Re: [boost] [shared_ptr] delete shared_ptr

Subject: Re: [boost] [shared_ptr] delete shared_ptr
From: Kenny Riddile (kfriddile_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-03-17 15:08:51

On 3/17/2011 2:13 PM, pavel wrote:
> and at last can you please give a couple of reasons why delete'ing
> smart pointers is a bad idea?

Because it's a lie.  "delete" should delete something, and not be 
overloaded to perform non-obvious, unrelated logic.  A perfect example 
is how the proposed usage of "delete" confused Frank Mori Hess.  Was it 
unreasonable for him to see "delete" and assume that it was actually 
deleting something?

On 3/17/2011 2:13 PM, pavel wrote:
 > furthermore this can simplify template programming
 > here is an example
 >
 >    template<typename ptr_t>
 >    void takes_ownership(ptr_t p)
 >    {
 >      //do something with the data
 >      delete p;
 >    }

The same can be accomplished using type traits or function overloading.