Convert “this” pointer to string

Question

In a system where registered objects must have unique names, I want to use/include the object\'s this pointer in the name. I want the simplest way to create

Answer 1

In a system where registered objects must have unique names, I want to use/include the object's this pointer in the name.

An object's address is not necessarily unique. Example: You dynamically allocate such an object, use it for a while, delete it, and then allocate another such object. That newly allocated object might well have the same the object address as the previous.

There are far better ways to generate a unique name for something. A gensym counter, for example:

// Base class for objects with a unique, autogenerated name.
class Named {
public:
  Named() : unique_id(gensym()) {}
  Named(const std::string & prefix) : unique_id(gensym(prefix)) {}

  const std::string & get_unique_id () { return unique_id; }

private:
  static std::string gensym (const std::string & prefix = "gensym");
  const std::string unique_id;
};  

inline std::string Named::gensym (const std::string & prefix) {
  static std::map counter_map;
  int & entry = counter_map[prefix];
  std::stringstream sstream;
  sstream << prefix << std::setfill('0') << std::setw(7) << ++entry;
  return sstream.str();
}   

// Derived classes can have their own prefix. For example,
class DerivedNamed : public Named {
public:
  DerivedNamed() : Named("Derived") {}
};