Making a HANDLE RAII-compliant using shared_ptr with a custom deleter

Question

I\'ve recently posted a general question about RAII at SO. However, I still have some implementation issues with my HANDLE example.

A HANDLE is typedeff

Answer 1

Don't bother with shared_ptr for that, use ATL::CHandle.

Here is why:

• When you see CHandle you know that it's a RAII wrapper for a handle.
• When you see shared_ptr you don't know what it is.
• CHandle doesn't make an ownership shared (however in some cases you may want a shared ownership).
• CHandle is a standard for a windows development stack.
• CHandle is more compact than shared_ptr with custom deleter (less typing/reading).