Using std::shared_ptr to point to anything

Question

I\'m using a std::shared_ptr in my application to make a smart pointer which can point to many different types of data structures like structs, vect

Answer 1

This is not good practice. If you don't store additional type information next to your std::shared_ptr (which you can cast using static_pointer_cast) you have undefined behaviour all around. Maybe Boost.Any is an option for you?

If you want to stick with std::shared_ptr please remember to provide a custom deleter function (see make shared_ptr not use delete).