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c++singleton
Mark
Mark

Reputation: 8688

When should I use a singleton class in C++?

From a beginning C++ user's point of view the only reason I would see a singleton class useful is similar to when I want to use a static variable. Do you guys know when its most appropriate to use a singleton class?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 3502

Answers (9)

jeferson lemos
jeferson lemos

Reputation: 17

you should use Singletons for Classes which will be called by multiple objects, all of each that will require reference to that Class, and that every operation on that Class Object should affect the whole program, not allowing for particular components to have some different view of it, which is what object instances are necessary for, on the opposite sense.

In those conditions Singletons are necessary for security and to reduce costs. I mean, you could traverse many objects and do aggregations or define the latest state but it just would not make much sense and add cycles and possibly memory duplication, it is better to ensure the use of a single Class object for the whole program

Upvotes: 0

Oded Kadshai
Oded Kadshai

Reputation: 11

everything solvable without singleton. but i found myself using it to better control initialization and destructions of an object like graphic context. or when using state machine to better control state transitions. also, in (rare) cases when there's a system resource that's limited to 1 unit (e.g. console), and in when multithreading to prevent condition race. (https://refactoring.guru/design-patterns/singleton/cpp/example)

Upvotes: 0

Maxpm
Maxpm

Reputation: 25592

I can't think of any instance where using a singleton class is appropriate.

In Java, they're mostly for organization. In C++, however, you should use namespaces instead.

Upvotes: 4

aib
aib

Reputation: 46991

I used to create singletons with global static accessors: UserRegistry::getInstance(). Now, in the Dependency Injection era, I just use a registry. Helps with unit testing, too.

Upvotes: 1

Casey
Casey

Reputation: 10946

I can think of several reasons in the field of game development that having a class implemented as a singleton is absolutely required:

Physics Engines, Sprite Handlers, Gravity Handlers (if separate from Physics Engines), Input Parsers, etc.

Upvotes: 0

Karl Knechtel
Karl Knechtel

Reputation: 61615

When you really need it, you'll know.

That might never happen.

When you think you want it, you're probably wrong.

Upvotes: 5

ratsbane
ratsbane

Reputation: 890

There was a thread on Hacker News yesterday talking about when it's NOT a good idea to use a singleton. There were several ideas there about when it IS a good idea to use a singleton (global configuration data, session management in webserver apps) but for every justification for singletons there are also good arguments as to why that's not a good idea. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2743894

Upvotes: 0

Michael Kohne
Michael Kohne

Reputation: 12044

The only time you should use a singleton is in the rare case where it is VITAL that there only ever be one of these objects. This simply doesn't come up nearly as often as you might think.

Quite often it's more than sufficient to just make a single instance of the class in question, but not put in all the machinery required to enforce the uniqueness of the object.

Every time I've used a singleton (or found one in the codebase I work with) I've ended up removing it because I needed to change the behavior, and the singleton machinery got in the way. I've yet to see a case in our code (payment processing) where a singleton actually made sense. I've got more than a few cases where I've only got one instance of a particular class, but none where enforcing that through the singleton pattern was necessary or helpful.

Upvotes: 10

Mitch Wheat
Mitch Wheat

Reputation: 300719

Singleton classes are glorified global variables. Use only when absolutely necessary, i.e. when an object has only a single instance throughout the scope of your implementation.

Upvotes: 0

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