Is it a good practice to always use smart pointers?

Question

I find smart pointers to be a lot more comfortable than raw pointers. So is it a good idea to always use smart pointers? ( Please note that I am from Java b

Answer 1

In many situations, I believe they are definitely the way to go (less messy cleanup code, reduced risk of leaks, etc.). However there is some very slight extra expense. If I were writing some code that had to be as fast as possible (say a tight loop that had to do some allocation and a free), I would probably not use a smart pointer in hopes of eking out a bit more speed. But I doubt that it would make any measurable difference in most situations.