Re: [boost] Shared_ptr "mini garbage collector"

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-07 13:49:00

"Peter Dimov" <pdimov_at_[hidden]> writes:

> It's true that, in general, there is no safe way to break the cycle; x1 may
> keep a raw pointer to x2, or it might be a X invariant that X::p is
> non-empty, causing ~X to fail. This is why the final decision to break the
> cycles should be left to the user, and the collector should not
> automatically reclaim memory. Still, most reasonable classes would be
> collect-friendly.

Isn't the biggest problem one of system design?  How does the user
write the cycle-breaking code which does different things based on the
dynamic type of the objects being referenced?
-- 
                       David Abrahams
   dave_at_[hidden] * http://www.boost-consulting.com
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