std::weak_ptr::lock

std::shared_ptr<T> lock() const;		(since C++11)

Creates a new std::shared_ptr that shares ownership of the managed object. If there is no managed object, i.e. *this is empty, then the returned shared_ptr also is empty.

Effectively returns expired() ? shared_ptr<T>() : shared_ptr<T>(*this), executed atomically.

Parameters

(none)

Return value

A shared_ptr which shares ownership of the owned object if std::weak_ptr::expired returns false. Else returns default-constructed shared_ptr of type T.

Exceptions

noexcept specification:

noexcept

Notes

Both this function and the constructor of std::shared_ptr may be used to acquire temporary ownership of the managed object referred to by a std::weak_ptr. The difference is that the constructor of std::shared_ptr throws an exception when its std::weak_ptr argument is empty, while std::weak_ptr<T>::lock() constructs an empty std::shared_ptr<T>.

Example

Run this code

#include <iostream>
#include <memory>
 
void observe(std::weak_ptr<int> weak) 
{
    if (auto observe = weak.lock()) {
        std::cout << "\tobserve() able to lock weak_ptr<>, value=" << *observe << "\n";
    } else {
        std::cout << "\tobserve() unable to lock weak_ptr<>\n";
    }
}
 
int main()
{
    std::weak_ptr<int> weak;
    std::cout << "weak_ptr<> not yet initialized\n";
    observe(weak);
 
    {
        auto shared = std::make_shared<int>(42);
        weak = shared;
        std::cout << "weak_ptr<> initialized with shared_ptr.\n";
        observe(weak);
    }
 
    std::cout << "shared_ptr<> has been destructed due to scope exit.\n";
    observe(weak);
}

Output:

weak_ptr<> not yet initialized
        observe() unable to lock weak_ptr<>
weak_ptr<> initialized with shared_ptr.
        observe() able to lock weak_ptr<>, value=42
shared_ptr<> has been destructed due to scope exit.
        observe() unable to lock weak_ptr<>

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

DR	Applied to	Behavior as published	Correct behavior
LWG 2316	C++11	lock() was not required to be atomic, but required to be noexcept, which led to a contradiction	specified to be atomic

Language
Standard library headers
Concepts
Utilities library
Strings library
Containers library
Algorithms library
Iterators library
Numerics library
Input/output library
Localizations library
Regular expressions library (C++11)
Atomic operations library (C++11)
Thread support library (C++11)
Filesystem library (C++17)
Technical Specifications

Type support (basic types, RTTI, type traits)
Dynamic memory management
Error handling
Program utilities
Variadic functions
Date and time
Function objects
initializer_list (C++11)
bitset
hash (C++11)
Relational operators
rel_ops::operator!=rel_ops::operator>rel_ops::operator<=rel_ops::operator>=
`optional`, `any` and `variant` (C++17)
optional
any
variant
in_placein_place_typein_place_indexin_place_tin_place_type_tin_place_index_t
Pairs and tuples
pair
tuple (C++11)
apply (C++17)
make_from_tuple (C++17)
piecewise_construct_t (C++11)
piecewise_construct (C++11)
integer_sequence (C++14)
Swap, forward and move
swap
exchange (C++14)
forward (C++11)
move (C++11)
move_if_noexcept (C++11)
Elementary string conversions
to_chars (C++17)
from_chars (C++17)
chars_format (C++17)
Type operations
declval (C++11)
as_const (C++17)

Member functions
weak_ptr::weak_ptr
weak_ptr::~weak_ptr
weak_ptr::operator=
Modifiers
weak_ptr::reset
weak_ptr::swap
Observers
weak_ptr::use_count
weak_ptr::expired
weak_ptr::lock
weak_ptr::owner_before
Non-member functions
std::swap