We all know that RAW pointers need to be wrapped in some form of smart pointer to get Exception safe memory management. But when it comes to containers of pointers the issue becomes more thorny.
The std containers insist on the contained object being copyable so this rules out the use of std::auto_ptr, though you can still use boost::shared_ptr etc.
But there are also some boost containers designed explicitly to hold pointers safely:
See Pointer Container Library
The question is: Under what conditions should I prefer to use the ptr_containers over a container of smart_pointers?
boost::ptr_vector<X> or std::vector<boost::shared_ptr<X> >
Boost pointer containers have strict ownership over the resources they hold. A std::vector<boost::shared_ptr<X>> has shared ownership. There are reasons why that may be necessary, but in case it isn’t, I would default to boost::ptr_vector<X>. YMMV.