Returning arrays from functions in C++. Variable scope issuse.

Hello.

I am a Java developer transfering my skills over to C++. I am using C++ at University for a module dealing with OpenGL. I have used some OpenGL with C. I have been reasonably successfull in recreating things I have created in Java to C++ though I appreciate how clean Java is by comparrison.

One of the issues I am having some issues with is array pointer scope. In Java I can return an array from a method. I have tried to do the same thing in C++ but it does not seem to be working correctly when I run the debugger. I know that the other C++ way of doing things is to supply the method a pointer to an array and have the method simply populate it. I have not had problems when it has come to returning an object reference from a method. It seems my problems are just with arrays. It seems the array may be going out of scope when the method returns. I know that the new keword is used to create things in the memory heap and that items created in this mannor need to be explicitly destroyed (no garbage collection).

Can anyone give me some pointers for dealing with C++ arrays and issues relating to variable scope. I know that an array is equivelant to a pointer and that there is no protection to stop navigation beyond the bounds of the array. Can an object method return an array or will it only work if the array is created outside the method and passed as an argument?

Any help would be appreciated.

Carl