Hi all I've been working on a "Modern C++ Design"-inspired factory/abstract factory pattern implementation for a while now, and was wondering if there was any interest in having it as a Boost library at some point? If my understanding of the existing Boost.Functional/Factory is correct, then this should not really clash with its area of operation. Factory features - Configurable identifier, mapping, error policy types - Function storage type can be overridden by the user on a per-factory basis Abstract factory features: - Auto-generation of class hierarchies (a-la Loki)--allows passing as individual factory fields - Passing of construction-arguments to the concrete type "creators" (operator new by default, but extensible) - Prototypes - Easy (re-)binding of constructor arguments - Boost.Functions if none of the above are appropriate or flexible enough - Mixing and matching creators for concrete factories. i.e., allows to use a prototype for one concrete type, Boost.Function for another, operator new for the third and so on - Easily specify if the created object should be returned as a raw pointer or a smart pointer (any type with a nested element_type is automatically recognized) - Almost everything is policy-specifyable Somewhat contrived example: typedef abstract_factory< // Want object created with no args, returned as raw pointer abstract_foo* // Want object created with std::string const ref, float by value args; returned as auto_ptr , std::auto_ptr<abstract_bar>(const std::string&, float)
abstract_factory_t;
concrete_factory< // Concrete factory for abstract_factory_t abstract_factory_t // Concrete creator for abstract_foo; prototype , prototype<> // Concrete creator for abstract_bar; operator new creator (default when it's a regular type) , bar_impl
cf;
// Set prototype for abstract_foo (takes ownership of raw pointers) cf.prototype<abstract_foo>(new fancy_foo_impl); const abstract_factory_t& af = cf; // By default invoke clone() on the stored prototype abstract_foo* foobj = af.create<abstract_foo>(); // Forward args to creator, in this case operator new --> constructor of bar_impl std::auto_ptr<abstract_bar> barobj = af.create<abstract_bar>("hello boost", 1234.5f); Preliminary documentation and download link can be found here: http://arcticinteractive.com/static/boost/libs/factory/doc/html/index.html I've yet to request any vault/sandbox access, because I first would really like to get some input on what people who are far more knowledgeable and experienced in C++ and software design than myself think of it :). Critique, comments, suggestions etc. are very welcome on all aspects of the library (code, design, documentation,...) Regards, Tor Brede Vekterli