C++ 最佳实践之 M&M rule

C++ 最佳实践之 M&M rule

M&M rule: mutable and metux(or shared_mutex(rwlock) or atomic …) go together!!

首先典型的问题的由来:在设计一个类的时候,我们希望一些方法是 const 的,
然后呢,有些场景,我们又希望所有方法是线程安全,于是使用 shared_mutex 等,
但是 const 方法怎么办 ?不考虑一些 hack的方式,例如 const_cast、直接获取地址等,
— 于是就会使用 mutable 修饰 shared_mutex,这样 const 方法可以正常使用 shared_mutx
的对象的。

另外,

  • 在使用 lambda 表达式(closure)的时候,也可以使用 mutable 修饰,这样通过拷贝方式捕获的变量,也可以在 closure 中修改,但是只是修改了 closure 中的,外面的不受影响!当然如果不用修改,最好是 immutable 的!
  • 然后 C++98 也是可以使用 mutable,例如 gcc、vc 等都是支持的。

Guideline: Remember the “M&M rule”: For a member variable, mutable and mutex (or atomic) go together.

(1) For a member variable, mutable implies mutex (or equivalent): A mutable member variable is presumed to be a mutable shared variable and so must be synchronized internally—protected with a mutex, made atomic, or similar.

(2) For a member variable, mutex (or similar synchronization type) implies mutable: A member variable that is itself of a synchronization type, such as a mutex or a condition variable, naturally wants to be mutable, because you will want to use it in a non-const way (e.g., take a std::lock_guard) inside concurrent const member functions.


See also