CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++arraysstringintdestructor
ArtfPhenix
ArtfPhenix

Reputation: 23

do you need destructor to destroy global int, float or std::string variables?

I know that destructor is used to destroy global pointers in a class but do i need them to destroy normal variables like int or std::string?

how about array like int num[2]?

what variable types should be destroyed in destructor?

for example:

class myclass
{
public:
   myclass()
   ~myclass()
   {
      delete num;
      delete ar_num;
      delete str;
   }
private:
   int num;
   std::string str;
   int ar_num[2] = {0,1}; 
}

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2256

Answers (3)

Abhineet
Abhineet

Reputation: 5409

There are some variables which are assigned memory on process stack. So, as soon the process exits, the stack will automatically clean the memory occupied. You only need to delete the variables for whom you have allocated memory by new.

You can see this as the mallocing in C. You only need to free the memory dynamically allocated on your request.

Upvotes: 0

James Kanze
James Kanze

Reputation: 154007

Everything should be destructed in the destructor, but...

All direct members will be destructed automatically; you cannot have a destructor which doesn't destruct them. (In some cases, like int, the "destructor" is in fact a no-op.)

You're confusing destruction and deletion. You only delete things which have been dynamically allocated. (Directy—if you do new MyClass, num will be dynamically allocated as part of MyClass. But you shouldn't, and indeed you cannot delete it.) The argument of delete must be a pointer, and it must point to something that was created using new.

Upvotes: 1

Some programmer dude
Some programmer dude

Reputation: 409384

You should only delete what you new. Since you don't allocate the member variables yourself, you should not (and as none of the variables are pointers, you can't) free them with delete.

Rule of thumb: If you do new then you need to do delete.

Upvotes: 8

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