.get()

The .get() function in C++ is used with smart pointers such as std::unique_ptr and std::shared_ptr to obtain the raw pointer to the managed object without transferring ownership. It is commonly used when working with legacy code or APIs that require raw pointers, or when there is a need to access the underlying object directly while still maintaining smart pointer ownership and automatic memory management.

Syntax

ptr.get();

Here, ptr is a std::unique_ptr<T> or std::shared_ptr<T>.

Parameters:

• .get() does not take any parameters.

Return value:

• Returns the raw pointer (T*) to the managed object.
• Ownership remains with the smart pointer; the caller must not delete the returned pointer.

Example

This example shows how the .get() method returns a raw pointer to a managed object without transferring ownership:

#include <iostream>
#include <memory>

int main() {
  std::unique_ptr<int> uniq_ptr(new int(20));

  int* raw_ptr = nullptr;
  raw_ptr = uniq_ptr.get(); // returns pointer to a managed object without transferring ownership

  std::cout << "value at raw_ptr address: " << *raw_ptr << std::endl;
  return 0;
}

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The output of this example is:

value at raw_ptr address: 20

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In this example:

• The uniq_ptr manages a dynamically allocated int with a value of 20.
• The .get() method returns a raw pointer to the managed object, so raw_ptr points to the same memory location as uniq_ptr, but without taking ownership.
• raw_ptr can access (read or write) the value, while uniq_ptr still maintains exclusive ownership and will automatically delete the object when it goes out of scope.

Codebyte Example

This example shows how .get() can be used to pass a raw pointer to a legacy function that does not accept smart pointers:

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