class Shared

Objects inherit from the Shared class when they contain shared data and need to be reference counted.

class Shared

Shared::GetReferenceCount	Returns an object's current reference count.
Shared::Retain	Increments an object's reference count.
Shared::Release	Decrements an object's reference count.

Shared();

The constructor has protected access and takes no parameters. The Shared class can only exist as a base class for another class. The Shared class encapsulates a reference count for objects that can be shared. Upon construction, the object's reference count is initialized to 1.

IMPORTANT. The destructor of the Shared class does not have public access, and the destructors of any subclasses of the Shared class should not have public access. Shared objects must be released by calling the Shared::Release function.