Common Types in the Azure SDK for C++

Article
2025-05-08

The Azure SDK for C++ relies on several common types from the Azure Core library to provide consistent functionality across its service libraries. Understanding these types help you use Azure services more effectively.

Core Types

Response<T>

Azure::Response<T> wraps the result of an Azure service operation, providing both the typed response value and access to the raw HTTP response.

template <class T> class Response final {
public:
  // The value returned by the service
  T Value;
  
  // The HTTP response returned by the service
  std::unique_ptr<Azure::Core::Http::RawResponse> RawResponse;
  
  // Constructor
  explicit Response(T value, std::unique_ptr<Azure::Core::Http::RawResponse> rawResponse)
      : Value(std::move(value)), RawResponse(std::move(rawResponse))
  {
  }
};

Usage example:

// When calling a service operation that returns a response
auto response = blobClient.GetProperties();

// Accessing the returned value
auto blobProperties = response.Value;

// Accessing the raw HTTP response
auto& rawResponse = *response.RawResponse;
auto statusCode = rawResponse.GetStatusCode();

Nullable<T>

Azure::Nullable<T> represents a value that may or may not be present. It's similar to std::optional (C++17), but is available even when compiling with C++14.

template <class T> class Nullable final {
public:
  // Constructs an empty Nullable
  constexpr Nullable() : m_hasValue(false) {}
  
  // Constructs a Nullable with a value
  constexpr Nullable(T initialValue) : m_value(std::move(initialValue)), m_hasValue(true) {}
  
  // Check if the Nullable contains a value
  bool HasValue() const noexcept { return m_hasValue; }
  
  // Retrieve the value (throws if empty)
  T& Value() & noexcept;
  const T& Value() const& noexcept;
  
  // Get the value or a default
  typename std::remove_cv<T>::type ValueOr(U&& defaultValue) const&;
  
  // Reset to empty state
  void Reset() noexcept;
  
  // Boolean conversion operator
  explicit operator bool() const noexcept { return HasValue(); }
  
  // Dereference operators
  T* operator->() { return std::addressof(m_value); }
  const T* operator->() const { return std::addressof(m_value); }
  T& operator*() & { return m_value; }
  const T& operator*() const& { return m_value; }
};

Usage example:

// A property that might not have a value
Azure::Nullable<std::string> versionId = blobProperties.VersionId;

// Check if it has a value
if (versionId.HasValue()) {
    // Use versionId.Value() or *versionId
    std::string version = versionId.Value();
    // OR
    std::string version = *versionId;
}

// Using ValueOr to provide a default
std::string version = versionId.ValueOr("default-version");

// Boolean context
if (versionId) {
    // versionId has a value
}

Operation<T>

Azure::Core::Operation<T> represents a long-running operation (LRO) that may not complete immediately. It allows checking the status of the operation and waiting for completion.

template <class T> class Operation {
public:
  // Get the current status of the operation
  OperationStatus const& Status() const noexcept;
  
  // Poll for status updates
  Http::RawResponse const& Poll();
  Http::RawResponse const& Poll(Context const& context);
  
  // Wait for the operation to complete
  Response<T> PollUntilDone(std::chrono::milliseconds period);
  Response<T> PollUntilDone(std::chrono::milliseconds period, Context& context);
  
  // Get the result value (only valid when the operation is complete)
  virtual T Value() const = 0;
  
  // Get the raw HTTP response from the last poll
  Http::RawResponse const& GetRawResponse() const;
  
  // Get a token to resume the operation later
  virtual std::string GetResumeToken() const = 0;
};

Usage example:

// Start a long-running operation
auto operation = sourceBlob.StartCopyFromUri(destinationUri);

// Check the status
if (operation.Status() == Azure::Core::OperationStatus::Succeeded) {
    // Operation already completed
}

// Poll for status updates
operation.Poll();

// Wait for the operation to complete
auto response = operation.PollUntilDone(std::chrono::seconds(1));

// Access the result
auto blobProperties = response.Value;

PagedResponse<T>

Azure::Core::PagedResponse<T> provides an interface for handling paginated results from Azure services.

template <class T> class PagedResponse {
public:
  // The current page token
  std::string CurrentPageToken;
  
  // The token for the next page (empty if no more pages)
  Azure::Nullable<std::string> NextPageToken;
  
  // Move to the next page
  void MoveToNextPage(const Context& context = {});
  
  // Check if there are more pages
  bool HasPage() const;
};

Usage example:

// Get a paged list of containers
auto response = blobServiceClient.ListBlobContainers();

// Process each page
do {
    // Process the current page's results
    for (const auto& container : response.BlobContainers) {
        std::cout << "Container name: " << container.Name << std::endl;
    }
    
    // Continue to next page if available
    if (response.HasPage()) {
        response.MoveToNextPage();
    } else {
        break;
    }
} while (true);

Context

Azure::Core::Context allows controlling the lifetime of operations and supports cancellation.

class Context {
public:
  // Default constructor creates a context with no cancellation
  Context() noexcept;
  
  // Create a context with a timeout
  static Context WithDeadline(Azure::DateTime deadline);
  static Context WithTimeout(std::chrono::milliseconds timeout);
  
  // Create a context with a cancellation signal
  static Context WithCancellation();
  
  // Check if the context has been cancelled
  bool IsCancelled() const noexcept;
  
  // Throw an exception if the context has been cancelled
  void ThrowIfCancelled() const;
  
  // Cancel the context
  static void Cancel(Context& context);
};

Usage example:

// Create a context with a 30-second timeout
auto context = Azure::Core::Context::WithTimeout(std::chrono::seconds(30));

// Use the context with an operation
auto response = blobClient.DownloadTo(outputStream, {}, context);

// Create a cancelable context
auto cancelableContext = Azure::Core::Context::WithCancellation();

// Cancel the context from another thread
std::thread([&cancelableContext]() {
    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(5));
    Azure::Core::Context::Cancel(cancelableContext);
}).detach();

ETag

Azure::ETag represents an HTTP entity tag used for conditional operations.

class ETag final {
public:
  // Create an ETag from a string
  explicit ETag(std::string etag);
  
  // Get the string representation
  const std::string& ToString() const;
  
  // Comparison operators
  bool operator==(const ETag& other) const;
  bool operator!=(const ETag& other) const;
};

Usage example:

// Get the ETag from blob properties
Azure::ETag etag = blobProperties.ETag;

// Use the ETag for conditional operations
Azure::Storage::Blobs::DeleteBlobOptions options;
options.IfMatch = etag;
blobClient.Delete(options);

DateTime

Azure::DateTime represents a date and time value with timezone information.

class DateTime final {
public:
  // Create a DateTime representing the current time in UTC
  static DateTime Now();
  
  // Parse from string formats
  static DateTime Parse(const std::string& dateTime);
  
  // Format to string
  std::string ToString() const;
};

Usage example:

// Get the last modified time of a blob
Azure::DateTime lastModified = blobProperties.LastModified;

// Format as a string
std::string formattedTime = lastModified.ToString();

// Use in conditional operations
Azure::Storage::Blobs::GetBlobPropertiesOptions options;
options.IfModifiedSince = lastModified;

Http::RawResponse

Azure::Core::Http::RawResponse represents an HTTP response from a service.

class RawResponse final {
public:
  // Get HTTP status code
  HttpStatusCode GetStatusCode() const;
  
  // Get the reason phrase
  const std::string& GetReasonPhrase() const;
  
  // Get headers
  const CaseInsensitiveMap& GetHeaders() const;
  
  // Get HTTP version
  int32_t GetMajorVersion() const;
  int32_t GetMinorVersion() const;
  
  // Access the body
  std::vector<uint8_t> const& GetBody() const;
  std::unique_ptr<Azure::Core::IO::BodyStream> ExtractBodyStream();
};

Usage example:

// Access the raw HTTP response
auto& rawResponse = *response.RawResponse;

// Get status code
auto statusCode = rawResponse.GetStatusCode();
if (statusCode == Azure::Core::Http::HttpStatusCode::Ok) {
    // Handle success case
}

// Get headers
auto contentType = rawResponse.GetHeaders().at("content-type");

// Get body as bytes
const auto& bodyBytes = rawResponse.GetBody();

Error Handling

RequestFailedException

Azure::Core::RequestFailedException is the base exception type for service errors.

class RequestFailedException : public std::runtime_error {
public:
  // Constructor
  RequestFailedException(
      std::string message,
      std::unique_ptr<Azure::Core::Http::RawResponse> rawResponse);
  
  // Get the status code from the response
  Azure::Core::Http::HttpStatusCode StatusCode;
  
  // Get the error code returned by the service
  std::string ErrorCode;
  
  // Get the request ID for troubleshooting
  std::string RequestId;
  
  // Access the raw response that caused this exception
  const Azure::Core::Http::RawResponse& RawResponse() const;
};

Usage example:

try {
    auto response = blobClient.Delete();
}
catch (const Azure::Core::RequestFailedException& e) {
    std::cerr << "Status code: " << static_cast<int>(e.StatusCode) << std::endl;
    std::cerr << "Error code: " << e.ErrorCode << std::endl;
    std::cerr << "Message: " << e.what() << std::endl;
    std::cerr << "Request ID: " << e.RequestId << std::endl;
}

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Common Types in the Azure SDK for C++

Core Types

Response<T>

Nullable<T>

Operation<T>

PagedResponse<T>

Context

ETag

DateTime

Http::RawResponse

Error Handling

RequestFailedException

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