On 8-Apr-07, at 11:02 AM, Theodore H. Smith wrote: > > My RingTree class (part of the ElfData plugin, only compiles to 4K) > actually uses weak references, internally. Without all the RAM > overhead normally associated with weak references. > > It just doesn't really advertise the fact that it uses weak > references. All it advertises is that it makes a tree. > > AND it uses it for the most important purpose of weak references. To > build trees that automatically dispose themselves! It's nice to be > able to move up and down a tree, without it making cyclical refs.
You can make a self-cleaning tree in RB code without weakrefs, though you need to call the plugin API's Lock/Unlock functions - the framework provides these if you know where to look ;) I use this technique to travel a 3D scenegraph upwards from a leaf node and have been very satisfied with the results. There are times weakrefs come in handy beyond tree structures however. E.g. I'd refactor my file caching system to use weakrefs if I had 2007r2, but I'm stuck with 2007r1 for the next few months at least. Frank. <http://developer.chaoticbox.com/> <http://macgameblog.com/> _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe or switch delivery mode: <http://www.realsoftware.com/support/listmanager/> Search the archives: <http://support.realsoftware.com/listarchives/lists.html>
