How to release pointer from boost::shared_ptr?

Question

Can boost::shared_ptr release the stored pointer without deleting it?

I can see no release function exists in the documentation, also in the FAQ is explained why it

Answer 1

Forgive them for they know not what they do. This example works with boost::shared_ptr and msvs std::shared_ptr without memory leaks!

template <template <typename> class TSharedPtr, typename Type>
Type * release_shared(TSharedPtr<Type> & ptr)
{
    //! this struct mimics the data of std:shared_ptr ( or boost::shared_ptr )
    struct SharedVoidPtr
    {
        struct RefCounter
        {
            long _Uses;
            long _Weaks;
        };

        void * ptr;
        RefCounter * refC;

        SharedVoidPtr()
        {
            ptr = refC = nullptr;
        }

        ~SharedVoidPtr()
        {
            delete refC;
        }
    };

    assert( ptr.unique() );

    Type * t = ptr.get();

    SharedVoidPtr sp; // create dummy shared_ptr
    TSharedPtr<Type> * spPtr = (TSharedPtr<Type>*)( &sp );
    spPtr->swap(ptr); // swap the contents

    ptr.reset();
    // now the xxx::shared_ptr is empy and
    // SharedVoidPtr releases the raw poiter but deletes the underlying counter data
    return t;
}

Answer 2

Don't. Boost's FAQ entry:

Q. Why doesn't shared_ptr provide a release() function?

A. shared_ptr cannot give away ownership unless it's unique() because the other copy will still destroy the object.

Consider:

shared_ptr<int> a(new int);
shared_ptr<int> b(a); // a.use_count() == b.use_count() == 2

int * p = a.release();

// Who owns p now? b will still call delete on it in its destructor.

Furthermore, the pointer returned by release() would be difficult to deallocate reliably, as the source shared_ptr could have been created with a custom deleter.

So, this would be safe in case it's the only shared_ptr instance pointing to your object (when unique() returns true) and the object doesn't require a special deleter. I'd still question your design, if you used such a .release() function.