Re: [boost] API Review request: XML APIs for C++

From: Hamish Mackenzie (hamish_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-06-13 15:02:26

On Fri, 2003-06-13 at 19:39, Reece Dunn wrote:
> >>This would, however, allow the implementation to be adapted to when memory 
> >>management needs to be used and to switch between different management 
> >>policies for the various implementations.
> 
> >Can you elaborate ?
> 
> Sure. In the libxml2 versions, nodes are explicitly deleted, and thus do not 
> need to be managed, e.g:
>    typedef node_impl * node;
> 
> If an object requires explicit management, via shared_ptr for example:
>    typedef boost::shared_ptr< node_impl > node;
> 
> Or, if it is say using a wrapper around an MSXML interface:
>    class node: public CComPtr< IXMLDOMNode >{ ... };
> 
> The user can thus write:
>    boost::xml::dom::node mynode = doc.selectNode( "/h:*[1]" );
> 
> without worrying about the underlying representation of 
> boost::xml::dom::node.

These are all pointer types though, so node_ptr is perhaps be a better
name.

How do you feel about having a node_reference instead.

// libxml2
class node_reference
{
private:
  xmlNodePtr node_;
};

// MSXML
class node_reference
{
private:
  CComPtr< IXMLDOMNode > node_; 
};

boost::xml::dom::node_reference mynode = doc.selectNode( "/h:*[1]" );

A node_reference to an object in the document would only be safe as long
as that node existed in the document.

-- 
Hamish Mackenzie <hamish_at_[hidden]>