Navigating C++ and Object-Oriented Design

4.4. Destructors

Programs that instantiate (create) objects use constructors to allocate resources (for example, disk files or free store memory). Who's responsible for freeing these resources? Since the compiler calls constructors to initialize objects, it makes sense that the compiler should call a function to free an object's resources. A special member function, called a destructor, exists for this purpose. The compiler calls destructors when objects go “out of scope” (block exits) or when programs call operator delete with a pointer to a class object that you create with operator new. You need to provide class destructors to release resources that constructors allocate.

Destructor member functions have the following format.

class Class_name ...