[Rcpp-devel] Broken conversion from R-type integer to uvec after update to newer Rcpp version

Hi guys,

Here's what I think is going on. RcppArmadillo has the following
'InputParameter' class to handle 'as':

template <typename T, typename VEC, typename REF>
    class ArmaVec_InputParameter {
    public:
        ArmaVec_InputParameter( SEXP x_ ) : v(x_), vec(
reinterpret_cast<T*>( v.begin() ), v.size(), false ){}

        inline operator REF(){
            return vec ;
        }

    private:
        Rcpp::Vector< Rcpp::traits::r_sexptype_traits<T>::rtype > v ;
        VEC vec ;
    } ;

We are trying to re-use memory from an R vector, and here we are just
reinterpreting the 'int' contents of the R vector as 'unsigned int' without
any coercion. This won't work.

(Interestingly, in the 'base' case (ie, arma::uvec vs. const or
ref-qualified arma::uvec), we are just dispatching to an internal Rcpp as,
not any of the RcppArmadillo 'as'es. That's why we don't see it here --
that dispatch explicitly uses 'as')

To fix this, we need to coerce when necessary. I believe the
r_sexptype_traits class has a bit of 'does this fit in an R vector, or does
it need coercion?' in it, so maybe we can leverage that.

I have a fix that I will submit to RcppArmadillo as a pull request in a
few moments.

Thanks for the bug report!

Kevin


On Sun, Apr 20, 2014 at 11:36 AM, Dirk Eddelbuettel <edd at debian.org>wrote:

On 20 April 2014 at 20:18, Mitov Venelin wrote:
| Hi Dirk,
|
| Had a look at your example (function named venelin). It seems to me
that the problem is not only the const qualifier but also the passing of an
argument by reference.
|
| uvec touvec(uvec& v) {    //fails!
|    return v;
| }
|
| uvec touvec(uvec v) {     // works!
|   return v;
| }
|
| Don?t know if this helps?.

It seems the combination of either/or/both const and & AND use of uvec
triggers this.  A base uvec vector seems to pass in fine, as does const
ref
use of a normal int vector.

I think we are being tripped up by a partial conversion. We will try to
get
to it.  In the meantime, maybe just avoid 'uvec' which has no direct R
counterpart.

Dirk

--
Dirk Eddelbuettel | edd at debian.org | http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com