// Copyright (c) 2012 The Chromium Authors. All rights reserved. // Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be // found in the LICENSE file. // Weak pointers help in cases where you have many objects referring back to a // shared object and you wish for the lifetime of the shared object to not be // bound to the lifetime of the referrers. In other words, this is useful when // reference counting is not a good fit. // // A common alternative to weak pointers is to have the shared object hold a // list of all referrers, and then when the shared object is destroyed, it // calls a method on the referrers to tell them to drop their references. This // approach also requires the referrers to tell the shared object when they get // destroyed so that the shared object can remove the referrer from its list of // referrers. Such a solution works, but it is a bit complex. // // EXAMPLE: // // class Controller : public SupportsWeakPtr<Controller> { // public: // void SpawnWorker() { Worker::StartNew(AsWeakPtr()); } // void WorkComplete(const Result& result) { ... } // }; // // class Worker { // public: // static void StartNew(const WeakPtr<Controller>& controller) { // Worker* worker = new Worker(controller); // // Kick off asynchronous processing... // } // private: // Worker(const WeakPtr<Controller>& controller) // : controller_(controller) {} // void DidCompleteAsynchronousProcessing(const Result& result) { // if (controller_) // controller_->WorkComplete(result); // } // WeakPtr<Controller> controller_; // }; // // Given the above classes, a consumer may allocate a Controller object, call // SpawnWorker several times, and then destroy the Controller object before all // of the workers have completed. Because the Worker class only holds a weak // pointer to the Controller, we don't have to worry about the Worker // dereferencing the Controller back pointer after the Controller has been // destroyed. // // ------------------------ Thread-safety notes ------------------------ // When you get a WeakPtr (from a WeakPtrFactory or SupportsWeakPtr), if it's // the only one pointing to the object, the object become bound to the // current thread, as well as this WeakPtr and all later ones get created. // // You may only dereference the WeakPtr on the thread it binds to. However, it // is safe to destroy the WeakPtr object on another thread. Because of this, // querying WeakPtrFactory's HasWeakPtrs() method can be racy. // // On the other hand, the object that supports WeakPtr (extends SupportsWeakPtr) // can only be deleted from the thread it binds to, until all WeakPtrs are // deleted. // // Calling SupportsWeakPtr::DetachFromThread() can work around the limitations // above and cancel the thread binding of the object and all WeakPtrs pointing // to it, but it's not recommended and unsafe. // // WeakPtrs may be copy-constructed or assigned on threads other than the thread // they are bound to. This does not change the thread binding. So these WeakPtrs // may only be dereferenced on the thread that the original WeakPtr was bound // to. #ifndef BASE_MEMORY_WEAK_PTR_H_ #define BASE_MEMORY_WEAK_PTR_H_ #include "base/basictypes.h" #include "base/base_export.h" #include "base/logging.h" #include "base/memory/ref_counted.h" #include "base/template_util.h" #include "base/threading/thread_checker.h" namespace base { template <typename T> class SupportsWeakPtr; template <typename T> class WeakPtr; namespace internal { // These classes are part of the WeakPtr implementation. // DO NOT USE THESE CLASSES DIRECTLY YOURSELF. class BASE_EXPORT WeakReference { public: // While Flag is bound to a specific thread, it may be deleted from another // via base::WeakPtr::~WeakPtr(). class Flag : public RefCountedThreadSafe<Flag> { public: Flag(); void Invalidate(); bool IsValid() const; void DetachFromThread() { thread_checker_.DetachFromThread(); } private: friend class base::RefCountedThreadSafe<Flag>; ~Flag(); ThreadChecker thread_checker_; bool is_valid_; }; WeakReference(); explicit WeakReference(const Flag* flag); ~WeakReference(); bool is_valid() const; private: scoped_refptr<const Flag> flag_; }; class BASE_EXPORT WeakReferenceOwner { public: WeakReferenceOwner(); ~WeakReferenceOwner(); WeakReference GetRef() const; bool HasRefs() const { return flag_.get() && !flag_->HasOneRef(); } void Invalidate(); // Indicates that this object will be used on another thread from now on. void DetachFromThread() { if (flag_) flag_->DetachFromThread(); } private: mutable scoped_refptr<WeakReference::Flag> flag_; }; // This class simplifies the implementation of WeakPtr's type conversion // constructor by avoiding the need for a public accessor for ref_. A // WeakPtr<T> cannot access the private members of WeakPtr<U>, so this // base class gives us a way to access ref_ in a protected fashion. class BASE_EXPORT WeakPtrBase { public: WeakPtrBase(); ~WeakPtrBase(); protected: explicit WeakPtrBase(const WeakReference& ref); WeakReference ref_; }; // This class provides a common implementation of common functions that would // otherwise get instantiated separately for each distinct instantiation of // SupportsWeakPtr<>. class SupportsWeakPtrBase { public: // A safe static downcast of a WeakPtr<Base> to WeakPtr<Derived>. This // conversion will only compile if there is exists a Base which inherits // from SupportsWeakPtr<Base>. See base::AsWeakPtr() below for a helper // function that makes calling this easier. template<typename Derived> static WeakPtr<Derived> StaticAsWeakPtr(Derived* t) { typedef is_convertible<Derived, internal::SupportsWeakPtrBase&> convertible; COMPILE_ASSERT(convertible::value, AsWeakPtr_argument_inherits_from_SupportsWeakPtr); return AsWeakPtrImpl<Derived>(t, *t); } private: // This template function uses type inference to find a Base of Derived // which is an instance of SupportsWeakPtr<Base>. We can then safely // static_cast the Base* to a Derived*. template <typename Derived, typename Base> static WeakPtr<Derived> AsWeakPtrImpl( Derived* t, const SupportsWeakPtr<Base>&) { WeakPtr<Base> ptr = t->Base::AsWeakPtr(); return WeakPtr<Derived>(ptr.ref_, static_cast<Derived*>(ptr.ptr_)); } }; } // namespace internal template <typename T> class WeakPtrFactory; // The WeakPtr class holds a weak reference to |T*|. // // This class is designed to be used like a normal pointer. You should always // null-test an object of this class before using it or invoking a method that // may result in the underlying object being destroyed. // // EXAMPLE: // // class Foo { ... }; // WeakPtr<Foo> foo; // if (foo) // foo->method(); // template <typename T> class WeakPtr : public internal::WeakPtrBase { public: WeakPtr() : ptr_(NULL) { } // Allow conversion from U to T provided U "is a" T. template <typename U> WeakPtr(const WeakPtr<U>& other) : WeakPtrBase(other), ptr_(other.get()) { } T* get() const { return ref_.is_valid() ? ptr_ : NULL; } operator T*() const { return get(); } T& operator*() const { DCHECK(get() != NULL); return *get(); } T* operator->() const { DCHECK(get() != NULL); return get(); } void reset() { ref_ = internal::WeakReference(); ptr_ = NULL; } private: friend class internal::SupportsWeakPtrBase; friend class SupportsWeakPtr<T>; friend class WeakPtrFactory<T>; WeakPtr(const internal::WeakReference& ref, T* ptr) : WeakPtrBase(ref), ptr_(ptr) { } // This pointer is only valid when ref_.is_valid() is true. Otherwise, its // value is undefined (as opposed to NULL). T* ptr_; }; // A class may extend from SupportsWeakPtr to expose weak pointers to itself. // This is useful in cases where you want others to be able to get a weak // pointer to your class. It also has the property that you don't need to // initialize it from your constructor. template <class T> class SupportsWeakPtr : public internal::SupportsWeakPtrBase { public: SupportsWeakPtr() {} WeakPtr<T> AsWeakPtr() { return WeakPtr<T>(weak_reference_owner_.GetRef(), static_cast<T*>(this)); } // Indicates that this object will be used on another thread from now on. void DetachFromThread() { weak_reference_owner_.DetachFromThread(); } protected: ~SupportsWeakPtr() {} private: internal::WeakReferenceOwner weak_reference_owner_; DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(SupportsWeakPtr); }; // Helper function that uses type deduction to safely return a WeakPtr<Derived> // when Derived doesn't directly extend SupportsWeakPtr<Derived>, instead it // extends a Base that extends SupportsWeakPtr<Base>. // // EXAMPLE: // class Base : public base::SupportsWeakPtr<Producer> {}; // class Derived : public Base {}; // // Derived derived; // base::WeakPtr<Derived> ptr = base::AsWeakPtr(&derived); // // Note that the following doesn't work (invalid type conversion) since // Derived::AsWeakPtr() is WeakPtr<Base> SupportsWeakPtr<Base>::AsWeakPtr(), // and there's no way to safely cast WeakPtr<Base> to WeakPtr<Derived> at // the caller. // // base::WeakPtr<Derived> ptr = derived.AsWeakPtr(); // Fails. template <typename Derived> WeakPtr<Derived> AsWeakPtr(Derived* t) { return internal::SupportsWeakPtrBase::StaticAsWeakPtr<Derived>(t); } // A class may alternatively be composed of a WeakPtrFactory and thereby // control how it exposes weak pointers to itself. This is helpful if you only // need weak pointers within the implementation of a class. This class is also // useful when working with primitive types. For example, you could have a // WeakPtrFactory<bool> that is used to pass around a weak reference to a bool. template <class T> class WeakPtrFactory { public: explicit WeakPtrFactory(T* ptr) : ptr_(ptr) { } ~WeakPtrFactory() { ptr_ = NULL; } WeakPtr<T> GetWeakPtr() { DCHECK(ptr_); return WeakPtr<T>(weak_reference_owner_.GetRef(), ptr_); } // Call this method to invalidate all existing weak pointers. void InvalidateWeakPtrs() { DCHECK(ptr_); weak_reference_owner_.Invalidate(); } // Call this method to determine if any weak pointers exist. bool HasWeakPtrs() const { DCHECK(ptr_); return weak_reference_owner_.HasRefs(); } // Indicates that this object will be used on another thread from now on. void DetachFromThread() { DCHECK(ptr_); weak_reference_owner_.DetachFromThread(); } private: internal::WeakReferenceOwner weak_reference_owner_; T* ptr_; DISALLOW_IMPLICIT_CONSTRUCTORS(WeakPtrFactory); }; } // namespace base #endif // BASE_MEMORY_WEAK_PTR_H_