ENH: Add itk::Copy(const T & original), which simply returns a copy

.github/workflows/itk_dict.txt

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ Conners
 ConvertAnitkImageTovtkImageData
 ConvertRGBvtkImageDataToAnitkImage
 Cortesi's
+Coverity
 Creade
 CreateListOfSamplesWithIDs
 Crofton's
@@ -94,6 +95,7 @@ Hilden
 Hiraki
 Hirschberg
 Hostname
+Intelli
 IOregion
 ITKIOMeshGifti
 ITKImageToIplImage
@@ -198,6 +200,7 @@ Spall
 Sprengel
 Stegun
 Stiehl
+Synopsys
 Syst
 Tajbakhsh
 Talos
@@ -587,6 +590,7 @@ lin
 lina
 lins
 lm
+lnt
 loc
 localizer
 lockings

Modules/Core/Common/include/itkCopy.h

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*=========================================================================
+ *
+ *  Copyright NumFOCUS
+ *
+ *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ *  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ *  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *         https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ *  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ *  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ *  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ *  limitations under the License.
+ *
+ *=========================================================================*/
+
+#ifndef itkCopy_h
+#define itkCopy_h
+
+namespace itk
+{
+
+/** Returns a copy of its argument. Primarily used to make the act of copying (typically involving a copy-constructor
+ * call) explicit, and to avoid warnings like:
+ *
+ * - Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, IntelliSense Code Linter [lnt-accidental-copy] "`auto` doesn't deduce references. A
+ * possibly unintended copy is being made" (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/ide/lnt-accidental-copy)
+ * - Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, Warning C26820, "This is a potentially expensive copy operation. Consider using a
+ * reference unless a copy is required (p.9)" (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/code-quality/c26820?view=msvc-170)
+ * - Synopsys Coverity 2023.6.2, "CID 331225:  Performance inefficiencies  (AUTO_CAUSES_COPY)", "Using the `auto`
+ * keyword without an `&` causes the copy of an object...".
+ * - SonarSource static code analysis, "Unnecessary expensive copy should be avoided when using `auto` as a placeholder
+ * type", "Avoid this unnecessary copy by using a "const" reference. (cpp:S6032)",
+ * https://rules.sonarsource.com/cpp/RSPEC-6032/
+ *
+ * Example:
+   \code
+     const auto possiblyUnintendedCopy = image->GetRequestedRegion(); // Warning!
+     const auto intendedCopy = Copy(image->GetRequestedRegion());     // OK, no warning  :-)
+     const auto [index, size] = Copy(image->GetRequestedRegion());    // OK, no warning  :-)
+   \endcode
+ *
+ * \note In general, it is up to the programmer to choose between doing a copy and using a reference, of course. `Copy`
+ should only be used when doing a copy is preferred over using a reference.
+ */
+template <typename T>
+[[nodiscard]] constexpr T
+Copy(const T & original)
+{
+  // May call the copy-constructor of `T`.
+  return original;
+}
+
+} // namespace itk
+
+
+#endif // itkCopy_h

Modules/Core/Common/test/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -1718,6 +1718,7 @@ set(ITKCommonGTests
     itkBuildInformationGTest.cxx
     itkConnectedImageNeighborhoodShapeGTest.cxx
     itkConstantBoundaryImageNeighborhoodPixelAccessPolicyGTest.cxx
+    itkCopyGTest.cxx
     itkDerefGTest.cxx
     itkExceptionObjectGTest.cxx
     itkFixedArrayGTest.cxx

Modules/Core/Common/test/itkCopyGTest.cxx

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/*=========================================================================
+ *
+ *  Copyright NumFOCUS
+ *
+ *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ *  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ *  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *         https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ *  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ *  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ *  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ *  limitations under the License.
+ *
+ *=========================================================================*/
+
+// First include the header file to be tested:
+#include "itkCopy.h"
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+#include <array>
+#include <cstdint> // For intmax_t.
+#include <random>
+#include <utility> // For pair.
+#include <vector>
+
+
+// Check compile-time evaluation:
+static_assert(itk::Copy(0) == 0);
+static_assert(itk::Copy(1) == 1);
+
+namespace
+{
+// Returns a (const) reference to the specified argument.
+template <typename T>
+const T &
+GetReference(const T & arg)
+{
+  return arg;
+}
+} // namespace
+
+
+// Checks that an object returned by `itk::Copy(original)` compares equal to the original, even though it has a
+// different address.
+TEST(Copy, EqualToTheOriginalButHasDifferentAddress)
+{
+  const auto check = [](const auto & original) {
+    auto && copy = itk::Copy(original);
+
+    // The returned `copy` has an equal value...
+    EXPECT_EQ(copy, original);
+
+    // ... but a different address!
+    EXPECT_NE(&copy, &original);
+  };
+
+  std::default_random_engine randomEngine{};
+  const auto getRandomNumber = [&randomEngine] { return std::uniform_int_distribution<>{}(randomEngine); };
+
+  check(getRandomNumber());
+  check(std::vector<int>(3, getRandomNumber()));
+  check(std::array<int, 3>{ getRandomNumber(), getRandomNumber(), getRandomNumber() });
+}
+
+
+// Tests that `itk::Copy` allows storing a copy of a value in a variable declared by `auto`, without a warning.
+TEST(Copy, AllowsUsingAutoKeywordCopyingWithoutWarnings)
+{
+  std::vector<std::intmax_t> originalVector{ 1, 2, 3, 4 };
+
+  // Without `itk::Copy`, the statement `const auto copyOfVector = GetReference(originalVector);` might trigger a
+  // warning, saying something like "`auto` doesn't deduce references. A possibly unintended copy is being made" (MSVC
+  // 2022 IntelliSense Code Linter).
+  const auto copyOfVector = itk::Copy(GetReference(originalVector));
+
+  // Clear the original (not the "copy").
+  originalVector = {};
+
+  // In this case, it is essential that the "copy" is not just a reference to the original, because the value of the
+  // original object is modified after that copy took place. This modification should not affect the copy.
+  ASSERT_NE(originalVector, copyOfVector);
+
+  // A similar test for the equivalent `std::array`:
+  std::array<std::intmax_t, 4> originalArray{ 1, 2, 3, 4 };
+
+  // MSVC 2022 Warning C26820 ("This is a potentially expensive copy operation. Consider using a reference unless a copy
+  // is required.") is not raised for types whose size isn't more than twice the platform-dependent pointer size,
+  // according to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/code-quality/c26820?view=msvc-170
+  static_assert(
+    sizeof(originalArray) > 2 * sizeof(void *),
+    "The array must be big enough to _possibly_ trigger compiler warnings about the expensiveness of copying!");
+
+  const auto copyOfArray = itk::Copy(GetReference(originalArray));
+
+  // Reset the elements of the original array (not the "copy").
+  originalArray = {};
+
+  // The original and the copy should be different now, because the copy is not reset.
+  ASSERT_NE(originalArray, copyOfArray);
+
+  // Sanity check: the copy of the vector and the copy of the array still have the same elements.
+  EXPECT_TRUE(std::equal(copyOfVector.cbegin(), copyOfVector.cend(), copyOfArray.cbegin(), copyOfArray.cend()));
+
+  // The following demonstates an `itk::Copy` use case when having structured bindings:
+  auto originalPair =
+    std::make_pair(std::vector<std::intmax_t>{ 1, 2, 3, 4 }, std::array<std::intmax_t, 4>{ 1, 2, 3, 4 });
+  const auto [first, second] = itk::Copy(GetReference(originalPair));
+  const auto copyOfPair = itk::Copy(GetReference(originalPair));
+  originalPair = {};
+  ASSERT_NE(originalPair, copyOfPair);
+
+  EXPECT_EQ(copyOfPair, std::make_pair(first, second));
+}