X-Originating-IP:	[208.160.246.197]
From:	"Nimrod Abing" <n_abing AT hotmail DOT com>
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: strdup() with delete[]
Date:	Mon, 11 Sep 2000 18:49:04 PHT
Mime-Version:	1.0
Message-ID:	<F82wV0zqedbDoW8JHY90000922c@hotmail.com>
X-OriginalArrivalTime:	11 Sep 2000 10:49:04.0906 (UTC) FILETIME=[E752CEA0:01C01BDD]
Reply-To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com

>From: manni DOT heumann AT gmx DOT de (Manni Heumann)
>Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
>To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
>Subject: Re: strdup() with delete[]
>Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 09:12:39 GMT
>
> >
> >I guess the [] form is considered obsolete.  I would use simple delete s.

delete [] obj_ptr is not obsolete. It is _the_proper_ way to deallocate
an array of objects. What is obsolete is delete [nn] obj_ptr, where
NN would be the number of objects that were allocated for the array.

> >The operator's implementation knows how many objects are allocated.
> >

This is a fatal assumption, unless you create an `allocator' class that
would manage the free memory pool, which is the case with the vector and
similar STL container classes. Anyway, I prefer using STL over hand
written code. It saves me hours of coding unnecessary code. The `vector'
class is very versatile when you want arrays of things.

Overloading delete is different from delete [] as well, and if this is
not an indication that the two are very distinct forms of the same
operator, then I don't know what is.

>Wow! Obsolete. Try this and then tell us whether it is obsolete:
>
>class Test {
>public:
>         Test () { cout << "Constructing\n"; }
>         ~Test () { cout << "Destructing\n"; }
>};
>
>int main () {
>         Test *t = new Test [3];
>         delete t;

In a real world scenario, this would be a fatal mistake since the
destructor would only be called for t[0]. The correct form would be:

          delete [] t;

>         return 0;
>}
>
>--
>
>Manni
>
>"Life would be much easier if I had the source code." You said it! :-D


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