node of the linked list. When advance is activated, we move the
“current pointer” to the next node on the linked list.
We propose five private member variables for the new sequence class. The first variable,
many_nodes, keeps track of the number of nodes in the list. The other four member variables
are node pointers:
§ head_ptr and tail_ptr: The head and tail pointers of the linked list. If the sequence
has no items, then these pointers are both NULL. The reason for the tail pointer is the
attach function. Normally this function adds a new item immediately after the current
node. But if there is no current node, then attach places its new item at the tail of the list,
so it makes sense to keep a tail pointer around.
§ cursor: Points to the node with the current item (or NULL if there is no current item).
§ precursor: Points to the node before current item (or NULL if there is no current item
or if the current item is the first node). Can you figure out why we propose a precursor?
The answer is the insert function, which normally adds a new item immediately before
the current node. But the linked-list functions have no way of inserting a new node before
a specified node. We can only add new nodes after a specified node. Therefore, the insert
function will work by adding the new item after the precursor node, which is also just
before the cursor node.
Keep in mind the four rules for a class that uses dynamic memory:
§ Some of your member variables are pointers. In fact, for your sequence class, four member
variables are pointers.
§ Member functions allocate and release memory as needed. Don’t forget to write
documentation indicating which member functions allocate dynamic memory so that
experienced programmers can deal with failures.
§ You must override the automatic copy constructor and the automatic assignment
operator. Otherwise two different sequences end up with pointers to the same linked list.
§ The class requires a destructor, which is responsible for returning all dynamic memory
COEN 79L - Object-Oriented Programming and Advanced Data Structures
Lab 6
to the heap.
The value semantics of your new sequence class consists of a copy constructor and an
assignment operator.
The primary job of both these functions is to make one sequence equal to a new copy of
another. The sequence that you are copying is called the “source,” and we suggest that you
handle the copying in these cases:
1. If the source sequence has no current item, then simply copy the source’s linked list
with list_copy. Then set both precursor and cursor to the null pointer.
2. If the current item of the source sequence is its first item, then copy the source’s
linked list with list_copy. Then set precursor to NULL, and set cursor to point
to the head node of the newly created linked list.
3. If the current item of the source sequence is after its first item, then copy the
source’s linked list in two pieces using list_piece. The first piece that you copy
goes from the head pointer to the precursor; the second piece goes from the cursor
to the tail pointer. Put these two pieces together by making the link field of the
precursor node point to the cursor node. The reason for copying in two separate
pieces is to easily set the precursor and cursor.
Given files:
§ node.h - Header file for the node class with descriptions for each function.
§ node.cpp - Incomplete implementation file for the node class.
§ sequence.h - Header file for the sequence class with descriptions for each function.
§ Test files for the node and sequence classes