Chapter 21
Effective Memory Management
WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?
- What the different ways are to use and manage memory
- What the often perplexing relationship is between arrays and pointers
- A low-level look at working with memory
- What smart pointers are and how to use them
- Solutions to a few memory related problems
In many ways, programming in C++ is like driving without a road. Sure, you can go anywhere you want, but there are no lines or traffic lights to keep you from injuring yourself. C++, like the C language, has a hands-off approach towards its programmers. The language assumes that you know what you’re doing. It allows you to do things that are likely to cause problems because C++ is incredibly flexible and sacrifices safety in favor of performance.
Memory allocation and management is a particularly error-prone area of C++ programming. To write high-quality C++ programs, professional C++ programmers need to understand how memory works behind the scenes. This chapter explores the ins and outs of memory management. You will learn about the pitfalls of dynamic memory and some techniques for avoiding and eliminating them.
WORKING WITH DYNAMIC MEMORY
When learning to program, dynamic memory is often the first major stumbling block that novice programmers face. Memory is a low-level component of the computer that unfortunately rears its head even in a high-level programming language like C++. Many programmers only understand enough about dynamic memory to get by. They shy away ...
