Handle connection/disconnection of many signals/slots with boost::signals2

Question

I\'ve started using boost::signals2 instead of my old signals-code. I\'m having a problem with administering multiple connections though. Here\'s my problem:

I have

Answer 1

What about:

class PeopleBrowser
{
public:
    void AddPerson (Person& p)
    {
        name_change_connections[&p] = p.NameChange.connect(...);
    }
    void RemovePerson(Person& p)
    {
         name_change_connections.erase(&p);
    }

private:
    std::map<Person*, boost::signals2::scoped_connection> name_change_connections;
};

You might also want to take a look at automatic connection management.

Answer 2

I haven't tried it myself but according to boost documentation

When Can Disconnections Occur? (Intermediate)

Signal/slot disconnections occur when any of these conditions occur:

• The connection is explicitly disconnected via the connection's disconnect method directly, or indirectly via the signal's disconnect method, or scoped_connection's destructor.
• An object tracked by the slot is destroyed.
• The signal is destroyed.

Unless you use a scoped_connection the connection between a signal and slot will remain valid until either of them is destroyed. So as far as I understand you don't need to store connection objects in a vector. Just connect your signal to your slot as you are doing now.

When your observed object goes out of scope it will delete the connection by itself.

This is a much simpler design.