我开始研究c++ 11的智能指针,我没有看到std::weak_ptr有任何有用的用途。有人能告诉我什么时候std::weak_ptr是有用的/必要的吗?


当前回答

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/memory/weak_ptr Std::weak_ptr是一个智能指针,它持有对Std::shared_ptr管理的对象的非所有(“弱”)引用。它必须转换为std::shared_ptr才能访问被引用的对象。

Std::weak_ptr建模临时所有权:当一个对象只有在它存在时才需要访问,并且它可能在任何时候被其他人删除时,Std::weak_ptr用于跟踪该对象,并将其转换为Std::shared_ptr以承担临时所有权。如果原始的std::shared_ptr在此时被销毁,对象的生命周期将被延长,直到临时的std::shared_ptr也被销毁。

此外,std::weak_ptr用于打破std::shared_ptr的循环引用。

其他回答

Std::weak_ptr是解决悬浮指针问题的一个很好的方法。通过使用原始指针,不可能知道所引用的数据是否已被释放。相反,通过让std::shared_ptr管理数据,并将std::weak_ptr提供给数据的用户,用户可以通过调用expired()或lock()来检查数据的有效性。

你不能单独用std::shared_ptr这样做,因为所有std::shared_ptr实例共享数据的所有权,这些数据在std::shared_ptr的所有实例被删除之前没有被删除。下面是一个如何使用lock()检查悬浮指针的例子:

#include <iostream>
#include <memory>

int main()
{
    // OLD, problem with dangling pointer
    // PROBLEM: ref will point to undefined data!

    int* ptr = new int(10);
    int* ref = ptr;
    delete ptr;

    // NEW
    // SOLUTION: check expired() or lock() to determine if pointer is valid

    // empty definition
    std::shared_ptr<int> sptr;

    // takes ownership of pointer
    sptr.reset(new int);
    *sptr = 10;

    // get pointer to data without taking ownership
    std::weak_ptr<int> weak1 = sptr;

    // deletes managed object, acquires new pointer
    sptr.reset(new int);
    *sptr = 5;

    // get pointer to new data without taking ownership
    std::weak_ptr<int> weak2 = sptr;

    // weak1 is expired!
    if(auto tmp = weak1.lock())
        std::cout << "weak1 value is " << *tmp << '\n';
    else
        std::cout << "weak1 is expired\n";
    
    // weak2 points to new data (5)
    if(auto tmp = weak2.lock())
        std::cout << "weak2 value is " << *tmp << '\n';
    else
        std::cout << "weak2 is expired\n";
}

输出

weak1 is expired
weak2 value is 5

http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/memory/weak_ptr Std::weak_ptr是一个智能指针,它持有对Std::shared_ptr管理的对象的非所有(“弱”)引用。它必须转换为std::shared_ptr才能访问被引用的对象。

Std::weak_ptr建模临时所有权:当一个对象只有在它存在时才需要访问,并且它可能在任何时候被其他人删除时,Std::weak_ptr用于跟踪该对象,并将其转换为Std::shared_ptr以承担临时所有权。如果原始的std::shared_ptr在此时被销毁,对象的生命周期将被延长,直到临时的std::shared_ptr也被销毁。

此外,std::weak_ptr用于打破std::shared_ptr的循环引用。

Here's one example, given to me by @jleahy: Suppose you have a collection of tasks, executed asynchronously, and managed by an std::shared_ptr<Task>. You may want to do something with those tasks periodically, so a timer event may traverse a std::vector<std::weak_ptr<Task>> and give the tasks something to do. However, simultaneously a task may have concurrently decided that it is no longer needed and die. The timer can thus check whether the task is still alive by making a shared pointer from the weak pointer and using that shared pointer, provided it isn't null.

我看到std::weak_ptr<T>作为std::shared_ptr<T>的句柄:它允许我 获取std::shared_ptr<T>(如果它仍然存在),但是它不会扩展它的 一生。在以下几种情况下,这种观点是有用的:

// Some sort of image; very expensive to create.
std::shared_ptr< Texture > texture;

// A Widget should be able to quickly get a handle to a Texture. On the
// other hand, I don't want to keep Textures around just because a widget
// may need it.

struct Widget {
    std::weak_ptr< Texture > texture_handle;
    void render() {
        if (auto texture = texture_handle.get(); texture) {
            // do stuff with texture. Warning: `texture`
            // is now extending the lifetime because it
            // is a std::shared_ptr< Texture >.
        } else {
            // gracefully degrade; there's no texture.
        }
    }
};

另一个重要的场景是打破数据结构中的循环。

// Asking for trouble because a node owns the next node, and the next node owns
// the previous node: memory leak; no destructors automatically called.
struct Node {
    std::shared_ptr< Node > next;
    std::shared_ptr< Node > prev;
};

// Asking for trouble because a parent owns its children and children own their
// parents: memory leak; no destructors automatically called.
struct Node {
    std::shared_ptr< Node > parent;
    std::shared_ptr< Node > left_child;
    std::shared_ptr< Node > right_child;
};

// Better: break dependencies using a std::weak_ptr (but not best way to do it;
// see Herb Sutter's talk).
struct Node {
    std::shared_ptr< Node > next;
    std::weak_ptr< Node > prev;
};

// Better: break dependencies using a std::weak_ptr (but not best way to do it;
// see Herb Sutter's talk).
struct Node {
    std::weak_ptr< Node > parent;
    std::shared_ptr< Node > left_child;
    std::shared_ptr< Node > right_child;
};

赫布·萨特有一篇精彩的演讲,解释了语言的最佳使用 特性(在这种情况下是智能指针),以确保默认情况下的泄漏自由 (意思是:所有的东西都是通过建设来实现的;你很难搞砸它 )。这是必看的节目。

共享指针有一个缺点: Shared_pointer不能处理父子周期依赖关系。如果父类使用父类的对象使用共享指针,则表示在同一文件中,如果子类使用父类的对象。共享指针将无法析构所有对象,甚至在循环依赖场景中共享指针根本不调用析构函数。基本上共享指针不支持引用计数机制。

我们可以使用weak_pointer来克服这个缺点。