diff --git a/src/lib/handle.hpp b/src/lib/handle.hpp
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+++ b/src/lib/handle.hpp
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+/*
+  HANDLE.hpp  -  opaque handle to an implementation entity, automatically managing lifecycle
+ 
+  Copyright (C)         Lumiera.org
+    2009,               Hermann Vosseler <Ichthyostega@web.de>
+ 
+  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+  modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+  published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+  License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ 
+  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+  GNU General Public License for more details.
+ 
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+  Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+
+*/
+
+/** @file handle.hpp
+ ** A generic opaque handle to an implementation entity, including lifecycle management.
+ ** The intended use is for some public interface to return such a handle to track the
+ ** lifecycle or registration of a dedicated service created for this call. The handle
+ ** is implemented as refcounting smart-ptr on top of shared_ptr, which especially
+ ** means for the client code that the handle has value semantics, can be copied and
+ ** stored, while the referred service will stay alive as long as there is still an
+ ** handle in use. A handle may be empty ("null handle") or closed; the latter
+ ** also decreases the ref count and can be used to close a service explicitly.
+ ** 
+ ** Possibly a service may use an extension of the handle template carrying dedicated
+ ** API functions. In this case, the handle acts like a PImpl; the actual definition
+ ** of the implementation class the handle points at is necessary only in the
+ ** translation unit implementing such an extended handle.
+ **
+ ** @see proc::DummyPlayer::Process usage example
+ ** 
+ */
+
+
+#ifndef LIB_HANDLE_H
+#define LIB_HANDLE_H
+
+#include "lib/nobug-init.hpp"
+#include "lib/sync.hpp"
+
+#include <tr1/memory>
+
+
+namespace lib {
+  
+  using std::tr1::shared_ptr;
+  using std::tr1::weak_ptr;
+  
+  
+  
+  /**
+   * Generic opaque reference counting handle, for accessing a service
+   * and managing its lifecycle. Usually such a handle is created by
+   * an service interface and \link #activate activated \endlink by
+   * setting up the link to some internal implementation object.
+   * This setup can only be done by a friend or derived class,
+   * while client code is free to copy and store handle objects.
+   * Finally, any handle can be closed, thereby decrementing
+   * the use count.
+   */
+  template<class IMP>
+  class Handle 
+    : protected std::tr1::shared_ptr<IMP>
+    {
+    public:
+      typedef std::tr1::shared_ptr<IMP> SmP;
+      
+      /** by default create an Null handle.
+       *  Typically this is followed by activating
+       *  the handle by the managing service.
+       */
+      Handle ( )
+      : SmP()
+      { }
+      
+                                 Handle (Handle const& r)        : SmP(r)  {}
+      template<class Y>          Handle (shared_ptr<Y> const& r) : SmP(r)  {}
+      template<class Y> explicit Handle (weak_ptr<Y> const& wr)  : SmP(wr) {}
+      template<class Y> explicit Handle (std::auto_ptr<Y> & ar)  : SmP(ar) {}
+      
+      Handle& operator= (Handle const& r)                          { SmP::operator= (r);  return *this; }  
+      template<class Y> Handle& operator=(shared_ptr<Y> const& sr) { SmP::operator= (sr); return *this; }
+      template<class Y> Handle& operator=(std::auto_ptr<Y> & ar)   { SmP::operator= (ar); return *this; }
+      
+      
+      /** deactivate this handle, so it isn't tied any longer
+       *  to the associated implementation or service object.
+       *  When all handles have either been deactivated or
+       *  went out of scope, the associated implementation
+       *  reaches end-of-life.
+       */
+      void close ()  { SmP::reset(); }
+      
+      
+      typedef IMP* SmP::*__unspecified_bool_type;
+      
+      /** implicit conversion to "bool" */ 
+      operator __unspecified_bool_type()  const { return *this; } // never throws
+      bool operator! ()                   const { return !SmP::get(); }  // dito
+
+      
+      
+      
+    protected:
+      
+      /** Activation of the handle by the managing service.
+       * @param impl the implementation object this handle is tied to
+       * @param whenDead functor to be invoked when reaching end-of-life 
+       */
+      template<typename DEL>
+      Handle&
+      activate (IMP* impl, DEL whenDead)
+        {
+          SmP::reset (impl, whenDead);
+          return *this;
+        }
+      
+      IMP& 
+      impl()
+        {
+          REQUIRE (SmP::get(), "Lifecycle-Error");
+          return *(SmP::get());
+        }
+    };
+  
+  
+} // namespace lib
+#endif