function that modifies object pointed to by std::unique_ptr<T>

Somewhere in my code I have a local std::unique_ptr<T>. I need to do stuff with the object pointed at, and I use a function for that:

std::unique_ptr<T> some_function( std::unique_ptr<T> &t )
{
    // do stuff
    return t;
}

I call the function like this:

std::unique_ptr<T> some_T_ptr( new T(/*args*/) );
vector_of_finalized_Ts.push_back( std::move(some_function(std::move(some_T_ptr))));

Now I wonder, is there a better way to get the necessary functionality? It just seems开发者_JAVA百科 two moves are pretty superfluous and potentially dangerous. I do have error handling code I'm not showing here, but that's beside the point.

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It is all about ownership. Do you want some_function to take ownership of the pointer or not? If not, you can just pass a raw pointer to some_function. If you want some_function to take ownership (and return ownership), then it should take the unique_ptr by value. Otherwise the return statement (which should be std::move(t)) will be moving from a reference of unknown origins.

std::unique_ptr<T> some_function( std::unique_ptr<T> t )
{
    // I own t here and will delete it if an exception happens
    // do stuff
    // I'm transferring ownership back to the caller
    //     (who may or may not accept ownership)
    return std::move(t);
}

vector_of_finalized_Ts.push_back( some_function(std::move(some_T_ptr)));

or:

void some_function( T* t )
{
    // I don't own t and won't delete it if an exception happens
    // do stuff
}

some_function(some_T_ptr.get());
vector_of_finalized_Ts.push_back( std::move(some_T_ptr));

Either design is fine. It just depends on what code should own the pointer (especially if an exception is thrown at some point).

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^{(Ignoring the unrelated syntax error in your code. See my comment above for that.)}

As far as your snippet goes, your code is valid. The verbosity of the moves is the price you pay for using std::unique_ptr in this manner, and for passing the unique_ptr into the function rather than a reference to the object itself.

I suppose you have your good reasons for wanting some_function to take a std::unique_ptr and, if that's the case, then as far as I can tell you can't really do any better.

If you don't have your good reasons then, well, there's your answer. :)

Hope that helps.

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Your problem is that you both take the unique_ptr by reference and return it. It's a unique pointer- you're treating it liked a shared pointer, and you're left with a wasted nullptr value on the stack. If you took it by value or by rvalue reference, you could just call some_function directly, and you don't have to move the result.

std::unique_ptr<T> some_function( std::unique_ptr<T> &&t )
{
    // do stuff
    return t;
}
vector_of_finalized_Ts.push_back( some_function(std::unique_ptr<T>(new T(...))));