microsoft / microsoft/STL

<memory>: ~_Ref_count_base() should be non-virtual

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enhancement vNext
Dominant language
C++
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

https://github.com/microsoft/STL/blob/6b0238d7035236af0f81917262691db701e70fe3/stl/inc/memory#L620

shared_ptr's type-erasure machinery doesn't require the reference count control block to have a virtual destructor. Making this non-virtual would be a minor improvement, but it's an ABI-breaking change.

vNext note: Resolving this issue will require breaking binary compatibility. We won't be able to accept pull requests for this issue until the vNext branch is available. See #169 for more information.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at stl/inc/memory#L620 and inspect _Ref_count_base and the shared_ptr type-erasure machinery described in the issue. This work is blocked until the vNext branch is available because it breaks binary compatibility; done means making the destructor non-virtual there and validating the change on that branch.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
backend
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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