Changed the Modifier api after all

It'll now accept a const Value& instead of a const VariantValue&
This does however mean we are unable to return the original input.
So instead of this I introduced a simple NoModification exception
which you can throw from your Modifier's to indiciate that you don't
intend to modify the value, so we know internally that we should use
the original value.

include/modifier.h

@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ class Modifier
      */
     virtual ~Modifier() {};
 
+    /**
+     *  A simple custom exception class which indicates that you do not intend
+     *  to actually modify the input.
+     */
+    class NoModification : public std::exception {};
+
     /**
      *  Modify a variable value, and convert it into a different value
      *
@@ -33,11 +39,10 @@ class Modifier
      *  @param  input        Initial value
      *  @param  params       Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return VariantValue A new value object
-     *  @note   In case you end up NOT modifying the input, just return input
-     *          instead of constructing a new string or whatever. Simply returning
-     *          the input is handled slightly more efficient internally.
+     *  @note   In case you end up NOT modifying the input, please throw a NoModification
+     *          exception.
      */
-    virtual VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const Parameters &params) = 0;
+    virtual VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const Parameters &params) = 0;
 };
 
 /**

src/builtin/base64decode.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class Base64DecodeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Get the base64 encoder
         const Escaper *escaper = Escaper::get("base64");

src/builtin/base64encode.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class Base64EncodeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Get the base64 encoder
         const Escaper *escaper = Escaper::get("base64");

src/builtin/cat.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CatModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // copy the entire string
         std::string output(input.toString());

src/builtin/count.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CountModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Simply return the member count
         return (int64_t) input.memberCount();

src/builtin/count_characters.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CountCharactersModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // If we include whitespaces we might as well just return the size
         if (params.size() >= 1 && params[0].toBoolean()) return (int64_t) input.toString().size();

src/builtin/count_paragraphs.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CountParagraphsModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Let's just convert our input to a C string
         std::string str = input.toString();

src/builtin/count_words.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CountWordsModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Let's just convert our input to a C string
         std::string str(input.toString());

src/builtin/default.h

@@ -29,19 +29,19 @@ class DefaultModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
 		// convert input to a string
 		auto value = input.toString();
 
 		// leap out on non-empty strings
-		if (!value.empty()) return input;
+		if (!value.empty()) throw NoModification();
 
         // input was empty, return the default that was passed as parameter
 		if (params.size() >= 1) return params[0].toString();
 
         // no parameter was given, strange
-        return input;
+        throw NoModification();
     }
 };
 

src/builtin/empty.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class EmptyModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // if our member count is 0 we might be a string
         if (input.memberCount() == 0)

src/builtin/escape.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class EscapeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // We default to the html encoder
         std::string encoder("html");

src/builtin/indent.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class IndentModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Initialize the default settings
         int indents = 4;

src/builtin/md5.h

@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ class Md5Modifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // in case we don't have a valid openssl library we are simply returning the original input
-        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) return input;
+        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) throw NoModification();
 
         // initialize our output
         unsigned char digest[MD5_DIGEST_LENGTH];

src/builtin/nl2br.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class Nl2brModifier : public ReplaceModifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // initialize our output
         std::string output(input.toString());

src/builtin/range.h

@@ -29,16 +29,16 @@ class RangeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // if there are no parameters we're not touching the input
-        if (params.size() == 0) return input;
+        if (params.size() == 0) throw NoModification();
 
         // try to retrieve the raw iterator
         auto rawIter = input.iterator();
 
         // if there's no raw iterator we just return the original input
-        if (!rawIter) return input;
+        if (!rawIter) throw NoModification();
 
         // get our limits
         numeric_t begin = 0;

src/builtin/regex_replace.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class RegexReplaceModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         if (params.size() >= 2)
         {
@@ -53,12 +53,12 @@ class RegexReplaceModifier : public Modifier
             catch (const boost::regex_error &error)
             {
                 // Return the original input in case of a failure
-                return input;
+                throw NoModification();
             }
         }
 
         // Return the original input in case of not enough parameters
-        return input;
+        throw NoModification();
     }
 };
 

src/builtin/replace.h

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class ReplaceModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    virtual VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    virtual VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // initialize our output
         std::string output(input.toString());
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class ReplaceModifier : public Modifier
         }
 
         // Simply return the input
-        return input;
+        throw NoModification();
     }
 };
 

src/builtin/sha1.h

@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ class Sha1Modifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // in case we don't have a valid openssl library we are simply returning the original input
-        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) return input;
+        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) throw NoModification();
 
         // initialize our output
         unsigned char digest[SHA_DIGEST_LENGTH];

src/builtin/sha256.h

@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ class Sha256Modifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // in case we don't have a valid openssl library we are simply returning the original input
-        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) return input;
+        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) throw NoModification();
 
         // initialize our output
         unsigned char digest[SHA256_DIGEST_LENGTH];

src/builtin/sha512.h

@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ class Sha512Modifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // in case we don't have a valid openssl library we are simply returning the original input
-        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) return input;
+        if (!OpenSSL::instance()) throw NoModification();
 
         // initialize our output
         unsigned char digest[SHA512_DIGEST_LENGTH];

src/builtin/spacify.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class SpacifyModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // By default we use one space as a seperator
         std::string seperator(" ");
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class SpacifyModifier : public Modifier
         catch (...)
         {
             // if we failed we simply return the original input
-            return input;
+            throw NoModification();
         }
     }
 };

src/builtin/strlen.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class StrlenModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Simply return the length of the toString() method
         return (int64_t) input.toString().size();

src/builtin/strstr.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class StrStrModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         if (params.size() >= 1)
         {
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class StrStrModifier : public Modifier
         }
 
         // Return the input as we can't do strstr without at least a needle
-        return input;
+        throw NoModification();
     }
 };
 

src/builtin/substr.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class SubStrModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         if (params.size() >= 1)
         {
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class SubStrModifier : public Modifier
         }
 
         // Return the input as we can't do substr without parameters
-        return input;
+        throw NoModification();
     }
 };
 

src/builtin/tolower.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class ToLowerModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // copy the entire string
         std::string output(input.toString());

src/builtin/toupper.h

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class ToUpperModifier : public Modifier {
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Variant
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // copy the entire string
         std::string output(input.toString());

src/builtin/trim.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class TrimModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // initialize our characters to trim
         std::string to_trim(" \t\n\r\0\x0B");

src/builtin/truncate.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class TruncateModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // init our default settings
         int length = 80;

src/builtin/ucfirst.h

@@ -29,15 +29,15 @@ class UcFirstModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // initialize our output
         std::string output(input.toString());
 
         // in case our input is empty we are just returning our input because that
         // is more efficient than returning this new string. Besides in case of an
         // empty string calling [0] is undefined behavior..
-        if (output.empty()) return input;
+        if (output.empty()) throw NoModification();
 
         // Turn the first character into the uppercase form
         output[0] = std::toupper(output[0]);

src/builtin/urldecode.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class UrldecodeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Get the url encoder
         const Escaper *escaper = Escaper::get("url");

src/builtin/urlencode.h

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class UrlencodeModifier : public Modifier
      *  @param  params      Parameters used for this modification
      *  @return Value
      */
-    VariantValue modify(const VariantValue &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
+    VariantValue modify(const Value &input, const SmartTpl::Parameters &params) override
     {
         // Get the url encoder
         const Escaper *escaper = Escaper::get("url");