Re: [boost] std::map::find() wrapper

Subject: Re: [boost] std::map::find() wrapper
From: Thorsten Ottosen (thorsten.ottosen_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-05-05 09:25:55

Den 05-05-2011 13:59, Stewart, Robert skrev:
> Thorsten Ottosen wrote:
>>
>> Some dislike "naked" pointers in interfaces. I think a good
>> guide line is that such pointer is always without ownership,
>> and so
>>
>>     T* foo()
>>
>> is quite easy to read IMO. No need for another overload.
>
> That is a viewpoint you cannot impose on library users, however.
>

Well, how does the library user knows that an optional<T&> does not own 
the stored reference?

Can I say

   delete &*find_some_thing()

? To be sure, I must consult the documentation. Just by looking at the
name of the function find_some_thing() it would be highly surprising if 
that involved transfer of ownership of a resource.

Don't get me wrong: I'm a great fan of optional<T>, but that does not 
imply that you can't use it too much.

-Thorsten