Closing a connection in a destructor in C++ - c++

I was thinking about a C++ class that manages my TCP connections (on Linux). Upon destruction the connection should be closed similar to this:
TCPConnection::~TCPConnection()
{
close(_socket);
}
The problem is that when putting an object of this class into e.g. a vector the connection will also be closed like this even though I would still like to use the connection. How can I solve this? Is this a bad idea in general?

What you want to implement is a design pattern called RAII, so once your TCPConnection is instatiated it aquires resources, once it is destroyed it releases resources. If it was destroyed then it means that programmer intention was to stop using those resources. If you need to still use them, then you must prolong lifetime of your object. You can use typedef std::shared_ptr<TCPConnection> TCPConnectionPtr, then you can put your TCPConnectionPtr instances in many places and your connection will be closed only once all those instances are destroyed.
example code (http://coliru.stacked-crooked.com/a/581a856ee32890d2):
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <memory>
class TCPConnection {
int inst;
static int inst_count;
public:
TCPConnection() { inst=inst_count++; std::cout << "TCPConnection created: " << inst << std::endl; }
~TCPConnection() { std::cout << "TCPConnection destroyed:" << inst << std::endl; }
};
int TCPConnection::inst_count;
// version if If c++11 is available, can be also implemented with boost::shared_ptr
// Removing individual TCPConnection from vector will also decrement its shared_ptr
// usage count and if it is zero then will destroy also such connections.
typedef std::shared_ptr<TCPConnection> TCPConnectionPtr;
typedef std::vector<TCPConnectionPtr> TCPConnectionPtrVec;
void fun1() {
TCPConnectionPtrVec vec;
vec.push_back(TCPConnectionPtr(new TCPConnection()));
}
// version for pre c++11 compiler, but I would recomend using boost::shared_ptr
// Class TCPConnectionsVecWrapper is a helper to make sure connections are safely freed.
class TCPConnectionsVecWrapper {
// No copying allowed
TCPConnectionsVecWrapper( const TCPConnectionsVecWrapper& );
TCPConnectionsVecWrapper& operator=( const TCPConnectionsVecWrapper& );
typedef std::vector<TCPConnection*> TCPConnectionPtrsVec;
TCPConnectionPtrsVec vec;
public:
TCPConnectionsVecWrapper() {}
~TCPConnectionsVecWrapper() {
for (TCPConnectionPtrsVec::const_iterator itr = vec.begin(); itr != vec.end(); ++itr) delete *itr;
}
TCPConnection* createConnection() {
vec.push_back(new TCPConnection());
return vec.back();
}
void remove(int index) {
delete vec[index];
vec.erase(vec.begin() + index);
}
TCPConnection* get(int index) { return vec[index]; }
const TCPConnection* get(int index) const { return vec[index]; }
std::size_t size() const { return vec.size(); }
};
void fun2() {
// All TCPConnection will get deleted once tcpConnectionsWrapper is out of scope
TCPConnectionsVecWrapper conns;
TCPConnection* con1 = conns.createConnection();
(void)con1; // unused
TCPConnection* con2 = conns.createConnection();
(void)con2; // unused
for ( size_t i = 0; i < conns.size(); ++i ) {
TCPConnection* con = conns.get(i);
(void)con; // unused
}
conns.remove(0);
}
int main(int argc, char** argv){
fun1();
fun2();
}

Store the TCPConnection as a pointer in a std::vector<TCPConnection*> rather than an an instance. Then when you need to tidy up you can just delete the pointer.
Alternatively, if you've got access to std::shared_ptr you can store that in the vector instead, and when nothing else is referencing each connection then the connection will be deleted.

Related

std::find return a class that I can't acesses functions

I come from C/C# language and now I'm trying to learn about C++ and his standards functions.
Now, I'm creating a class called IMonsterDead. I will have a std::vector<IMonsterDead*> with N monsters.
Example:
class IMonsterDead {
public:
IMonsterDead(int Id)
{
this->_Id = Id;
}
virtual void OnDead() = 0;
int Id() const {
return _Id;
}
private:
int _Id;
};
One class which implements that class:
class MonsterTest : public IMonsterDead {
public:
MonsterTest(int generId)
: IMonsterDead(generId)
{
}
virtual void OnDead()
{
std::cout << "MonsterTesd died" << std::endl;
}
};
Ok, if I access directly everything works fine. But I'm trying to use std::find.
Full program test:
int main()
{
std::vector<IMonsterDead*> monsters;
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
monsters.emplace_back(new MonsterTest(1000 + i));
}
int id = 1033;
std::vector<IMonsterDead*>::iterator result = std::find(monsters.begin(), monsters.end(), [id]( IMonsterDead const* l) {
return l->Id() == id;
});
if (result == monsters.end())
std::cout << "Not found" << std::endl;
else
{
// Here I want to access OnDead function from result
}
return 0;
}
So I need to access OnDead function from result but I can't. Intellisense doesn't show anything for me. The result exists.
How can I access that function? Have another better way to do that?
You need to use std::find_if() instead of std::find(). std::find() is for finding an element with a specific value, so you have to pass it the actual value to find, not a user_defined predicate. std::find_if() is for finding an element based on a predicate.
Either way, if a match is found, dereferencing the returned iterator will give you a IMonsterDead* pointer (more accurately, it will give you a IMonsterDead*& reference-to-pointer). You need to then dereference that pointer in order to access any members, like OnDead().
You are also leaking memory. You are not delete'ing the objects you new. And when dealing with polymorphic types that get deleted via a pointer to a base class, the base class needs a virtual destructor to ensure all derived destructors get called properly.
With that said, you are clearly using C++11 or later (by the fact that you are using vector::emplace_back()), so you should use C++11 features to help you manage your code better:
You should use std::unique_ptr to wrap your monster objects so you don't need to delete them manually.
You should always use the override keyword when overriding a virtual method, to ensure you override it properly. The compiler can catch more syntax errors when using override than without it.
You should use auto whenever you declare a variable that the compiler can deduce its type for you. Especially useful when dealing with templated code.
Try something more like this:
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <memory>
#include <algorithm>
class IMonsterDead {
public:
IMonsterDead(int Id)
: m_Id(Id)
{
}
virtual ~IMonsterDead() {}
virtual void OnDead() = 0;
int Id() const {
return m_Id;
}
private:
int m_Id;
};
class MonsterTest : public IMonsterDead {
public:
MonsterTest(int generId)
: IMonsterDead(generId)
{
}
void OnDead() override
{
std::cout << "MonsterTest died" << std::endl;
}
};
int main()
{
std::vector<std::unique_ptr<IMonsterDead>> monsters;
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
// using emplace_back() with a raw pointer risks leaking memory
// if the emplacement fails, so push a fully-constructed
// std::unique_ptr instead, to maintain ownership at all times...
monsters.push_back(std::unique_ptr<IMonsterDead>(new MonsterTest(1000 + i)));
// or:
// std::unique_ptr<IMonsterDead> monster(new MonsterTest(1000 + i));
// monsters.push_back(std::move(monster));
// or, if you are using C++14 or later:
// monsters.push_back(std::make_unique<MonsterTest>(1000 + i));
}
int id = 1033;
auto result = std::find_if(monsters.begin(), monsters.end(),
[id](decltype(monsters)::value_type &l) // or: (decltype(*monsters.begin()) l)
{
return (l->Id() == id);
}
// or, if you are using C++14 or later:
// [id](auto &l) { return (l->Id() == id); }
);
if (result == monsters.end())
std::cout << "Not found" << std::endl;
else
{
auto &monster = *result; // monster is 'std::unique_ptr<IMonsterDead>&'
monster->OnDead();
}
return 0;
}
Iterators are an interesting abstraction, in this case to be reduced to pointers.
Either you receive the pointer to the element or you get an invalid end.
You can use it as a pointer: (*result)->func();
You can also use it to create a new variable:
IMonsterDead &m = **result;
m.func();
This should give the same assembly, both possible.

Creating a callback with std::function as class-member

I have designed a simple callback-keyListener-"Interface" with the help of a pure virtual function. Also I used a shared_ptr, to express the ownership and to be sure, that the listener is always available in the handler. That works like a charme, but now I want to implement the same functionality with the help of std::function, because with std::function I am able to use lambdas/functors and I do not need to derive from some "interface"-classes.
I tried to implement the std::function-variant in the second example and it seems to work, but I have two questions related to example 2:
Why does this example still work, although the listener is out of scope? (It seems, that we are working with a copy of the listener instead of the origin listener?)
How can I modify the second example, to achieve the same functionality like in the first example (working on the origin listener)? (member-ptr to std::function seems not to work! How can we handle here the case, when the listener is going out of scope before the handler? )
Example 1: With a virtual function
#include <memory>
struct KeyListenerInterface
{
virtual ~KeyListenerInterface(){}
virtual void keyPressed(int k) = 0;
};
struct KeyListenerA : public KeyListenerInterface
{
void virtual keyPressed(int k) override {}
};
struct KeyHandler
{
std::shared_ptr<KeyListenerInterface> m_sptrkeyListener;
void registerKeyListener(std::shared_ptr<KeyListenerInterface> sptrkeyListener)
{
m_sptrkeyListener = sptrkeyListener;
}
void pressKey() { m_sptrkeyListener->keyPressed(42); }
};
int main()
{
KeyHandler oKeyHandler;
{
auto sptrKeyListener = std::make_shared<KeyListenerA>();
oKeyHandler.registerKeyListener(sptrKeyListener);
}
oKeyHandler.pressKey();
}
Example 2: With std::function
#include <functional>
#include <memory>
struct KeyListenerA
{
void operator()(int k) {}
};
struct KeyHandler
{
std::function<void(int)> m_funcKeyListener;
void registerKeyListener(const std::function<void(int)> &funcKeyListener)
{
m_funcKeyListener = funcKeyListener;
}
void pressKey() { m_funcKeyListener(42); }
};
int main()
{
KeyHandler oKeyHandler;
{
KeyListenerA keyListener;
oKeyHandler.registerKeyListener(keyListener);
}
oKeyHandler.pressKey();
}
std::function<Sig> implements value semantic callbacks.
This means it copies what you put into it.
In C++, things that can be copied or moved should, well, behave a lot like the original. The thing you are copying or moving can carry with it references or pointers to an extrenal resource, and everything should work fine.
How exactly to adapt to value semantics depends on what state you want in your KeyListener; in your case, there is no state, and copies of no state are all the same.
I'll assume we want to care about the state it stores:
struct KeyListenerA {
int* last_pressed = 0;
void operator()(int k) {if (last_pressed) *last_pressed = k;}
};
struct KeyHandler {
std::function<void(int)> m_funcKeyListener;
void registerKeyListener(std::function<void(int)> funcKeyListener) {
m_funcKeyListener = std::move(funcKeyListener);
}
void pressKey() { m_funcKeyListener(42); }
};
int main() {
KeyHandler oKeyHandler;
int last_pressed = -1;
{
KeyListenerA keyListener{&last_pressed};
oKeyHandler.registerKeyListener(keyListener);
}
oKeyHandler.pressKey();
std::cout << last_pressed << "\n"; // prints 42
}
or
{
oKeyHandler.registerKeyListener([&last_pressed](int k){last_pressed=k;});
}
here we store a reference or pointer to the state in the callable. This gets copied around, and when invoked the right action occurs.
The problem I have with listeners is the doulbe lifetime issue; a listener link is only valid as long as both the broadcaster and reciever exist.
To this end, I use something like this:
using token = std::shared_ptr<void>;
template<class...Message>
struct broadcaster {
using reciever = std::function< void(Message...) >;
token attach( reciever r ) {
return attach(std::make_shared<reciever>(std::move(r)));
}
token attach( std::shared_ptr<reciever> r ) {
auto l = lock();
targets.push_back(r);
return r;
}
void operator()( Message... msg ) {
decltype(targets) tmp;
{
// do a pass that filters out expired targets,
// so we don't leave zombie targets around forever.
auto l = lock();
targets.erase(
std::remove_if( begin(targets), end(targets),
[](auto&& ptr){ return ptr.expired(); }
),
end(targets)
);
tmp = targets; // copy the targets to a local array
}
for (auto&& wpf:tmp) {
auto spf = wpf.lock();
// If in another thread, someone makes the token invalid
// while it still exists, we can do an invalid call here:
if (spf) (*spf)(msg...);
// (There is no safe way around this issue; to fix it, you
// have to either restrict which threads invalidation occurs
// in, or use the shared_ptr `attach` and ensure that final
// destruction doesn't occur until shared ptr is actually
// destroyed. Aliasing constructor may help here.)
}
}
private:
std::mutex m;
auto lock() { return std::unique_lock<std::mutex>(m); }
std::vector< std::weak_ptr<reciever> > targets;
};
which converts your code to:
struct KeyHandler {
broadcaster<int> KeyPressed;
};
int main() {
KeyHandler oKeyHandler;
int last_pressed = -1;
token listen;
{
listen = oKeyHandler.KeyPressed.attach([&last_pressed](int k){last_pressed=k;});
}
oKeyHandler.KeyPressed(42);
std::cout << last_pressed << "\n"; // prints 42
listen = {}; // detach
oKeyHandler.KeyPressed(13);
std::cout << last_pressed << "\n"; // still prints 42
}

Passing function and operator calls in object

I am wanting to make a class which allows me to lock an object from being modified. It would essentially be a template with a boolean specifying the lock state. Since it is a template, I won't know all the methods that can be called on the internal object, so I need a method to pass calls through...
template<class T>
class const_lock
{
public:
const_lock() : my_lock(false) {}
void set_const_lock(bool state) {my_lock = state;}
// HOW TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING LIKE THESE????
//
template<typename...Args >
auto operatorANY_OPERATOR (Args...args)
{
if(my_lock != false)
throw std::exception("Objected locked to modification");
return my_value.ANY_OPERATOR(args);
}
template<typename...Args >
auto operatorANY_CONST_OPERATOR (Args...args) const
{
return my_value.ANY_CONST_OPERATOR(args);
}
template<typename...Args >
auto ANY_METHOD(Args...args)
{
if(my_lock != false)
throw std::exception("Objected locked to modification");
return my_value.ANY_METHOD(args);
}
template<typename...Args >
auto ANY_CONST_METHOD(Args...args) const
{
return my_value.ANY_CONST_METHOD(args);
}
private:
bool my_lock;
T my_value;
}
int main()
{
const_lock<std::vector<int>> v;
v.push_back(5);
v.push_back(7);
v.set_const_lock(true);
v.push_back(9); // fails compilation
std::cout << v.at(1) << std::endl; // ok
}
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Edit: changed static assert to throw and exception
What you're trying to do looks rather difficult, but more importantly is over-complicated and unnecessary for what you're trying to do.
Essentially what you're trying to do (correct me if I'm wrong) is create a compile time check of whether you are supposed to able to modify an object at a given time. However, c++ already has a built in way of doing this. Simply declare or pass your object as const or const&, and the compiler will not allow you to modify non-mutable parts of the object. When you want to be able to modify it pass it without const. You can even cast it from const& to regular & when you want to go from code where you can't modify it directly to code where you can, though I don't recommend it.
edit: just saw a comment on the question about no reference arrays. Don't worry about that! The standard library has support for reference wrappers which allow you to essentially store references in arrays or anywhere else.
You can make a generic wrapper class that you can forward the function to using a lambda that captures a reference to the internal member. In this example I am just using an if statement to check if it is "locked" and if it is then we just modify a copy.
template<class T>
class const_lock
{
private:
bool my_lock;
mutable T my_value;
public:
const_lock() : my_lock(false) {}
void set_const_lock() { my_lock = true; }
template<typename F>
auto operator()(F f) const -> decltype(f(my_value))
{
if (my_lock)
{
T temp{my_value}; // make a copy
return f(temp);
}
else
return f(my_value); // modify wrraped value
}
};
int main()
{
const_lock<std::string> cl;
cl([](std::string& s) {
s = "foobar";
});
cl([](std::string& s) {
std::cout << s << std::endl;
});
cl.set_const_lock();
cl([](std::string& s) {
s = "we should still be foobar";
});
cl([](std::string& s) {
std::cout << s;
});
}
This is completely unimplementable. A trivial modification of your source code shows why this won't work.
int main()
{
const_lock<std::vector<int>> v;
v.push_back(5);
v.push_back(7);
if (rand() % 2)
v.set_const_lock(true);
v.push_back(9); // fails compilation
std::cout << v.at(1) << std::endl; // ok
}
You need to completely rethink your approach.
Below is an example illustrating what I would be trying to protect against
class Node
{
public:
Node(int id) : my_id(id) {}
// . . .
int id() {return my_id;}
private:
int my_id;
// . . .
};
class Grid
{
public:
Grid() {}
// . . .
void associate(Node* n) { my_nodes.push_back(n); }
private:
// . . .
std::vector<Node*> my_nodes;
};
Node* find(std::vector<Node>& Nodes, int ID)
{
for(auto i=Nodes.begin(); i!=Nodes.end(); ++i)
{
if (i->id() == ID)
{
return &*i;
}
}
}
main()
{
std::vector<Node> Nodes;
// fill Nodes with data
Grid Array;
Array.associate( find(Nodes,14325) );
Array.associate( find(Nodes,51384) );
Array.associate( find(Nodes,321684) );
// . . .
Nodes.push_back(Node(21616)); // this can invalidate my pointers in Array
}
If I was able to make my Nodes vairable be
const_lock<std::vector<Node>> Nodes;
then call
Nodes.set_const_lock(true);
after populating the data, I wouldn't need to worry about my pointers in Array getting messed up.

How to get rid of weak_ptrs in a container

I have a class that stores weak_ptrs in a container and later does something if the weak_ptr is not expired:
class Example
{
public:
void fill(std::shared_ptr<int> thing)
{
member.push_back(thing);
}
void dosomething() const
{
for (const auto& i : member)
if (!i.expired())
;// do something. the weak_ptr will not be locked
}
private:
std::vector<std::weak_ptr<int>> member;
};
If Example is an object that lives forever and fill is used regularily, the vector allocates memory for elements continously, but they are never removed after they expired.
Is there any automatic C++ way to get rid of the expired weak_ptrs in the container or is there a better way to store a variable number of them?
My naive way would be to iterate over the container each time fill is called and remove all the expired weak_ptrs. In scenarios where Example has many elements in the container and fill is frequently called this seems to be very inefficient.
Since you clarified that you are actually using a std::map and not a std::vector, it might be easiest to remove the expired elements on-the-fly in doSomething(). Switch back from a range-based for loop to a normal iterator based design:
void dosomething() const
{
auto i = member.begin();
while( i != member.end() ) {
if( i->expired() ) { i = member.erase( i ); continue; }
;// do something. the weak_ptr will not be locked
++i;
}
}
Does the shared_ptr<int> have to be a shared_ptr<int>?
How about a shared_ptr<IntWrapper>?
#include <iostream>
#include <forward_list>
using namespace std;
class IntWrapper {
public:
int i;
static forward_list<IntWrapper*>& all() {
static forward_list<IntWrapper*> intWrappers;
return intWrappers;
}
IntWrapper(int i) : i(i) {
all().push_front(this);
}
~IntWrapper() {
all().remove(this);
}
};
void DoSomething() {
for(auto iw : IntWrapper::all()) {
cout << iw->i << endl;
}
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
shared_ptr<IntWrapper> a = make_shared<IntWrapper>(1);
shared_ptr<IntWrapper> b = make_shared<IntWrapper>(2);
shared_ptr<IntWrapper> c = make_shared<IntWrapper>(3);
DoSomething();
return 0;
}
I would rather use a custom deleter for the shared_ptr. But this implies here to change the interface of the Example class. The advantage using custom deleter is that there is no need to check for expired objects in the collection. The collection is directly maintained by the custom deleter.
Quick implementation :
#include <memory>
#include <iostream>
#include <set>
template <typename Container>
// requires Container to be an associative container type with key type
// a raw pointer type
class Deleter {
Container* c;
public:
Deleter(Container& c) : c(&c) {}
using key_type = typename Container::key_type;
void operator()(key_type ptr) {
c->erase(ptr);
delete ptr;
}
};
class Example {
public:
// cannot change the custom deleter of an existing shared_ptr
// so i changed the interface here to take a unique_ptr instead
std::shared_ptr<int> fill(std::unique_ptr<int> thing) {
std::shared_ptr<int> managed_thing(thing.release(), Deleter<containter_type>(member));
member.insert(managed_thing.get());
return managed_thing;
}
void dosomething() const {
// we don't need to check for expired pointers
for (const auto & i : member)
std::cout << *i << ", ";
std::cout << std::endl;
}
using containter_type = std::set<int*>;
private:
containter_type member;
};
int main()
{
Example example;
auto one = example.fill(std::unique_ptr<int>(new int(1)));
auto two = example.fill(std::unique_ptr<int>(new int(2)));
auto three = example.fill(std::unique_ptr<int>(new int(3)));
example.dosomething();
three.reset();
example.dosomething();
}

How to pass a reference of manager to the handler object?

What I want to do is to write a small Manager/Handler class. A Manager distributes and manages Handles. Such a handle could be for example a simple filehandle.
If a consumer wants to get a handle which already exists, the manager simply returns a shared_ptr. If the handle does not exist, the manager creates a new handle and then returns the shared_ptr.
Inside the Manager, those shared_ptr's are stored in a simple STL-Map.
If the last shared_ptr, which was assigned gets deleted, I want my manager to remove the related map-element, so that the handler object automatically gets destructed.
This sounds a bit like garbage-collection(e.g. worker thread, which checks the usage count of the pointers), but I am sure it can be done more elegantly.
How do I pass a reference of the manager instance to the handler object? (e.g. sth. like passing a unique_ptr(this) to the constructor of a new handler)
#include <memory>
#include <iostream>
#include <map>
using namespace std;
/*
* Simple handler class, that actually does nothing.
* This could be e.g. a Filehandler class or sth. like that
*/
class Handler {
private:
int i;
public:
Handler(int i) :i(i) {}
~Handler() {}
// Say who you are.
void print(void) { cout << "I am handler # " << i << endl; }
};
/*
* This is the "manager" class, that manages all handles. A handle is identified
* by an integer value. If a handle already exists, the Manager returns a shared_ptr,
* if it does not exist, the manager creates a new handle.
*/
class Manager {
private:
map<int, shared_ptr<Handler> > handles;
public:
Manager() {}
~Manager() {}
shared_ptr<Handler> get_handler(int identifier) {
shared_ptr<Handler> retval;
auto it = handles.find(identifier);
if(it != handles.end() ) {
retval = it->second;
} else {
retval = shared_ptr<Handler>(new Handler(identifier));
handles.insert( pair<int, shared_ptr<Handler>>(identifier, retval) );
}
return retval;
}
};
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
Manager m;
// Handler 13 doesn't exist, so it gets allocated
auto h = m.get_handler(13);
// Manager knows about handler 13, so it returns the already existing shared_ptr
auto i = m.get_handler(13);
h.reset(); // Well... Let's assume we don't need h any more...
// do some stuff...
i->print();
// ...
i.reset(); // We also loose i. This is exactly the point where i want the manager to forget about the handle 13
return 0;
}
You may want to hold non-owning pointers in your manager to keep track of existing handles, and give away owning shared_ptr with a custom deleter. The custom deleter would make sure the corresponding observing pointer in the manager is removed when the object eventually gets destroyed.
I called this pattern Tracking Factory, and here is how it works. Given an object class (would be Handler in your case):
class object
{
public:
size_t get_id() const
{
return _id;
}
private:
friend class tracking_factory;
object(size_t id) : _id(id) { }
size_t _id = static_cast<size_t>(-1);
};
I define a class which creates instances of object and stores non-owning references (weak_ptrs) to them. This class is the only class through which instances of object can be created - this is why the constructor of object is private, and tracking_factory is declared as friend in order to be able to access it:
class tracking_factory
{
public:
std::shared_ptr<object> get_object(size_t id,
bool createIfNotFound = true)
{
auto i = std::find_if(
begin(_objects),
end(_objects),
[id] (std::pair<size_t const, std::weak_ptr<object>> const& p)
-> bool
{
return (p.first == id);
});
if (i != end(_objects))
{
return i->second.lock();
}
else if (createIfNotFound)
{
return make_object(id);
}
else
{
return std::shared_ptr<object>();
}
}
size_t count_instances() const
{
return _objects.size();
}
private:
std::shared_ptr<object> make_object(size_t id)
{
std::shared_ptr<object> sp(
new object(id),
[this, id] (object* p)
{
_objects.erase(id);
delete p;
});
_objects[id] = sp;
return sp;
}
std::map<size_t, std::weak_ptr<object>> _objects;
};
Then, the rest of program will obtain shared_ptrs to objects through the object_factory: if an object with the desired characteristics (an id member here) has been created already, a shared_ptr to it will be returned without a new object being instantiated. Here is some code to test the functionality:
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
tracking_factory f;
auto print_object_count = [&f] ()
{
std::cout << "Number of objects: " << f.count_instances() << std::endl;
};
print_object_count();
auto p1 = f.get_object(42);
print_object_count();
{
auto p2 = f.get_object(42);
print_object_count();
p1 = f.get_object(0);
print_object_count();
}
print_object_count();
p1.reset();
print_object_count();
}
Finally, here is a live example.
Store std::weak_ptr objects in the map; they don't retain ownership, so when the last std::shared_ptr object goes away the resource will be destroyed. But they do keep track of whether there are any remaining std::shared_ptr objects that point to the original object, so putting them in the map lets you check later whether there is still a resource there.