I've run into problems using the typed_in_place_factory and optional objects. First, I ran into a problem where I initialized a typed_in_place_factory with a temporary and then used the factory after the temporary was destroyed. After a few hours of hair pulling, I figured out that the factory currently only stores references. This was a surprise because I have been using boost::bind for quite a while and it holds copies of the arguments. I propose that the typed_in_place_factory hold copies of the data as well. Users can pass boost::ref objects for types that aren't copyable with the added benefit that they explicitly know they need to keep the referenced object alive while the factory exists. Consistency between the behavior of boost::bind and the typed_in_place_factory is desirable because of their similar nature. Second, I've noticed that operator= for the optional takes a factory object by value. It seems like taking the argument by const reference would be desirable to prevent copying of the factory (which could be expensive if the changes to the typed_in_place_factory mentioned previously are accepted). Also, the conversion constructor takes the factory by const reference, so this may have just been a simple oversight. Below is a patch based on HEAD as of 2007-01-29. -------------------------------------------------------------- Index: boost/optional/optional.hpp =================================================================== RCS file: /cvsroot/boost/boost/boost/optional/optional.hpp,v retrieving revision 1.12 diff -p -r1.12 optional.hpp *** boost/optional/optional.hpp 26 Jun 2006 18:01:36 -0000 1.12 --- boost/optional/optional.hpp 29 Jan 2008 18:52:11 -0000 *************** class optional : public optional_detail: *** 510,516 **** // Assigns from an expression. See corresponding constructor. // Basic Guarantee: If the resolved T ctor throws, this is left UNINITIALIZED template<class Expr> ! optional& operator= ( Expr expr ) { this->assign_expr(expr,&expr); return *this ; --- 510,516 ---- // Assigns from an expression. See corresponding constructor. // Basic Guarantee: If the resolved T ctor throws, this is left UNINITIALIZED template<class Expr> ! optional& operator= ( Expr const& expr ) { this->assign_expr(expr,&expr); return *this ; Index: boost/utility/detail/in_place_factory_prefix.hpp =================================================================== RCS file: /cvsroot/boost/boost/boost/utility/detail/in_place_factory_prefix.hpp,v retrieving revision 1.2 diff -p -r1.2 in_place_factory_prefix.hpp *** boost/utility/detail/in_place_factory_prefix.hpp 26 Jun 2007 23:07:25 -0000 1.2 --- boost/utility/detail/in_place_factory_prefix.hpp 29 Jan 2008 18:52:13 -0000 *************** *** 26,32 **** #include <boost/preprocessor/repetition/enum_trailing_params.hpp> #define BOOST_DEFINE_INPLACE_FACTORY_CLASS_MEMBER_INIT(z,n,_) BOOST_PP_CAT(m_a,n) BOOST_PP_LPAREN() BOOST_PP_CAT(a,n) BOOST_PP_RPAREN() ! #define BOOST_DEFINE_INPLACE_FACTORY_CLASS_MEMBER_DECL(z,n,_) BOOST_PP_CAT(A,n) const& BOOST_PP_CAT(m_a,n); #define BOOST_MAX_INPLACE_FACTORY_ARITY 10 --- 26,32 ---- #include <boost/preprocessor/repetition/enum_trailing_params.hpp> #define BOOST_DEFINE_INPLACE_FACTORY_CLASS_MEMBER_INIT(z,n,_) BOOST_PP_CAT(m_a,n) BOOST_PP_LPAREN() BOOST_PP_CAT(a,n) BOOST_PP_RPAREN() ! #define BOOST_DEFINE_INPLACE_FACTORY_CLASS_MEMBER_DECL(z,n,_) BOOST_PP_CAT(A,n) BOOST_PP_CAT(m_a,n); #define BOOST_MAX_INPLACE_FACTORY_ARITY 10