CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++classobjectdestructordynamic-memory-allocation
user5550365
user5550365

Reputation:

c++ Destructor for Member Variables?

I was reading this post and I wanted to clarify, do I need to explicitly delete member variables of an object that has been created dynamically?

For example, I have a class with with two member variables,

class pointCloud
{
public:
    pointCloud();
    void addPoint(int);
    point getPoint(int);

private:
    int id;
    std::vector<point> pointArray;

};

and then I create a dynamic instance of it in main...

int main()
{

    pointCloud* cloud = new pointCloud;
    cloud->addPoint(8);

    delete cloud;
}

My understanding is that when delete cloud; is called, the 'id' and 'pointArray' variables will automatically be deleted/freed from memory. Is this correct? Or will I need to write a destructor to explicitly delete those member variables?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 4392

Answers (2)

Aganju
Aganju

Reputation: 6395

You do not need to delete the member variables - but you need to delete the content of the pointArray, if you created it (with new)

Generally, whatever you create (somewhere) with new, you need to delete also (somewhere); it is your problem to get that sorted out.
Here: you created pointCloud, and you deleted it. That's just fine.

Upvotes: 1

pavnik
pavnik

Reputation: 466

Or will I need to write a destructor to explicitly delete those member variables?

In your case no need to write, because id is a primitive type, pointArray is a vector which already has destructor which will free memory.

But, if you use raw pointers (allocate buffer via new[]), then in the destructor you have to manually free memory (delete[]).

Upvotes: 3

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