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-rw-r--r--src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.cpp109
-rw-r--r--src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.h3
2 files changed, 98 insertions, 14 deletions
diff --git a/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.cpp b/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.cpp
index 644ccc3..f793f26 100644
--- a/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.cpp
@@ -98,15 +98,14 @@
access made to the data being guarded: if it's a non-const access,
it creates a copy atomically for the operation to complete.
- QExplicitlySharedDataPointer behaves like QSharedDataPointer,
- except that it only detaches if
- QExplicitlySharedDataPointer::detach() is explicitly called.
+ QExplicitlySharedDataPointer is a variant of QSharedDataPointer, except
+ that it only detaches if QExplicitlySharedDataPointer::detach() is
+ explicitly called (hence the name).
- Finally, QPointer holds a pointer to a QObject-derived object, but
- it does so weakly. QPointer is similar, in that behaviour, to
- QWeakPointer: it does not allow you to prevent the object from
- being destroyed. All you can do is query whether it has been
- destroyed or not.
+ Finally, QPointer holds a pointer to a QObject-derived object, but it
+ does so weakly. QPointer can be replaced by QWeakPointer in almost all
+ cases, since they have the same functionality. See
+ \l{QWeakPointer#tracking-qobject} for more information.
\sa QSharedDataPointer, QWeakPointer
*/
@@ -123,12 +122,65 @@
directly, but it can be used to verify if the pointer has been
deleted or not in another context.
- QWeakPointer objects can only be created by assignment
- from a QSharedPointer.
-
- To access the pointer that QWeakPointer is tracking, you
- must first create a QSharedPointer object and verify if the pointer
- is null or not. See QWeakPointer::toStrongRef() for more information.
+ QWeakPointer objects can only be created by assignment from a
+ QSharedPointer. The exception is pointers derived from QObject: in that
+ case, QWeakPointer serves as a replacement to QPointer.
+
+ It's important to note that QWeakPointer provides no automatic casting
+ operators to prevent mistakes from happening. Even though QWeakPointer
+ tracks a pointer, it should not be considered a pointer itself, since it
+ doesn't guarantee that the pointed object remains valid.
+
+ Therefore, to access the pointer that QWeakPointer is tracking, you must
+ first promote it to QSharedPointer and verify if the resulting object is
+ null or not. QSharedPointer guarantees that the object isn't deleted, so
+ if you obtain a non-null object, you may use the pointer. See
+ QWeakPointer::toStrongRef() for more an example.
+
+ QWeakPointer also provides the QWeakPointer::data() method that returns
+ the tracked pointer without ensuring that it remains valid. This function
+ is provided if you can guarantee by external means that the object will
+ not get deleted (or if you only need the pointer value) and the cost of
+ creating a QSharedPointer using toStrongRef() is too high.
+
+ That function can also be used to obtain the tracked pointer for
+ QWeakPointers that cannot be promoted to QSharedPointer, such as those
+ created directly from a QObject pointer (not via QSharedPointer).
+
+ \section1 Tracking QObject
+
+ QWeakPointer can be used to track deletion classes derives from QObject,
+ even if they are not managed by QSharedPointer. When used in that role,
+ QWeakPointer replaces the older QPointer in all use-cases. QWeakPointer
+ is also more efficient than QPointer, so it should be preferred in all
+ new code.
+
+ To do that, QWeakPointer provides a special constructor that is only
+ available if the template parameter \tt T is either QObject or a class
+ deriving from it. Trying to use that constructor if \tt T does not derive
+ from QObject will result in compilation errors.
+
+ To obtain the QObject being tracked by QWeakPointer, you must use the
+ QWeakPointer::data() function, but only if you can guarantee that the
+ object cannot get deleted by another context. It should be noted that
+ QPointer had the same constraint, so use of QWeakPointer forces you to
+ consider whether the pointer is still valid.
+
+ QObject-derived classes can only be deleted in the thread they have
+ affinity to (which is the thread they were created in or moved to, using
+ QObject::moveToThread()). In special, QWidget-derived classes cannot be
+ created in non-GUI threads nor moved there. Therefore, guaranteeing that
+ the tracked QObject has affinity to the current thread is enough to also
+ guarantee that it won't be deleted asynchronously.
+
+ Note that QWeakPointer's size and data layout do not match QPointer, so
+ it cannot replace that class in a binary-compatible manner.
+
+ Care must also be taken with QWeakPointers created directly from QObject
+ pointers when dealing with code that was compiled with Qt versions prior
+ to 4.6. Those versions may not track the reference counters correctly, so
+ QWeakPointers created from QObject should never be passed to code that
+ hasn't been recompiled.
\sa QSharedPointer
*/
@@ -412,6 +464,35 @@
*/
/*!
+ \fn QWeakPointer::QWeakPointer(const QObject *obj)
+ \since 4.6
+
+ Creates a QWeakPointer that holds a weak reference directly to the
+ QObject \a obj. This constructor is only available if the template type
+ \tt T is QObject or derives from it (otherwise a compilation error will
+ result).
+
+ You can use this constructor with any QObject, even if they were not
+ created with \l QSharedPointer.
+
+ Note that QWeakPointers created this way on arbitrary QObjects usually
+ cannot be promoted to QSharedPointer.
+
+ \sa QSharedPointer, QWeakPointer#tracking-qobject
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \fn QWeakPointer &QWeakPointer::operator=(const QObject *obj)
+ \since 4.6
+
+ Makes this QWeakPointer hold a weak reference to directly to the QObject
+ \a obj. This function is only available if the template type \tt T is
+ QObject or derives from it.
+
+ \sa QWeakPointer#tracking-qobject
+*/
+
+/*!
\fn QWeakPointer &QWeakPointer::operator=(const QWeakPointer<T> &other)
Makes this object share \a other's pointer. The current pointer
diff --git a/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.h b/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.h
index e0fe3b1..332883a 100644
--- a/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.h
+++ b/src/corelib/tools/qsharedpointer.h
@@ -115,6 +115,9 @@ public:
QWeakPointer<T> operator=(const QWeakPointer<T> &other);
QWeakPointer<T> operator=(const QSharedPointer<T> &other);
+ QWeakPointer(const QObject *other);
+ QWeakPointer<T> operator=(const QObject *other);
+
T *data() const;
void clear();