[boost] Re: Policy-based smart pointers revisisted

From: Andrei Alexandrescu (andrewalex_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-19 21:27:26

"Alisdair Meredith" <alisdair.meredith_at_[hidden]> wrote in message
news:3E2B4CB0.BD4BEE_at_uk.renaultf1.com...
> Yet I always find myself turning to either scoped_ptr (practically
> essential with the borland VCL), std::auto_ptr (for returning from
> factory-type functions) or shared_ptr (for just about everything else)
>
> The simplicity is simply too big a lure.  Although we could tune and
> focus our pointers more effectively using policies and Loki, we then
> have the complexity of many pointer types running through our code, and
> having to remember the nuances of how each one was defined.  Using the
> basic 3 mentioned above simply cuts out the clutter.

I agree with you that simplicity is great. In wake of your down-to-earth
arguments, I think maybe it would be better to cease thinking that
policy-based smart pointers are an appealing solution. Many designs I
myself have seen here and there are a turnoff because they fail to draw the
proverbial line in the sand and find that nice elegant balance between
simplicity and completeness.

Andrei