On 02/18/2016 06:30 AM, Phil Endecott wrote:
Phil Bouchard wrote:
I think [std::list etc] should make use of the allocator's specific pointer
In C++03, containers were allowed to assume that allocator::pointer == value_type*. This is not true since C++11, where it should use allocator::pointer via allocator_traits.
A subtlety is that in the code you posted you're dealing with node pointers, not value_type pointers. I'm not sure what's going on there. My first thought was that you were looking at a pre-11 version of libstdc++, but I see a #if that suggests otherwise. Maybe others can comment.
You might like to look at how Boost.Container works. It should use allocator::pointer even on C++03.
Note that trying to use a smart pointer for allocator::pointer is unlikely to work in general, e.g. you can't use shared_ptr, because the semantics are not what the container expects. The most common use for redefining allocator::pointer that I've seen is to store offset in memory-mapped files and similar.
Thanks for your input... I am trying out boost::container::... right now and it is not a trivial task to use a smart pointers inside containers but I think it is possible. I saw functions like to_raw_pointer() were user before calling the allocator's constructors & destructors... I believe this should be cleaned up sooner or later but for now I think I can survive by overloading only the allocate & deallocate functions.