Compiling Java Generics with Wildcards to C++ Templates

Question

I am trying to build a Java to C++ trans-compiler (i.e. Java code goes in, semantically \"equivalent\" (more or less) C++ code comes out).

Not considering garbage collec

Answer 1

Not considering garbage collection, the languages are quite familiar, so the overall process works quite well already.

No. While the two languages actually look rather similar, they are significantly different as to "how things are done". Such 1:1 trans-compilations as you are attempting will result in terrible, underperforming, and most likely faulty C++ code, especially if you are looking not at a stand-alone application, but at something that might interface with "normal", manually-written C++.

C++ requires a completely different programming style from Java. This begins with not having all types derive from Object, touches on avoiding new unless absolutely necessary (and then restricting it to constructors as much as possible, with the corresponding delete in the destructor - or better yet, follow Potatoswatter's advice below), and doesn't end at "patterns" like making your containers STL-compliant and passing begin- and end-iterators to another container's constructor instead of the whole container. I also didn't see const-correctness or pass-by-reference semantics in your code.

Note how many of the early Java "benchmarks" claimed that Java was faster than C++, because Java evangelists took Java code and translated it to C++ 1:1, just like you are planning to do. There is nothing to be won by such transcompilation.