[SteveErl]

This adds a new GetRefCount() method to the ReferenceCounter class which will allow the integer count value to be retrieved. Use of this new method in LoadImage() provides simpler, more efficient code.

Resolves #1511

Checklist

• contribution does not duplicate one of our existing pull requests
• contribution is in a branch rebased against master
• code compiles successfully without errors
• code follows the MythTV Coding Standards
• documentation added/updated/removed where necessary
• commits are logically organised and have good commit messages

[BobEntwhistle]

@SteveErl Two small things on the new method:

int GetRefCount(void) { return static_cast<int>(m_referenceCount); };

The coding standards ask that a Get method be const, and this one can be:
QAtomicInt::operator int() is const. There is also a stray ; after the closing brace.

[SteveErl]

@BobEntwhistle I tried adding in const, but the compiler tells me that it will be ignored.
referencecounter.h:41:5: warning: type qualifiers ignored on function return type [-Wignored-qualifiers]
My return type is an int derived from the QAtomicInt class member, not the QAtomicInt itself. I could do ...
const QAtomicInt GetRefCount(void) { return m_referenceCount; }
but I really just want the integer value of the reference count to be easily accessible. I wouldn't want callers to GetRefCount() to have to apply static_cast<int> to the return value. It's better to do that work once in this new method.

[kmdewaal]

@BobEntwhistle as I understand it, the static_cast does trigger the internal QAtomicInt::operator int() const which means that the code as proposed does already do exactly what you want, i.e. be const. However, it is not explicit.
@SteveErl the function can be made more explicit const by adding const like this:
int GetRefCount(void) const { return static_cast<int>(m_referenceCount); }
This has no effect at all, but now you cannot modify the code anymore so that it changes m_referenceCount.

[SteveErl]

@kmdewaal Your suggestion sounds good to me. I'll make it more explicitly const.