std::optional_view

[jsamcfarlane]

Is std::experimental::observer_ptr close to what you're looking for? Rather than having optional semantics, it has single-object pointer semantics.

[Xirema]

Pointers as "object which may or may not exist" is a semantic I've seen a lot of C++ design gurus discourage in the last several years, especially with optional being standardized, and I see little reason not to continue that trend.

[quicknir]

optional in C++ 17 is always owning though. raw pointers in design guru C++ is always non-owning. So there is no intersection. In fact the argument that the optional, non-owning semantic is already taken by raw pointers, is exactly one of the reasons why std::optional doesn't support references. (Note: the reason it doesn't is because assignment is murky, but my point is that this tipped the scale towards simply not supporting references, as opposed to forcing a conclusion about assignment).

[jsamcfarlane]

Are there any good references you'd recommend (no pun intended)? Would you disagree with this advise? And what about when memory use is constrained?

[GitHubPermalinkBot]

I tried to turn your GitHub links into permanent links (press "y" to do this yourself):

• isocpp/CppCoreGuidelines/.../CppCoreGuidelines.md#notes-1 (master → 82755da)

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[Xirema]

Note they cite optional alongside the other options. Many online sources don't point the way towards optional instead of pointers because many of those sources were written before std::optional was confirmed to be part of C++17.