Thus, in Java Swing-style C++, you can do something like:
boost::gui::frame * main = new boost::gui::frame( "My GUI App" ); frame -> set_pane( new boost::gui::button( "PUSH" )); frame -> set_size( 500, 400 ); frame -> show();
boost::gui::message_loop msg; return msg.execute();
How does main get deallocated here? I am very surprised to see "new" and raw pointers in a library designed from scratch. Manual lifetime management is going to lead to a lot of clutter, memory leaks, and is incompatible with exception handling. A system based on smart pointers like boost::shared_ptr and reference-counted container types is essential IMO.
not necessarily - take the snippet of code above, to become: boost::gui::frame frame( "My GUI App" ); frame . set_pane( new boost::gui::button( "PUSH" )); frame . set_size( 500, 400 ); frame . show(); boost::gui::message_loop msg; return msg.execute(); 'frame' deletes all of its children when it goes out of scope (due to window heirachy property - as mentioned in other emails). Only frame needed now be new'ed. Mathew