CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++
Anonymous
Anonymous

Reputation: 501

delete x vs ::operator delete(x)

What is the difference between delete x; and ::operator delete(x);? I understand they are different, but I can't figure out quite what the difference is. My specific use case is that I have an object that must be allocated with ::operator new(size_t) and later initialized with the placement new operator. However, I would really like to be able to deallocate it with delete x; rather than ::operator delete(x);, so I would like to know when these two methods (no pun intended) might do different things, so I can tell when (if ever) it is safe to use them interchangably.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 321

Answers (2)

Max Vollmer
Max Vollmer

Reputation: 8598

delete x is a delete expression.

::operator delete(x) is a deallocation function.

The delete expression will call the destructor (if it exists) and then the deallocation function. Calling the deallocation function directly will bypass the destructor.

Upvotes: 5

Swordfish
Swordfish

Reputation: 13134

The only difference is that ::operator delete() will not call destructors where delete would.

Upvotes: 2

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