CPP-ARC

About

C++ Automatic Reference Counting
This project intends to simplify memory management in C++, using reference counting.
When allocating memory with the new operator, CPP-ARC automatically adds a few bytes of memory to manage a retain count on the memory area.

Memory can then be retained or released.
An allocation sets the retain count to 1. A retain increments it, and a release decrements it.
When the retain count reaches 0, the memory is freed.

C++ classes are fully compatible with this scheme, as the destructors are called when the memory is freed.

This project also includes a template used to auto-release allocated memory, when it's not used anymore.

Documentation

How-to: Retain / Release

Memory allocated with new (primitive types or classes) can be retained or released.
To do so, simply call:

template< typename T > T * CPPARC::retain( T * p );
template< typename T > void CPPARC::release( T * p );

So for instance:

class Point
{
	public:
		
		int x;
		int y;
};

int main( void )
{
	Point * p = new Point();
	char  * s = new char[ 10 ];
	
	CPPARC::retain( p );
	CPPARC::release( p );
	
	// s will be freed here
	CPPARC::release( s );
	
	// p will be freed here - destructor will be called
	CPPARC::release( p );
	
	return 0;
}

How-to: Auto-released pointers

Allocated memory can also be auto-released, when it's not used anymore.
In order to to this, you can use the CPPARC::AutoPointer template class:

class Point
{
	public:
		
		int x;
		int y;
};

int main( void )
{
	CPPARC::AutoPointer< Point > p = new Point();
	
	// Nothing to do here, as the Point object will be automatically freed.
	
	return 0;
}

The AutoPointer template also provides direct access to class members:

class Foo
{
	public:
		
		void test( void )
		{
			std::cout << "hello, world" << std::endl;
		}
};

int main( void )
{
	CPPARC::AutoPointer< Foo > f = new Foo();
	
	// Will output "hello, world", just as a normal pointer
	f->test();
	
	return 0;
}

You can of course use the AutoPointer template for functions/methods with arguments, or as return type:

class Point
{
	public:
		
		int x;
		int y;
};

CPPARC::AutoPointer< Point > getPoint( void )
{
	return new Point();
}

int main( void )
{
	CPPARC::AutoPointer< Point > p = getPoint();
	
	// Nothing to do here, memory will be freed automatically.
	
	return 0;
}

License

CPP-ARC is released under the terms of the Boost Software License - Version 1.0.

Repository Infos

Owner:			Jean-David Gadina - XS-Labs
Web:			www.xs-labs.com
Blog:			www.noxeos.com
Twitter:		@macmade
GitHub:			github.com/macmade
LinkedIn:		ch.linkedin.com/in/macmade/
StackOverflow:	stackoverflow.com/users/182676/macmade