CRISP is an acronym (of course) and stands for Compile and Runtime IntroSpectable Properties.
CRISP is a small header only library in the spirit of the awesome visit_struct, which aims to bring type reflection/introspection to the world of C++.
Compared to visit_struct, CRISP provides type introspection at compile time and runtime. Other notable improvements include e.g. terser syntax, the capability to introspect member functions, and introspection for structs with single inheritance.
Writing complex programs in C++ can be a daunting task. Especially, when you are required to manage (relatively) large codebases on your own, it becomes necessary to offload as much work as possible to the compiler. Template meta-programming provides a way to do so, without external tooling and while maintaining compatibility to common compilers. (Though your sanity is usually sacrificed in the process ...)
This library was created mostly for the learning experience, but also because I found existing approaches lacking in some aspects i'd really liked to have (mainly function and runtime introspection).
CRISP requires at least a C++17 compatible compiler. I've personally only tested the library with gcc 9.3.0 and clang 10.0.0 and cannot make any statements about other compilers.
No external dependencies are used.
A tolerance for C++ templates and absurd error messages is also required.
Right now the library is structured into three header files. These are, ordered by increasing complexity:
crisp.h: contains the core of the library and is needed to define properties on datatypes.crisp_func.h: contains function definitions to allow visitor structs to iterate the properties of a crisp type.crisp_visitors.h: contains some often needed visitors along with a set of macros for easier visitor definition.
In larger projects compile time often becomes an issue. By separating the
functionality into multiple headers you can include only what you actually
need. All PODs, for examples, would need to include only crisp.h, while
compile units for algorithms operating on said PODs may include crisp_func.h
or even crisp_visitor.h.