Reference

Inherits: Object

Inherited By: AESContext, ARVRInterface, ARVRPositionalTracker, AStar, AStar2D, AnimationTrackEditPlugin, AudioEffectInstance, AudioStreamPlayback, CameraFeed, CharFXTransform, ConfigFile, Crypto, DTLSServer, Directory, EditorExportPlugin, EditorFeatureProfile, EditorInspectorPlugin, EditorResourceConversionPlugin, EditorResourcePreviewGenerator, EditorSceneImporter, EditorScenePostImport, EditorScript, EncodedObjectAsID, Expression, File, FuncRef, GDNative, GDScriptFunctionState, HMACContext, HTTPClient, HashingContext, JSONParseResult, JavaClass, JavaScriptObject, KinematicCollision, KinematicCollision2D, MeshDataTool, MultiplayerAPI, Mutex, PCKPacker, PackedDataContainerRef, PacketPeer, Physics2DShapeQueryParameters, Physics2DTestMotionResult, PhysicsShapeQueryParameters, PhysicsTestMotionResult, RandomNumberGenerator, RegEx, RegExMatch, Resource, ResourceFormatLoader, ResourceFormatSaver, ResourceImporter, ResourceInteractiveLoader, SceneState, SceneTreeTimer, SceneTreeTween, Semaphore, SkinReference, SpatialGizmo, SpatialVelocityTracker, StreamPeer, SurfaceTool, TCP_Server, Thread, TriangleMesh, Tweener, UDPServer, UPNP, UPNPDevice, VisualScriptFunctionState, WeakRef, WebRTCPeerConnection, XMLParser

Base class for reference-counted objects.

Description

Base class for any object that keeps a reference count. Resource and many other helper objects inherit this class.

Unlike other Object types, References keep an internal reference counter so that they are automatically released when no longer in use, and only then. References therefore do not need to be freed manually with Object.free.

In the vast majority of use cases, instantiating and using Reference-derived types is all you need to do. The methods provided in this class are only for advanced users, and can cause issues if misused.

Note: In C#, references will not be freed instantly after they are no longer in use. Instead, garbage collection will run periodically and will free references that are no longer in use. This means that unused references will linger on for a while before being removed.

Tutorials

• When and how to avoid using nodes for everything

Methods

Method Descriptions

• bool init_ref ( )

Initializes the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing.

Returns whether the initialization was successful.

• bool reference ( )

Increments the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing.

Returns true if the increment was successful, false otherwise.

• bool unreference ( )

Decrements the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing.

Returns true if the decrement was successful, false otherwise.