[gdal-dev] [gdal 3.12beta1] OGRFeature::GetDefnRef now returns a const pointer

[Even Rouault]

>
> Ok, if whether its me const_casting or GDAL, this does not change the 
> basic problem:
>
>     Is incrementing the reference counter of a const object an allowed 
> operation?
>
I'd say, if we were purely pedantic, no, but we might decide to derogate 
from that, with warnings in the documentation. I'm still undecided about 
the best course of action. I guess I'll talk about that in the 
maintainer meeting in a few miutes.
>
> What happens if the Dataset or the Layer containing a returned const 
> SpatialReference that has a positive reference count is destroyed?

If the ref count is just one, then destroying the layer will cause the 
counter of the SpatialReference to drop by zero and be destroyed. If it 
is more than one, then the life-time of the SpatialReference instance 
will go beyond the container life-time.

>
> Same goes for OGRFeatureDefn and OGRFieldDefn of course, but at the 
> moment my problem is especially with OGRSpatialReference.

Same as above


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