Why calling shared_from_this calls std::terminate

Question

Consider this code:

class A : public std::enable_shared_from_this<A>
{
public:
     std::shared_ptr<A> f()
     {
          return shared_from_this();
     }
};

int main()
{
    A a;
    std::shared_ptr<A> ptr = a.f();
}

This code terminated in Visual Studio 2017. I guess I am doing something wrong here. Can anyone help me with this? I want a shared_ptr on a created by shared_from_this().

Answer 1

You cannot use shared_from_this to generate a new shared pointer. You already have to have an existing shared pointer to get a new one:

std::shared_ptr a(new A());
auto ptr = a->f(); // ok, 'ptr' shares ownership of newed object with 'a'

Answer 2

Because a is not a owned by a shared pointer. From cppreference:

It is permitted to call shared_from_this only on a previously shared object, i.e. on an object managed by std::shared_ptr. Otherwise the behavior is undefined (until C++17)std::bad_weak_ptr is thrown (by the shared_ptr constructor from a default-constructed weak_this) (since C++17).

Answer 3

The issue is fundamental in the design (not technical details)

Whatever the exact specification of that C++ standard version you are using, what you are trying to do is impossible. Knowing the fine details of the specification of shared_from_this isn't needed to conclude that the code contains a design contradiction: just understanding the intent, which is to obtain a shared_ptr<A> to this, inside a member function called on a, an automatic object, is enough to determine that the design is in error.

In fact, any attempt at making an owning smart pointer (incl. but not limited to unique_ptr, shared_ptr) that points to (that owns) an object with "scoped" lifetime, that is an object whose lifetime is defined by the scope of the declaration of the object and ended by exiting something:

• automatic objects (lifetime ends when exiting the scope),
• namespace scope objects, static object members of classes (lifetime ends at program exit),
• non static members of classes (lifetime ends when the body of the destructor of the containing class object exits),

is a design error, because the:

• these objects were not created with any variant new (plain operator new or nothrow variant) that permits the call of delete on the result);
• the only case where C++ allows you to destroy such object is by destruction followed (preferably immediately) by reconstruction with placement new of an object with the same complete type, which is obviously not the job of an owning smart pointer;
• the compiler will destroy that object when program execution reach the exit point (exits scope, exits destructor, or std::exit, or return from main), no matter what (even if your owning smart pointer already took care of it); trying to destroy an already destroy object is not OK.

This includes constructing a smart pointer that owns (i.e. that promises to delete) a member of a class instance that was dynamically allocated:

struct A {
    int m;
};

#define OK 1

void f() {
    A *p = new A;
#if OK            
    std::shared_ptr<A> own (p); // fine
#else
    std::shared_ptr<int> own (&p->m); // bad
#endif
}

Here the lifetime of the object pointed to by p is managed dynamically; the timing of the destruction of determined explicitly, by program code, and the lifetime of the unique member m is intrinsically linked to the lifetime of the A object; but the member itself need not be destructed explicitly and shall not be deleted. If the OK preprocessor constant is 1, all is well; if it is 0, you are trying to manage explicitly the lifetime of a member, which is unsound.

About the term "explicit" call to delete: although th delete operator never appears in the code, its call is implicit on the use of std::shared_ptr; in other words, std::shared_ptr explicitly uses delete, so use of std::shared_ptr (or other similar owning smart pointers) are indirect use of delete.

Safely sharing ownership with a smart pointer

The only safe way to share ownership of a shared_ptr is to make one from another shared_ptr, directly, or indirectly. This is the fundamental property of shared_ptr: all instances pointing to the one object must be traceable back to the one instance that one constructed with a raw pointer (or alternatively with make_shared).

This is a direct consequence of the fact that the ownership information (usually a reference count, but could be a linked list if you love inefficient implementations) is not inside the managed object, but inside the information block created by shared_ptr. This is not a property of just std::shared_ptr, it's a fact of life of all these externally managed objects, without a global registry, it's impossible to find the manager.

The basic design decision of these smart pointer is that the managed object need not be modified to use a smart pointer; hence they can be used on existing data type (incl. fundamental types).

Importance of weak copies of a shared owning manager

The fundamental property of shared_ptr would create an issue: as every layer of code (that might need to call a function that needs an owning pointer) needs to keep a copy of the shared_ptr around, this can create a web of owning smart pointers, some of which might reside in an object whose lifetime is managed by another who lifetime is managed by that exact smart pointer; because the smart pointer basic specification is that the managed object is not destructed before all copies of the smart pointer in charge of its destruction are destroyed, these objects would never be destroyed (as specified; this is not a consequence of the particular implementation choice of reference counting). Sometimes a copy of a owning smart pointer of a specie that doesn't prevent influence the lifetime of the managed object is needed, hence the need for the weak smart pointer.

A (non null) weak smart pointer is always directly or indirectly a copy of an owning smart pointer, directly or indirectly a copy the original smart pointer that took ownership. That "weak reference" actually is a "strong" owning smart pointer to the information regarding the existence of other owning copies of the smart pointer: as long as there is a weak smart pointer, it will be possible to determine whether there is a live owning smart pointer, and if so to obtain a copy, that is make a shared smart pointer that an exact copy of the original (the lifetime of the original may have ended many generations of copies ago).

The only purpose of a weak smart pointer is to obtain such copies of the original.

The purpose of std::enable_shared_from_this

The only use of std::enable_shared_from_this is to obtain a copy of the original shared_ptr; that implies that such owning smart pointer must already exist. No new original (another smart pointer taking ownership) will be made.

Only use std::enable_shared_from_this for classes that are only intended to be managed by a shared_ptr.

Details of std::enable_shared_from_this

All that being said about the theoretical principles, it's useful to understand what std::enable_shared_from_this contains, how it can produce a shared_ptr when used correctly (and why it cannot be expected to work in any other case).

The "magic" of std::enable_shared_from_this may seem mysterious, and too magic so that users don't have to think about it, but it's actually extremely simple: it keeps a weak_ptr intended to be a copy of the original. Obviously it cannot be constructed as such copy, as the original cannot even be initialized when the std::enable_shared_from_this subobject is constructed: a valid owning smart pointer can only refer to a fully constructed object, because it owns it and is in charge of its destruction. [Even if by some cheating an owning smart pointer was made before the managed object was fully constructed, and hence destructible, the owning smart pointer would be a risk of premature destruction (even if during the normal course of events its lifetime is long, it could be shortened by an exception for example).]

So data member initialization in std::enable_shared_from_this is inherently default initialization: the "weak pointer" is null at that point.

Only when the original finally takes ownership if the managed object, it can collude with std::enable_shared_from_this: the constructing of the original shared_ptr will set once and for all the weak_ptr member inside std::enable_shared_from_this. Active collusion between these components is the only way to make the stuff work.

It's still the user's responsibility to only call shared_from_this only when it can possibly return a copy of the original, that is, after the original has been constructed.

About fake (non owning) owning smart pointers

A fake owning smart pointer is one that does no cleanup ever: owning smart pointer in name only. They are special case of "owning" smart pointers used in such a way that no destruction or cleanup is performed. This ostensibly means that they could be used for objects whose lifetime is predetermined (and long enough) and for which there is a need to have a pretend owning smart pointer; unlike a real owning smart pointer, keeping a copy will not extend the lifetime of the object, so that lifetime should better be really long. (Because a copy of a owning smart pointer could be stored in a global variable, the object could still be expected to be alive after a return from main.)

These non owning owners are obviously a contradiction in the terms and rarely safe (but can be proven safe in a few cases).

They rarely solve a legitimate problem (one that isn't the immediate consequence of a very bad design): a shared_ptr in an interface means that the receiver is expecting to be able to extend the lifetime of the managed object.