Re: [boost] Adding polymorphic_value to boost

Subject: Re: [boost] Adding polymorphic_value to boost
From: Steven Watanabe (watanabesj_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-11-20 20:35:12

AMDG

On 11/20/2017 01:11 PM, Richard Hodges via Boost wrote:
> I watched Sean Parent's talk covering what has now become polymorphic_value.
> 
> One thing that I am concerned about is Sean's insistence on propagating
> const implicitly.
> 
> This would be at odds with the behaviour shared_ptr, unique_ptr, and
> reference_wrapper.
> 

  None of these make copies.  polymorphic_value is
not called XXX_ptr precisely because its semantics
are different from a pointer.

> Sometimes I want a const pointer to a mutable thing, and sometimes I want a
> mutable pointer to a const thing (and sometimes I want to be able to
> observe a thing without affecting its lifetime).
> 

This situation doesn't make sense for polymorphic_value.

> So my 2-pence would be that propagate_const should not be implicit in this
> class.
> 
> My rationale is that an obvious use case for me would be manufacturing
> specialisations on pointer_type allowing a consistent interface leading to
> an inner implementation while simply changing ownership behaviour.
> 
> In that sense I am strongly of the view that the return type of
> polymorphic_value<Foo>::operator*() const should be Foo& and not const Foo&.
> 
> If I want a polymorphic cloning pointer to const Foo I can declare it with
> polymorphic_value<const Foo>.
> 
> I have never had reason to quibble with Sean's thinking before now, but on
> this he is dead wrong.
> 
> If I want const propagation, it's simple enough to wrap any pointer in
> propagate_const<>
> 
> This feels to me like idealists overriding pragmatists.
> 
> Or have I missed something obvious?
> 

In Christ,
Steven Watanabe