Is RVO (Return Value Optimization) applicable for all objects?

Question

Is RVO (Return Value Optimization) guaranteed or applicable for all objects and situations in C++ compilers (specially GCC)?

If answer is \"no\", what are the condit

Answer 1

Move semantics (new feature of C++11) is a solution to your problem, which allows you to use Type(Type &&r); (the move constructor) explicitly, instead of Type(const Type &r) (the copy constructor).

For example:

class String {
  public:    
    char *buffer;

    String(const char *s) { 
      int n = strlen(s) + 1;
      buffer = new char[n];
      memcpy(buffer, s, n);
    }

    ~String() { delete [] buffer; }
    
    String(const String &r) { 
      // traditional copy ...
    }

    String(String &&r) {
      buffer = r.buffer; // O(1), No copying, saves time.
      r.buffer = 0;
    }
};

String hello(bool world) {
  if (world) {
    return String("Hello, world.");
  } else {
    return String("Hello.");
  }
}

int main() {
  String foo = hello();
  std::cout <

And this will not trigger the copy constructor.