iostreams file_descriptor: possible throw of exception in call to destructor

[Robert Hunger <rhunger@…>]

The implementation "struct file_descriptor_impl" used by "class file_descriptor" possibly throws an exception in its destructor.

The following code snippets come from: ​http://svn.boost.org/svn/boost/trunk/libs/iostreams/src/file_descriptor.cpp

line 77:

file_descriptor_impl::~file_descriptor_impl() 
{ if (flags_ & close_on_exit) close(); }

line 194:

void file_descriptor_impl::close()
...
        if (!success)
            throw_system_failure("failed closing file");
...

IMHO throwing exceptions in destructors should be avoided.

[Gareth Sylvester-Bradley <gareth.sylvester-bradley@…>]

IMHO throwing exceptions in destructors should be avoided.

I'd put it stronger than that! This just bit my product for real, causing a std::terminate() due to an exception from this destructor during stack unwinding for another exception (in fact a "bad close" from an explicit call to close() on the same stream).

FWIW, I was using the 1.39.0 release, where the problem is present here -

​https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/browser/tags/release/Boost_1_39_0/boost/iostreams/device/file_descriptor.hpp#L89

       ~impl()
        { if (flags_ & close_on_exit) close_impl(*this); }

IMHO, this needs to be patched ASAP.

[Marshall Clow]

This issue was patched 6 months ago. The fix is in the 1.41.0 release. is it time to close this bug?

[Gareth Sylvester-Bradley <gareth.sylvester-bradley@…>]

Replying to marshall:

This issue was patched 6 months ago. The fix is in the 1.41.0 release. is it time to close this bug?

Marshall, I'm not sure to whom your question was addressed, but as one of the reporters, the version in 1.41.0 looks good to me; hope it's ok that I'm changing resolution to 'fixed'. Many thanks to Beman that the fix didn't languish on the trunk for more than six months!