Managed Pointers

Prefer std::make_shared and std::make_unique to new

Prefer shared_ptr<T> ptr = make_shared<T>(parm1, parm2) to shared_ptr<T> ptr = new T(parm1, parm2). The same comment applies to std::make_unique<T>. It is more efficient because only one memory allocation occurs; for example, in the case of std::make_shared<T> the control block that contains the shared count and the weak count for the share_ptr is contained within the same chunk of memory allocated to hold T.

std::weak_ptr: Use of and Use Cases for

If two class each contain a shared_ptr to the other, the underlying heap-allocated object will never be deleted. To see this circular reference problem, consider two classes A and B, where A has a shared_ptr<B> member and B has a shared_ptr<A> member:

class B;

class  A {
public:
   shared_ptr<B> b_ptr;
   A()
   {
       cout << "A::A() Constructor" << endl;
   }
   ~A()
   {
       cout << "~A::A Destructor" << endl;
   }
};

class B {
    public:
    shared_ptr<A> a_ptr;
   B()
   {
       cout << "B::B() Constructor" << endl;
   }
   ~B()
   {
       cout << "~B::B Destructor" << endl;
   }
};

shared_ptr<A> ptr_2a = make_shared<A>();

shared_ptr<B> ptr_2b = make_shared<B>();

cout << "ptr_2a reference count = " << ptr_2a.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b reference count = " << ptr_2b.use_count() << endl;

ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;

ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;

cout << "Setting:   ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;" << endl;
cout << "Setting:   ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;" << endl;

cout << "ptr_2a reference count now = " << ptr_2a.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b reference count now = " << ptr_2b.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2a->b_ptr reference count = " << ptr_2a->b_ptr.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b->a_ptr reference count = " << ptr_2b->a_ptr.use_count() << endl;

The output shows neither A’s destructor nor B’s destructor gets called:

A::A() Constructor
B::B() Constructor
ptr_2a reference count = 1
ptr_2b reference count = 1
Setting:   ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;
Setting:   ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;
ptr_2a reference count now = 2
ptr_2b reference count now = 2
ptr_2a->b_ptr reference count = 2
ptr_2b->a_ptr reference count = 2

Because std::weak_ptr<> does not participate in the reference count, it can be used to break the circular reference cycle:

class B;

class  A {
public:
   shared_ptr<B> b_ptr;
   A()
   {
       cout << "A::A() Constructor" << endl;
   }
   ~A()
   {
       cout << "~A::A Destructor" << endl;
   }
};

class B {
  public:
   weak_ptr<A> a_ptr;
   B()
   {
       cout << "B::B() Constructor" << endl;
   }
   ~B()
   {
       cout << "~B::B Destructor" << endl;
   }
};

shared_ptr<A> ptr_2a = make_shared<A>();

shared_ptr<B> ptr_2b = make_shared<B>();

cout << "ptr_2a reference count = " << ptr_2a.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b reference count = " << ptr_2b.use_count() << endl;

ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;

ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;

cout << "Setting:   ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;" << endl;
cout << "Setting:   ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;" << endl;

cout << "ptr_2a reference count now = " << ptr_2a.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b reference count now = " << ptr_2b.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2a->b_ptr reference count = " << ptr_2a->b_ptr.use_count() << endl;

cout << "ptr_2b->a_ptr reference count = " << ptr_2b->a_ptr.use_count() << endl;

Output:

A::A() Constructor
B::B() Constructor
ptr_2a reference count = 1
ptr_2b reference count = 1
Setting:   ptr_2a->b_ptr = ptr_2b;
Setting:   ptr_2b->a_ptr = ptr_2a;
ptr_2a reference count now = 1
ptr_2b reference count now = 2
ptr_2a->b_ptr reference count = 2
ptr_2b->a_ptr reference count = 1
~A::A Destructor
~B::B Destructor

weak_ptr<> has no dereference of overloaded pointer access methods, no T& weak_ptr<T>::operator*() or T *weak_ptr<T>::operator->(). Instead it has the method lock() that returns a shared_ptr<>. The example below that uses the lock() method and is taken from https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/memory/weak_ptr/lock:

#include <iostream>
#include <memory>

void observe(std::weak_ptr<int> weak)
{
    if (auto observe = weak.lock()) {
        std::cout << "\tobserve() able to lock weak_ptr<>, value=" << *observe << "\n";
    } else {
        std::cout << "\tobserve() unable to lock weak_ptr<>\n";
    }
}

int main()
{
    std::weak_ptr<int> weak;
    std::cout << "weak_ptr<> not yet initialized\n";
    observe(weak);

    {
        auto shared = std::make_shared<int>(42);
        weak = shared;
        std::cout << "weak_ptr<> initialized with shared_ptr.\n";
        observe(weak);
    }

    std::cout << "shared_ptr<> has been destructed due to scope exit.\n";
    observe(weak);
}

Output:

weak_ptr<> not yet initialized
        observe() unable to lock weak_ptr<>
weak_ptr<> initialized with shared_ptr.
        observe() able to lock weak_ptr<>, value=42
shared_ptr<> has been destructed due to scope exit.
        observe() unable to lock weak_ptr<>

Key Points

  • weak_ptr<> can only be initialized with a shared_ptr<> or a weak_ptr<>.

  • weak_ptr<> has no dereference of overloaded pointer access methods, no T& weak_ptr<T>::operator*() or T *weak_ptr<T>::operator->().

  • weak_ptr<> does not participate in in the reference count.

  • shared_ptr<Ty> lock() const must be used to access the referenced object.

  • weak_ptr<> is useful in 1. preventing circular references and in 2. checking whether a shared_ptr<> dangles.

  • To test if the corresponding shared_ptr<> dangle use weak_ptr<> methods bool expired() const or shared_ptr<Ty> lock() const.