• Home
  • Line#
  • Scopes#
  • Navigate#
  • Raw
  • Download
1<html>
2<head>
3<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
4<title>Development</title>
5<link rel="stylesheet" href="../../../../../doc/src/boostbook.css" type="text/css">
6<meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.78.1">
7<link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="Chapter&#160;1.&#160;Boost.Optional">
8<link rel="up" href="../index.html" title="Chapter&#160;1.&#160;Boost.Optional">
9<link rel="prev" href="tutorial.html" title="Tutorial">
10<link rel="next" href="synopsis.html" title="Synopsis">
11</head>
12<body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF">
13<table cellpadding="2" width="100%"><tr>
14<td valign="top"><img alt="Boost C++ Libraries" width="277" height="86" src="../../../../../boost.png"></td>
15<td align="center"><a href="../../../../../index.html">Home</a></td>
16<td align="center"><a href="../../../../../libs/libraries.htm">Libraries</a></td>
17<td align="center"><a href="http://www.boost.org/users/people.html">People</a></td>
18<td align="center"><a href="http://www.boost.org/users/faq.html">FAQ</a></td>
19<td align="center"><a href="../../../../../more/index.htm">More</a></td>
20</tr></table>
21<hr>
22<div class="spirit-nav">
23<a accesskey="p" href="tutorial.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/prev.png" alt="Prev"></a><a accesskey="u" href="../index.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/up.png" alt="Up"></a><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/home.png" alt="Home"></a><a accesskey="n" href="synopsis.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/next.png" alt="Next"></a>
24</div>
25<div class="section">
26<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
27<a name="boost_optional.development"></a><a class="link" href="development.html" title="Development">Development</a>
28</h2></div></div></div>
29<div class="toc"><dl class="toc">
30<dt><span class="section"><a href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_models">The models</a></span></dt>
31<dt><span class="section"><a href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_semantics">The semantics</a></span></dt>
32<dt><span class="section"><a href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_interface">The Interface</a></span></dt>
33</dl></div>
34<div class="section">
35<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
36<a name="boost_optional.development.the_models"></a><a class="link" href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_models" title="The models">The models</a>
37</h3></div></div></div>
38<p>
39        In C++, we can <span class="emphasis"><em>declare</em></span> an object (a variable) of type
40        <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>, and we can give this variable
41        an <span class="emphasis"><em>initial value</em></span> (through an <span class="emphasis"><em>initializer</em></span>.
42        (cf. 8.5)). When a declaration includes a non-empty initializer (an initial
43        value is given), it is said that the object has been initialized. If the
44        declaration uses an empty initializer (no initial value is given), and neither
45        default nor value initialization applies, it is said that the object is
46        <span class="bold"><strong>uninitialized</strong></span>. Its actual value exist but
47        has an <span class="emphasis"><em>indeterminate initial value</em></span> (cf. 8.5/11). <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code> intends
48        to formalize the notion of initialization (or lack of it) allowing a program
49        to test whether an object has been initialized and stating that access to
50        the value of an uninitialized object is undefined behavior. That is, when
51        a variable is declared as <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
52        and no initial value is given, the variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>formally</em></span>
53        uninitialized. A formally uninitialized optional object has conceptually
54        no value at all and this situation can be tested at runtime. It is formally
55        <span class="emphasis"><em>undefined behavior</em></span> to try to access the value of an
56        uninitialized optional. An uninitialized optional can be assigned a value,
57        in which case its initialization state changes to initialized. Furthermore,
58        given the formal treatment of initialization states in optional objects,
59        it is even possible to reset an optional to <span class="emphasis"><em>uninitialized</em></span>.
60      </p>
61<p>
62        In C++ there is no formal notion of uninitialized objects, which means that
63        objects always have an initial value even if indeterminate. As discussed
64        on the previous section, this has a drawback because you need additional
65        information to tell if an object has been effectively initialized. One of
66        the typical ways in which this has been historically dealt with is via a
67        special value: <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">EOF</span></code>, <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">npos</span></code>, -1, etc... This is equivalent to
68        adding the special value to the set of possible values of a given type. This
69        super set of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> plus some
70        <span class="emphasis"><em>nil_t</em></span>&#8212;where <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">nil_t</span></code>
71        is some stateless POD&#8212;can be modeled in modern languages as a <span class="bold"><strong>discriminated union</strong></span> of T and nil_t. Discriminated
72        unions are often called <span class="emphasis"><em>variants</em></span>. A variant has a <span class="emphasis"><em>current
73        type</em></span>, which in our case is either <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
74        or <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">nil_t</span></code>. Using the <a href="../../../../variant/index.html" target="_top">Boost.Variant</a> library, this model
75        can be implemented in terms of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">boost</span><span class="special">::</span><span class="identifier">variant</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">,</span><span class="identifier">nil_t</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>.
76        There is precedent for a discriminated union as a model for an optional value:
77        the <a href="http://www.haskell.org/" target="_top">Haskell</a> <span class="bold"><strong>Maybe</strong></span>
78        built-in type constructor. Thus, a discriminated union <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">+</span><span class="identifier">nil_t</span></code>
79        serves as a conceptual foundation.
80      </p>
81<p>
82        A <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">variant</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">,</span><span class="identifier">nil_t</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code> follows naturally from the traditional
83        idiom of extending the range of possible values adding an additional sentinel
84        value with the special meaning of <span class="emphasis"><em>Nothing</em></span>. However,
85        this additional <span class="emphasis"><em>Nothing</em></span> value is largely irrelevant
86        for our purpose since our goal is to formalize the notion of uninitialized
87        objects and, while a special extended value can be used to convey that meaning,
88        it is not strictly necessary in order to do so.
89      </p>
90<p>
91        The observation made in the last paragraph about the irrelevant nature of
92        the additional <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">nil_t</span></code> with
93        respect to <span class="underline">purpose</span> of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code> suggests
94        an alternative model: a <span class="emphasis"><em>container</em></span> that either has a
95        value of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> or nothing.
96      </p>
97<p>
98        As of this writing I don't know of any precedent for a variable-size fixed-capacity
99        (of 1) stack-based container model for optional values, yet I believe this
100        is the consequence of the lack of practical implementations of such a container
101        rather than an inherent shortcoming of the container model.
102      </p>
103<p>
104        In any event, both the discriminated-union or the single-element container
105        models serve as a conceptual ground for a class representing optional&#8212;i.e.
106        possibly uninitialized&#8212;objects. For instance, these models show the <span class="emphasis"><em>exact</em></span>
107        semantics required for a wrapper of optional values:
108      </p>
109<p>
110        Discriminated-union:
111      </p>
112<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
113<li class="listitem">
114            <span class="bold"><strong>deep-copy</strong></span> semantics: copies of the variant
115            implies copies of the value.
116          </li>
117<li class="listitem">
118            <span class="bold"><strong>deep-relational</strong></span> semantics: comparisons
119            between variants matches both current types and values
120          </li>
121<li class="listitem">
122            If the variant's current type is <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>,
123            it is modeling an <span class="emphasis"><em>initialized</em></span> optional.
124          </li>
125<li class="listitem">
126            If the variant's current type is not <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>,
127            it is modeling an <span class="emphasis"><em>uninitialized</em></span> optional.
128          </li>
129<li class="listitem">
130            Testing if the variant's current type is <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
131            models testing if the optional is initialized
132          </li>
133<li class="listitem">
134            Trying to extract a <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
135            from a variant when its current type is not <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>,
136            models the undefined behavior of trying to access the value of an uninitialized
137            optional
138          </li>
139</ul></div>
140<p>
141        Single-element container:
142      </p>
143<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
144<li class="listitem">
145            <span class="bold"><strong>deep-copy</strong></span> semantics: copies of the container
146            implies copies of the value.
147          </li>
148<li class="listitem">
149            <span class="bold"><strong>deep-relational</strong></span> semantics: comparisons
150            between containers compare container size and if match, contained value
151          </li>
152<li class="listitem">
153            If the container is not empty (contains an object of type <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>), it is modeling an <span class="emphasis"><em>initialized</em></span>
154            optional.
155          </li>
156<li class="listitem">
157            If the container is empty, it is modeling an <span class="emphasis"><em>uninitialized</em></span>
158            optional.
159          </li>
160<li class="listitem">
161            Testing if the container is empty models testing if the optional is initialized
162          </li>
163<li class="listitem">
164            Trying to extract a <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
165            from an empty container models the undefined behavior of trying to access
166            the value of an uninitialized optional
167          </li>
168</ul></div>
169</div>
170<div class="section">
171<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
172<a name="boost_optional.development.the_semantics"></a><a class="link" href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_semantics" title="The semantics">The semantics</a>
173</h3></div></div></div>
174<p>
175        Objects of type <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
176        are intended to be used in places where objects of type <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
177        would but which might be uninitialized. Hence, <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>'s
178        purpose is to formalize the additional possibly uninitialized state. From
179        the perspective of this role, <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
180        can have the same operational semantics of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
181        plus the additional semantics corresponding to this special state. As such,
182        <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code> could
183        be thought of as a <span class="emphasis"><em>supertype</em></span> of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>.
184        Of course, we can't do that in C++, so we need to compose the desired semantics
185        using a different mechanism. Doing it the other way around, that is, making
186        <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code> a
187        <span class="emphasis"><em>subtype</em></span> of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
188        is not only conceptually wrong but also impractical: it is not allowed to
189        derive from a non-class type, such as a built-in type.
190      </p>
191<p>
192        We can draw from the purpose of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
193        the required basic semantics:
194      </p>
195<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
196<li class="listitem">
197            <span class="bold"><strong>Default Construction:</strong></span> To introduce a
198            formally uninitialized wrapped object.
199          </li>
200<li class="listitem">
201            <span class="bold"><strong>Direct Value Construction via copy:</strong></span>
202            To introduce a formally initialized wrapped object whose value is obtained
203            as a copy of some object.
204          </li>
205<li class="listitem">
206            <span class="bold"><strong>Deep Copy Construction:</strong></span> To obtain a
207            new yet equivalent wrapped object.
208          </li>
209<li class="listitem">
210            <span class="bold"><strong>Direct Value Assignment (upon initialized):</strong></span>
211            To assign a value to the wrapped object.
212          </li>
213<li class="listitem">
214            <span class="bold"><strong>Direct Value Assignment (upon uninitialized):</strong></span>
215            To initialize the wrapped object with a value obtained as a copy of some
216            object.
217          </li>
218<li class="listitem">
219            <span class="bold"><strong>Assignment (upon initialized):</strong></span> To assign
220            to the wrapped object the value of another wrapped object.
221          </li>
222<li class="listitem">
223            <span class="bold"><strong>Assignment (upon uninitialized):</strong></span> To
224            initialize the wrapped object with value of another wrapped object.
225          </li>
226<li class="listitem">
227            <span class="bold"><strong>Deep Relational Operations (when supported by the
228            type T):</strong></span> To compare wrapped object values taking into account
229            the presence of uninitialized states.
230          </li>
231<li class="listitem">
232            <span class="bold"><strong>Value access:</strong></span> To unwrap the wrapped
233            object.
234          </li>
235<li class="listitem">
236            <span class="bold"><strong>Initialization state query:</strong></span> To determine
237            if the object is formally initialized or not.
238          </li>
239<li class="listitem">
240            <span class="bold"><strong>Swap:</strong></span> To exchange wrapped objects. (with
241            whatever exception safety guarantees are provided by <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>'s
242            swap).
243          </li>
244<li class="listitem">
245            <span class="bold"><strong>De-initialization:</strong></span> To release the wrapped
246            object (if any) and leave the wrapper in the uninitialized state.
247          </li>
248</ul></div>
249<p>
250        Additional operations are useful, such as converting constructors and converting
251        assignments, in-place construction and assignment, and safe value access
252        via a pointer to the wrapped object or null.
253      </p>
254</div>
255<div class="section">
256<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
257<a name="boost_optional.development.the_interface"></a><a class="link" href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_interface" title="The Interface">The Interface</a>
258</h3></div></div></div>
259<p>
260        Since the purpose of optional is to allow us to use objects with a formal
261        uninitialized additional state, the interface could try to follow the interface
262        of the underlying <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> type
263        as much as possible. In order to choose the proper degree of adoption of
264        the native <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> interface, the
265        following must be noted: Even if all the operations supported by an instance
266        of type <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> are defined for
267        the entire range of values for such a type, an <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
268        extends such a set of values with a new value for which most (otherwise valid)
269        operations are not defined in terms of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>.
270      </p>
271<p>
272        Furthermore, since <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
273        itself is merely a <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> wrapper
274        (modeling a <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code> supertype),
275        any attempt to define such operations upon uninitialized optionals will be
276        totally artificial w.r.t. <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>.
277      </p>
278<p>
279        This library chooses an interface which follows from <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>'s
280        interface only for those operations which are well defined (w.r.t the type
281        <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>) even if any of the operands
282        are uninitialized. These operations include: construction, copy-construction,
283        assignment, swap and relational operations.
284      </p>
285<p>
286        For the value access operations, which are undefined (w.r.t the type <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>) when the operand is uninitialized, a
287        different interface is chosen (which will be explained next).
288      </p>
289<p>
290        Also, the presence of the possibly uninitialized state requires additional
291        operations not provided by <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
292        itself which are supported by a special interface.
293      </p>
294<h5>
295<a name="boost_optional.development.the_interface.h0"></a>
296        <span class="phrase"><a name="boost_optional.development.the_interface.lexically_hinted_value_access_in_the_presence_of_possibly_untitialized_optional_objects__the_operators___and___gt_"></a></span><a class="link" href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_interface.lexically_hinted_value_access_in_the_presence_of_possibly_untitialized_optional_objects__the_operators___and___gt_">Lexically-hinted
297        Value Access in the presence of possibly untitialized optional objects: The
298        operators * and -&gt;</a>
299      </h5>
300<p>
301        A relevant feature of a pointer is that it can have a <span class="bold"><strong>null
302        pointer value</strong></span>. This is a <span class="emphasis"><em>special</em></span> value which
303        is used to indicate that the pointer is not referring to any object at all.
304        In other words, null pointer values convey the notion of nonexistent objects.
305      </p>
306<p>
307        This meaning of the null pointer value allowed pointers to became a <span class="emphasis"><em>de
308        facto</em></span> standard for handling optional objects because all you have
309        to do to refer to a value which you don't really have is to use a null pointer
310        value of the appropriate type. Pointers have been used for decades&#8212;from
311        the days of C APIs to modern C++ libraries&#8212;to <span class="emphasis"><em>refer</em></span>
312        to optional (that is, possibly nonexistent) objects; particularly as optional
313        arguments to a function, but also quite often as optional data members.
314      </p>
315<p>
316        The possible presence of a null pointer value makes the operations that access
317        the pointee's value possibly undefined, therefore, expressions which use
318        dereference and access operators, such as: <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">(</span>
319        <span class="special">*</span><span class="identifier">p</span> <span class="special">=</span> <span class="number">2</span> <span class="special">)</span></code>
320        and <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">(</span> <span class="identifier">p</span><span class="special">-&gt;</span><span class="identifier">foo</span><span class="special">()</span> <span class="special">)</span></code>, implicitly
321        convey the notion of optionality, and this information is tied to the <span class="emphasis"><em>syntax</em></span>
322        of the expressions. That is, the presence of operators <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">*</span></code>
323        and <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">-&gt;</span></code> tell by themselves
324        &#8212;without any additional context&#8212; that the expression will be undefined
325        unless the implied pointee actually exist.
326      </p>
327<p>
328        Such a <span class="emphasis"><em>de facto</em></span> idiom for referring to optional objects
329        can be formalized in the form of a concept: the <a href="../../../../utility/OptionalPointee.html" target="_top">OptionalPointee</a>
330        concept. This concept captures the syntactic usage of operators <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">*</span></code>, <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">-&gt;</span></code>
331        and contextual conversion to <code class="computeroutput"><span class="keyword">bool</span></code>
332        to convey the notion of optionality.
333      </p>
334<p>
335        However, pointers are good to <span class="underline">refer</span>
336        to optional objects, but not particularly good to handle the optional objects
337        in all other respects, such as initializing or moving/copying them. The problem
338        resides in the shallow-copy of pointer semantics: if you need to effectively
339        move or copy the object, pointers alone are not enough. The problem is that
340        copies of pointers do not imply copies of pointees. For example, as was discussed
341        in the motivation, pointers alone cannot be used to return optional objects
342        from a function because the object must move outside from the function and
343        into the caller's context.
344      </p>
345<p>
346        A solution to the shallow-copy problem that is often used is to resort to
347        dynamic allocation and use a smart pointer to automatically handle the details
348        of this. For example, if a function is to optionally return an object <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">X</span></code>, it can use <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">shared_ptr</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">X</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
349        as the return value. However, this requires dynamic allocation of <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">X</span></code>. If <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">X</span></code>
350        is a built-in or small POD, this technique is very poor in terms of required
351        resources. Optional objects are essentially values so it is very convenient
352        to be able to use automatic storage and deep-copy semantics to manipulate
353        optional values just as we do with ordinary values. Pointers do not have
354        this semantics, so are inappropriate for the initialization and transport
355        of optional values, yet are quite convenient for handling the access to the
356        possible undefined value because of the idiomatic aid present in the <a href="../../../../utility/OptionalPointee.html" target="_top">OptionalPointee</a> concept
357        incarnated by pointers.
358      </p>
359<h5>
360<a name="boost_optional.development.the_interface.h1"></a>
361        <span class="phrase"><a name="boost_optional.development.the_interface.optional_lt_t_gt__as_a_model_of_optionalpointee"></a></span><a class="link" href="development.html#boost_optional.development.the_interface.optional_lt_t_gt__as_a_model_of_optionalpointee">Optional&lt;T&gt;
362        as a model of OptionalPointee</a>
363      </h5>
364<p>
365        For value access operations <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;&gt;</span></code> uses operators <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">*</span></code>
366        and <code class="computeroutput"><span class="special">-&gt;</span></code> to lexically warn
367        about the possibly uninitialized state appealing to the familiar pointer
368        semantics w.r.t. to null pointers.
369      </p>
370<div class="warning"><table border="0" summary="Warning">
371<tr>
372<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Warning]" src="../../../../../doc/src/images/warning.png"></td>
373<th align="left">Warning</th>
374</tr>
375<tr><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
376          However, it is particularly important to note that <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;&gt;</span></code> objects are not pointers. <span class="underline"><code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;&gt;</span></code> is not, and does not model, a pointer</span>.
377        </p></td></tr>
378</table></div>
379<p>
380        For instance, <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;&gt;</span></code>
381        does not have shallow-copy so does not alias: two different optionals never
382        refer to the <span class="emphasis"><em>same</em></span> value unless <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span></code>
383        itself is a reference (but may have <span class="emphasis"><em>equivalent</em></span> values).
384        The difference between an <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
385        and a pointer must be kept in mind, particularly because the semantics of
386        relational operators are different: since <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
387        is a value-wrapper, relational operators are deep: they compare optional
388        values; but relational operators for pointers are shallow: they do not compare
389        pointee values. As a result, you might be able to replace <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">optional</span><span class="special">&lt;</span><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">&gt;</span></code>
390        by <code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">T</span><span class="special">*</span></code>
391        on some situations but not always. Specifically, on generic code written
392        for both, you cannot use relational operators directly, and must use the
393        template functions <a href="../../../../utility/OptionalPointee.html#equal" target="_top"><code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">equal_pointees</span><span class="special">()</span></code></a>
394        and <a href="../../../../utility/OptionalPointee.html#less" target="_top"><code class="computeroutput"><span class="identifier">less_pointees</span><span class="special">()</span></code></a>
395        instead.
396      </p>
397</div>
398</div>
399<table xmlns:rev="http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~gregod/boost/tools/doc/revision" width="100%"><tr>
400<td align="left"></td>
401<td align="right"><div class="copyright-footer">Copyright &#169; 2003-2007 Fernando Luis Cacciola Carballal<br>Copyright &#169; 2014 Andrzej Krzemie&#324;ski<p>
402        Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
403        file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at <a href="http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt" target="_top">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)
404      </p>
405</div></td>
406</tr></table>
407<hr>
408<div class="spirit-nav">
409<a accesskey="p" href="tutorial.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/prev.png" alt="Prev"></a><a accesskey="u" href="../index.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/up.png" alt="Up"></a><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/home.png" alt="Home"></a><a accesskey="n" href="synopsis.html"><img src="../../../../../doc/src/images/next.png" alt="Next"></a>
410</div>
411</body>
412</html>
413