Value Semantics

Value semantics for an object indicates that only its value is important. Its identity is irrelevant. The alternative is reference/pointer semantics; the identity of the object is at least as important as the value of the object. This terminology is closely related to pass/copy-by-value and pass-by-reference. Value semantics is a very important topic to consider when designing a library interface. These decisions ultimately affect user convenience, interface complexity, memory-management and compiler optimizations.

Regular Types

I am going to purposely keep this section light on the formal mathematics, because the rigorous proof and definition of these terms are not my goal for the essay. Throughout this entry, the word object will be used to mean any variable type that can store a value in memory. Regular types are the basis created by the set of properties which are common to all objects representable in a computer.

Huh?! Let's pare this down a little bit more. Specifically, we are interested in the set of operations that can be performed on objects in our program. Regular types promote the development of objects that are interoperable.

Value Semantics

If we choose the same syntax for operations on different types of objects, our code becomes more reusable. A perfect example is the fundamental (built-in) types in C++. Assignment, copy, equality, and address-of all use the same syntax to operate on these types. User types that are defined to support these regular operations in the same way the fundamental types do, can participate in value semantics. That is, the value of the object can be the focus rather than the identity of the object.

Reference Semantics

Reference semantics refers to when your object is always referred to indirectly. Pointers and references are an example of this. We will see in a moment how the possibility of multiple references to your object can quickly complicate your logic.

An Object's Identity

The identity of an object relates to unique information that identifies instances of an object such as its location and size in memory. Management of interactions with the object instance is often the primary focus when reference semantics are used. The reasons vary from efficiency by avoiding an expensive copy to controlled access to an object by multiple owners. Be sure to evaluate the purpose of each interaction with an object to determine what is most important.

When coding guidelines are blindly followed you will often find object's that are passed-by-reference when pass-by-value would suffice equally as well. The compiler is able to perform copy elision if it detects it is safe to do so. Pass-by-reference adds an extra level of indirection. Eliminating the management of an object by identity, often eliminates a resource the user must manage as well, such as a shared_ptr.

Scope of Reasoning

Global variables are considered bad because of their Global Scope of reasoning. Meaning that any other entity that has access to the same variable could interfere with our interactions with the variable. Our ability to reason logically for interactions with the global variable are considerably more complex. Where as a local variable's scope of reasoning is limited to the local scope.

Deterministic behavior is much easier to achieve with a smaller scope of reasoning. The scope of reasoning is instantly reduced to the local object's value when value semantics are used exclusively to interact with the object. Reasoning for the developer and the compiler become much simpler as well as the code may become simpler to read. Small and simple should be a goal every developer strives for.

Semantics

Let's return back to value semantics. Value semantics allows for equivalency relationships to be considered. For example, take the object x and give it the value 10. As the examples below demonstrate, there are many other value relationships that are equivalent to the object x with value 10.

a = 5 + 5;
b = 5 * 2;
c = 24 / 3 + 2;
d = 10;
e = x;

Some representations of a value are more efficient than others, such as 1/2 compared to sin(pi/6) (sin(30°) ). In the case of computing hardware, some values may be represented more accurately in certain forms than others. Therefore, one should always analyze the context of a problem to determine which object property should be the focus of design.

Syntax

Our goal is to define regular types that adhere to the same syntax and semantics of the built-in types. We want to be able to interact with our objects using the natural syntax provided by value semantics.

C++ provides a rich set of tools to work with in order to create objects that use value semantics. A default implementation is provided for all of the operations required for an object to behave with value semantics. However, based upon the implementation of the of the object, the default implementation may not be adequate.

Objects with dynamic memory allocation or handle resource management may need to make a copy of the original resource. Otherwise two references to a single resource will exist. When one object is destroyed the internal resources of the other object will become invalid. However, since the compiler is allowed to optimize the code by eliding copies, it is important that the copy constructor behaves just as the default copy constructor would. The default copy constructor performs a member-wise copy of each value.

This conundrum can be solved by using existing objects to internally manage the resources that must be duplicated. Standard containers such as the std::vector can manage duplication of resources. Other resources, such as system handles, will require a custom object to be implemented. This type of isolated memory management is important to allow your object to provide value semantics.

Summary

This entry focused on the advantages of developing objects that use value semantics. Some of these advantages are:

• Promotes interoperable software objects
• Simplifies logic
• Increases productivity
• Increases performance