R: Create a weak reference

new_weakref {rlang} | R Documentation

## Create a weak reference

### Description

A weak reference is a special R object which makes it possible to keep a reference to an object without preventing garbage collection of that object. It can also be used to keep data about an object without preventing GC of the object, similar to WeakMaps in JavaScript.

Objects in R are considered reachable if they can be accessed by following a chain of references, starting from a root node; root nodes are specially-designated R objects, and include the global environment and base environment. As long as the key is reachable, the value will not be garbage collected. This is true even if the weak reference object becomes unreachable. The key effectively prevents the weak reference and its value from being collected, according to the following chain of ownership: `weakref <- key -> value`.

When the key becomes unreachable, the key and value in the weak reference object are replaced by `NULL`, and the finalizer is scheduled to execute.

### Usage

    new_weakref(key, value = NULL, finalizer = NULL, on_quit = FALSE)

### Arguments

`key` | The key for the weak reference. Must be a reference object – that is, an environment or external pointer.
`value` | The value for the weak reference. This can be `NULL`, if you want to use the weak reference like a weak pointer.
`finalizer` | A function that is run after the key becomes unreachable.
`on_quit` | Should the finalizer be run when R exits?

### See Also

`is_weakref()`, `wref_key()` and `wref_value()`.

### Examples

    e <- env()

    # Create a weak reference to e
    w <- new_weakref(e, finalizer = function(e) message("finalized"))

    # Get the key object from the weak reference
    identical(wref_key(w), e)

    # When the regular reference (the `e` binding) is removed and a GC occurs,
    # the weak reference will not keep the object alive.
    rm(e)
    gc()
    identical(wref_key(w), NULL)

    # A weak reference with a key and value. The value contains data about the
    # key.
    k <- env()
    v <- list(1, 2, 3)
    w <- new_weakref(k, v)

    identical(wref_key(w), k)
    identical(wref_value(w), v)

    # When v is removed, the weak ref keeps it alive because k is still reachable.
    rm(v)
    gc()
    identical(wref_value(w), list(1, 2, 3))

    # When k is removed, the weak ref does not keep k or v alive.
    rm(k)
    gc()
    identical(wref_key(w), NULL)
    identical(wref_value(w), NULL)

[Package rlang version 1.0.2 Index]