On Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 9:39 AM, Klaim - Joël Lamotte <mjklaim@gmail.com> wrote:

...

It would be nice if get_symbol returned a smart pointer that contained a shared_ptr to the library. When all such references are released, the library can be unloaded.

I disagree. In my experience it would be more useful if it contained a weak_ptr to the library, with a centralised system keeping all loaded libraries alive and allowing the used to unload the library explicitely. The get_symbol return type would then be testable. That way it is easier to find issues related to plugins and its still possible for the user to prevent these issues at runtime.

+1