Transferring Ownership

Back to Homepage
Back to Week 3

---

Smart Pointers

• unique
  • only one
• shared
  • delete when last one is destroyed
• weak
  • option to get a shared pointer
  • Shared pointer that doesnt contribute to the count
  • If the thing got deleted, pointer will say it doesnt exist anymore
• allows for easier memory management than raw pointers
• allows more control than garbage collection

class List {
  unique_ptr<int[]>backingArray;
}

Copy

Move

RegistrationForm -> unique_ptr(Person) createPerson() -> return unique_ptr(new Person())

// Because person will outlive form, maybe return pointer as person will be on heap
// Dont want to tie their lifetimes together

make_unique<Person>(...); // Creates a new person without using new keyword