Mercurial > hg > ucx / changeset

--- a/docs/src/features.md	Sat Jul 01 14:29:16 2023 +0200
+++ b/docs/src/features.md	Mon Jul 03 18:37:19 2023 +0200
@@ -209,14 +209,100 @@
 
 *Header file:* [list.h](api/list_8h.html)
 
+This header defines a common interface for all list implementations, which is basically as simple as the following
+structure.
+```c
+struct cx_list_s {
+    CX_COLLECTION_MEMBERS       // size, capacity, etc.
+    cx_list_class const *cl;    // The list class definition
+};
+```
+The actual structure contains one more class pointer that is used when wrapping a list into a pointer aware list
+with `cxListStorePointers()`. What this means, is that - if you want to implement your own list structure - you
+only need to cover the case where the list is storing copies of your objects.
+
+UCX comes with two common list implementations (linked list and array list) that should cover most use cases.
+But if you feel the need to implement an own list, the only thing you need to do is to define a struct where
+`struct cx_list_s`, and set an appropriate list class that implements the functionality.
+It is strongly recommended that this class is shared among all instances of the same list type, because otherwise
+the `cxListCompare` function cannot use the optimized implementation of your class and will instead fall back to
+using iterators to compare the contents element-wise.
+
 ### Linked List
 
 *Header file:* [linked_list.h](api/linked__list_8h.html)
 
+On top of implementing the list interface, this header also defines several low-level functions that
+work with arbitrary structures. 
+Low-level functions, in contrast to the high-level list interface, can easily be recognized by their snake-casing.
+The function `cx_linked_list_at`, for example, implements a similar functionality like `cxListAt`, but operates
+on arbitrary structures.
+The following snippet shows how it is used.
+All other low-level functions work similarly.
+```c
+struct node {
+    node *next;
+    node *prev;
+    int data;
+};
+
+const ptrdiff_t loc_prev = offsetof(struct node, prev);
+const ptrdiff_t loc_next = offsetof(struct node, next);
+const ptrdiff_t loc_data = offsetof(struct node, data);
+
+struct node a = {0}, b = {0}, c = {0}, d = {0};
+cx_linked_list_link(&a, &b, loc_prev, loc_next);
+cx_linked_list_link(&b, &c, loc_prev, loc_next);
+cx_linked_list_link(&c, &d, loc_prev, loc_next);
+
+cx_linked_list_at(&a, 0, loc_next, 2); // returns pointer to c
+```
+
 ### Array List
 
 *Header file:* [array_list.h](api/array__list_8h.html)
 
+Since low-level array lists are just plain arrays, there is no need for such many low-level functions as for linked
+lists.
+However, there is one extremely powerful function that can be used for several complex tasks: `cx_array_copy`.
+The full signature is shown below:
+```c
+enum cx_array_copy_result cx_array_copy(
+        void **target,
+        size_t *size,
+        size_t *capacity,  // optional
+        size_t index,
+        void const *src,
+        size_t elem_size,
+        size_t elem_count,
+        struct cx_array_reallocator_s *reallocator // optional
+);
+```
+The `target` argument is a pointer to the target array pointer.
+The reason for this additional indirection is that - given that you provide a `reallocator` - this function writes
+back the pointer to the possibly reallocated array.
+THe next two arguments are pointers to the `size` and `capacity` of the target array.
+Tracking the capacity is optional.
+If you do not specify a pointer for the capacity, automatic reallocation of the array is entirely disabled (i.e. it
+does not make sense to specify a `reallocator` then).
+In this case, the function cannot copy more than `size-index` elements and if you try, it will return
+`CX_ARRAY_COPY_REALLOC_NOT_SUPPORTED` and do nothing.
+
+On a successful invocation, the function copies `elem_count` number of elements, each of size `elem_size` from
+`src` to `*target` and uses the `reallocator` to extend the array when necessary.
+Finally, the size, capacity, and the pointer to the array are all updated and the function returns
+`CX_ARRAY_COPY_SUCCESS`.
+
+The third, but extremely rare, return code is `CX_ARRAY_COPY_REALLOC_FAILED` and speaks for itself.
+
+A few things to note:
+* `*target` and `src` can point to the same memory region, effectively copying elements within the array with `memmove`
+* `*target` does not need to point to the start of the array, but `size` and `capacity` always start counting from the
+  position, `*target` points to - in this scenario, specifying a `reallocator` is forbidden for obvious reasons
+* `index` does not need to be within size of the current array, if `capacity` is specified
+* `index` does not even need to be within the capacity of the array, if `reallocator` is specified 
+
+
 ## Map
 
 *Header file:* [map.h](api/map_8h.html)