auto x = make_x(...) and this - c++

Question

I have a class template S<T> and because the template parameter is sometimes hard write explicitly I also have a little helper function makeS(...) to deduce the template parameter.
Now the problem is that the constructor of S has a "side effect": it adds itself to a map which then will later be used to iterate over all instances of S. But this effectively makes S<T> s{...}; very different from auto s = makeS(...); (if RVO is not used).
Here is some code which hopefully shows what I'm trying to do. (Note: in the actual program, S has more than a single template parameter and all will be deduced in makeS)
#include <cassert>
#include <iostream>
#include <map>
#include <string>
#include <utility>
using namespace std;
struct Base
{
virtual ~Base() {}
virtual void f() const = 0;
};
static map<string, Base*> Map;
template <typename T>
struct S : Base
{
T Func;
Base* This;
S(string const& name, T func) : Func(std::move(func)), This(this)
{
//
// Automatically add this struct to Map...
//
Map.insert({name, this});
}
virtual void f() const override { Func(); }
};
template <typename T>
S<T> makeS(std::string const& name, T func)
{
return S<T>(name, std::move(func));
}
void func1()
{
std::cout << "func1\n";
}
int main()
{
struct Func2
{
void operator ()() const {
std::cout << "func2\n";
}
};
//
// This is not possible:
//
// S< ??? > s("s", [](){});
//
// This would be ok:
//
// auto F = [](){};
// S<decltype(F)> s("s", F);
//
auto s1 = makeS("s1", func1);
auto s2 = makeS("s2", Func2());
auto s3 = makeS("s3", [](){ std::cout << "func3\n"; });
//
// Manually adding s1,... to the Map is ok, but that's what
// I want to avoid...
//
// Map.insert({"s1", &s1});
// ...
//
assert(&s1 == s1.This);
assert(&s2 == s2.This);
assert(&s3 == s3.This);
for (auto&& I : Map)
{
I.second->f();
}
}
As I understand it, the map will only contain valid pointers if RVO is used in auto s1 = makeS(...) etc. and this is not guaranteed.
Is there a way to deduce the template parameters while at the same time avoiding the need to manually register s1,...?

Answer 1

Your basic problem is you failed to implement the rule of 3. If your destructor needs non-trivial behavior (and if you register yourself in the constructor, this is the case), you must either implement or block assignment and copy construct (and/or move-assign and move-construct).
In this case, we can implement a move-construct and block move-assign, and copy construct and copy assign are implicitly blocked.
First, add name to S. Then implement a move constructor.
template <typename T>
struct S : Base
{
std::string Name;
T Func;
Base* This; // ?? why ?? this looks both dangerous and useless at the same time!
S( S&& s ): Name(std::move(s.Name)), Func(std::move(s.Func)), This(this) {
s.clear(); // technically `move` need not clear.
map[Name] = this; // overwrite
}
S& operator=(S&& s) = delete; // or implement it
now your object is moveable, and when moved it updates the Map. ~S should, I assume, unregister from Map -- detect if your name is empty (and assert at construction you gain a non-empty name), and if it is don't unregister (as you where already moved from).
Now move-construct and elided-construct have the same semantics. RVO failure results in some inefficiency, but no logical failure. Plus, your type is now moveable, which tends to be really useful.

Answer 2

If you need to maintain object identity, use can use std::unique_ptr:
template <typename T>
std::unique_ptr<S<T>> makeS(std::string const& name, T func)
{
return { new S<T>(name, std::move(func)) };
}
Now moving the pointer from place to place won't move the object; the pointer kept in the map will stay valid.

Answer 3

My suggestions to improve your code:
1) Get rid of the side effect in the constructor. Create objects in a factory method only (makeS in your code; you can make it a static member function of S) and register the S objects in that method. To disable object creation in different ways make constructor(s) private.
2) Disable S objects copying/moving and handle the objects for example as shared_ptr/unique_ptr<S> only. When you disable copying/moving you avoid the problem when your map contains a pointer to invalid objects and now you don't need to rely on RVO.
3) Use std::function<void()> instead of T Func;. In that case your class don't need to be a template class (or it will have less template arguments). That will simplify your code.