Programming in C++, 2nd Edition

Memory Management Operators 139

4.8.2 delete Operator

The delete operator frees the memory allocated by the new operator. This operator is used

when the memory allocated is no longer used in the program. The following syntax is used for

the delete operator.

Syntax Example

a) delete <pointer memory a) delete p;

variable>

b) delete [element size] b) delete [5 ]p or delete [ ]p;

<pointer memory variable>

In example (a), the delete operator releases the memory allocated to pointer p. Example

(b) is advantageous when we want to free the dynamically allocated memory of array. The new

C++ compilers do not require element size.

4.28 Program to illustrate ...