Re: [boost] Boost and auto_ptr (was Boost 1.60.0 beta 1...)

Subject: Re: [boost] Boost and auto_ptr (was Boost 1.60.0 beta 1...)
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2015-11-10 20:17:26

On 11/10/2015 6:09 PM, Vladimir Batov wrote:
> On 11/11/2015 03:03 AM, Zach Laine wrote:
>> On Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Artyom Beilis <artyomtnk_at_[hidden]>
>> wrote:
>>> I don't see ANY reason whatsoever to break existing code unless the
>>> use of some code opens some critical security bugs like gets() for
>>> example.
>>> ...
>>> I think this proposal is totally disconnected from real world.
>>> ...
>> ...
>> I agree with the author of that paper that the use of auto_ptr *is*
>> broken
>> in the general case, and so it should be deprecated and removed.
>
> Deprecating and removing are not quite the same with very different
> outcomes to the end-user. No matter how much one likes C++11 and how
> much auto_prt is "broken" it appears outright irresponsible removing
> such an important and well-entrenched component with huge impact onto
> the end-user code base. The concern expressed by Artyom is
> well-justified. There cannot be ifs and buts about it.

I believe one is allowed to say that Y does everything that X does and 
is better and therefore X will be removed at some time in the future. If 
one cannot say that then computer programming will never advance to the 
use of better programming idioms. I don't believe that one must carry 
the baggage of X forever because some programmers want to use X in 
perpetuity.

This is a general reflection and is not a specific argument for 
std::unique_ptr versus std::auto_ptr. However technically 
std::unique_ptr appears to me to be a superior programming idiom than 
std::auto_ptr and while I am not going to argue over a date in which 
std::auto_ptr should no longer be part of the C++ standard library, it 
seems inevitable to me that at some time in the future it would be 
removed from the C++ standard library.