C++ Primer, Fifth Edition

Chapter Summary

In C++, memory is allocated through new expressions and freed through delete expressions. The library also defines an allocator class for allocating blocks of dynamic memory.

Programs that allocate dynamic memory are responsible for freeing the memory they allocate. Properly freeing dynamic memory is a rich source of bugs: Either the memory is never freed, or it is freed while there are still pointers referring to the memory. The new library defines smart pointers—shared_ptr, unique_ptr, and weak_ptr—that make managing dynamic memory much safer. A smart pointer automatically frees the memory once there are no other users of that memory. When possible, modern C++ programs ought to use smart pointers.