boost::ptr_vector vs. std::vector>?

Question

They do the similar things.

What should be considered when choosing between the two?

Under which circumstances is either one preferred?

I think you need to ask for something more objective than "better". — Fred Larson, Feb 07 '13 at 21:07
Depends on what you mean by "better". The latter doesn't require external dependencies, but the former may be simpler to use (depending on your definition of "simpler" :]). — GManNickG, Feb 07 '13 at 21:07
Link: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9469968/stl-container-with-stdunique-ptrs-vs-boostptr-container — Martin Ba, Jan 15 '14 at 22:52
Possible duplicate http://stackoverflow.com/q/1374840/318716 — Joseph Quinsey, Jan 15 '14 at 23:12

Chad · Answer 1 · 2013-02-07T21:17:16.503

6

I would prefer std::vector<std::unique_ptr<T>> for several reasons:

Type safety -- while this is pretty well abstracted for you in boost::ptr_vector, ptr_vector is still implemented in terms of std::vector<void*>.
Clear support for custom deleter -- I think you can get custom deleter behavior with a boost::ptr_vector, but the support is clearer (and explicit) when using std::unique_ptr.
It's standard, and well supported by compliant C++11 compilers.

edited Feb 07 '13 at 21:17

answered Feb 07 '13 at 21:09

Chad

1

I would also add that `vector` is _standard_. People know what it is. Most people probably don't know `boost::ptr_vector` – David Feb 07 '13 at 21:11

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