Re: [boost] shared_xxx issues

From: David Abrahams (david.abrahams_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-09-01 09:28:35

----- Original Message -----
From: "AlisdairM" <AlisdairM_at_[hidden]>

> First a call for help, how do I get MS Outlook newsreader to use a
sensible
> quoting style?  I can't reply point-by-point without losing my response in
> the original message.

FWIW, I use Outlook Express most of the time. Outlook is way too
complicated. Unfortunately, OE also inexplicably fails to quote with ">"
sometimes (usually when the original mail is from abroad, I've noticed).
That's why I always keep emacs in my back pocket ;-)
BTW, I'm thinking of switching to emacs for all of my mail needs.

> In response to David
>
> First issue:  Agree!  While I believe both scoped_ptr and shared_ptr are
> vital classes to submit for standardisation, as they cover over 90% of my
> smart pointer requirements, an advanced policy-based smart pointer would
be
> extremely useful for the other 10% of cases.  I feel it is important to
> retain scoped/shared_pointer though for the much simpler usage in the
> majority of cases.
>
> Second issue:  Makes sense, but if all I see in the code is an assert with
> minor comment, I can imagine forgetting the issue in six months time and
> trying to work out what is going on again.  Needs a comment in the
> documentation, or a small FAQ entry.  After all, it is NOT self-assignment
> that is the error (that is safely handled), but the fact that you are
> self-assigning means you risk using reset with other pointers which you
> cannot catch, and is not indicated clearly by asserting self-assignment!

I think a slightly more-detailed comment in the code should be enough. It is
usually not a good idea to go into details about which preconditions are
checked, and how, in the public interface documentation.

-Dave