Re: [boost] Is there any interest in non-owning pointer-like types?

Hi,

Can observer_ptr refer to no object? If not, why not just use T &? If so, why not just use optional<T>?

As far as i understood it, it is still assignable, unlike T&. For me, the biggest problem of the proposal is that observer_ptr<T> is implicitely constructed from T&. In my code I often use: Foo a; Bar b(&a);//&a signals that b only references to a, but does not copy it. Now, when I write Bar b(a); //so is a now copied? While the interface is clearer in documentation, the usage is less clear! Best, Oswin