QLabel returns some CoW types by-pointer as a legacy from Qt 1 times [1]:
QPixmap *QLabel::pixmap() const;
QPixture *QLabel::pixmap() const;
If you know of any other such API, please point them out!
Anyway, a few different ways have been proposed to modernize this API
[2][3][4], summarized below:
1) Add a non-overloaded version and deprecate the existing version:
class QLabel {
QPixmap *pixmap() const; // deprecated
QPixmap labelPixmap() const; // new
};
2) Keep the existing name but change the return type, with support for a
transition period:
namespace Qt {
struct ReturnByValue_t {};
static Q_CONSTEXPR ReturnByValue_t ReturnByValue;
}
class QLabel {
QPixmap *pixmap() const; // deprecated
QPixmap pixmap(Qt::ReturnByValue_t) const; // new
};
class QLabel {
#ifndef QT_NO_COW_POINTERS
QPixmap *pixmap() const;
#endif
QPixmap pixmap(Qt::ReturnByValue_t
#ifdef QT_NO_COW_POINTERS
= ReturnByValue
#endif
) const;
}
// Without QT_NO_COW_POINTERS
QPixmap *pm1 = label->pixmap();
QPixmap pm2 = label->pixmap(Qt::ReturnByValue);
// With QT_NO_COW_POINTERS
QPixmap pm3 = label->pixmap();
3) Pick one of the options above, but go one step further and use
std::optional (C++17) instead of returning null objects. I imagine this
should apply more broadly to the whole of Qt, not just the functions
discussed here.
There's also Option (4): Leave it all alone; if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Which should we implement? I personally prefer (2) as it it can be added to
Qt 5.x and provides backward compatibility while keeping the nice compact
function names. We could enable QT_NO_COW by default in Qt 6.5 LTS and then
remove the old function and Qt::ReturnByValue_t in Qt 7.0.
I'm not sure I like the verbosity or SiC-ness of std::optional, hence I'm
asking for thoughts here.
Regards,
Sze-Howe
[1]
https://lists.qt-project.org/pipermail/development/2014-December/019376.html
[2]
https://lists.qt-project.org/pipermail/development/2014-December/019377.html
[3] https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/101233
[4] https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/267825
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