Re: A new smart pointer with move semantics ?

From:
David Abrahams <dave@boost-consulting.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.std.c++
Date:
Sat, 15 Jul 2006 13:09:18 CST
Message-ID:
<u8xmvgc5k.fsf@boost-consulting.com>
loufoque <loufoque@remove.gmail.com> writes:

auto_ptr's copy constructor actually moves the object rather than
copying it.
With move semantics introduced through rvalue references in C++0x, it
becomes possible to use the move constructor to move instead, and why
not use the copy constructor to do an actual deep copy, possibly
virtual.

Introducing a new smart pointer like this would not only supplant
auto_ptr but also make a wrapper around pointers to base classes,
creating objects that behave like normal while having polymorph
features. It could also be used to move objects that aren't movable
or where moving is rather expensive.

It seems to me that kind of smart pointer would be very useful as it
addresses a number of problems related to memory management and
polymorphism and thus should be in the next standard library.
Are there any plans for such a thing ?


You can download one that works today:
http://home.comcast.net/~jturkanis/move_ptr/

--
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com

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