omavideniz
asked on
deleting object instance
hi,
I have the sort of code snippet below and am curious something about it.
As obviously seen, i am creating a new window object instance and immediately
deleting it, but it's still possible to call the member functions of the object.
void CMenusDlg::OnContextMenu(C
{
CDialog w;
delete w;
w.Create( .. );
w.FlashWindow( TRUE );
...
...
}
what the heck is this?. i think that instance creation in the local scope
makes the object permanent although the delete operator used. is it safe to use like
this way? i'm confused a little, what do you comment on it?
Thanks in advance.
Osman Mavideniz
I have the sort of code snippet below and am curious something about it.
As obviously seen, i am creating a new window object instance and immediately
deleting it, but it's still possible to call the member functions of the object.
void CMenusDlg::OnContextMenu(C
{
CDialog w;
delete w;
w.Create( .. );
w.FlashWindow( TRUE );
...
...
}
what the heck is this?. i think that instance creation in the local scope
makes the object permanent although the delete operator used. is it safe to use like
this way? i'm confused a little, what do you comment on it?
Thanks in advance.
Osman Mavideniz
ASKER
hi jtm111,
my problem is not about using an object after deleting it, i don't want to make use of it. but the concept of local instance creation and destruction, that if you create a dynamic object instead;
CDialog w = new CDialog();
delete w;
method calls now crash, because of the obvious destruction of the object but why not the same thing applies the previous one...
my problem is not about using an object after deleting it, i don't want to make use of it. but the concept of local instance creation and destruction, that if you create a dynamic object instead;
CDialog w = new CDialog();
delete w;
method calls now crash, because of the obvious destruction of the object but why not the same thing applies the previous one...
Oh I see... You aren't creating the object with new. I was focusing on the delete line.
In the C++ standard, delete only has an effect for a pointer returned by new or to 0 which has no effect (Stroustrup, p. 128).
I would expect a compiler warning or error if you try to delete anything other than a pointer or 0. Didn't you get one?
If not, I suspect it simply ignored the delete operator, in which case your program would run.
In the C++ standard, delete only has an effect for a pointer returned by new or to 0 which has no effect (Stroustrup, p. 128).
I would expect a compiler warning or error if you try to delete anything other than a pointer or 0. Didn't you get one?
If not, I suspect it simply ignored the delete operator, in which case your program would run.
>> I would expect a compiler warning or
>> error if you try to delete anything
>> other than a pointer or 0.
So would I!!
That code absolutely should not compile.
>> error if you try to delete anything
>> other than a pointer or 0.
So would I!!
That code absolutely should not compile.
ASKER
that code definitely compiles within VC++ 6.0 and no errors or warnings raised.
ASKER
that code definitely compiles within VC++ 6.0 and no errors or warnings raised.
The code definitely does not compile in vc 6.0. I tried it.
Are you sure you are compiling this code? perhaps the file you have is not included in the project. Place a blantent error in the code (although you really have) and see what happens, like
CDialog w;
delete w;
this line surely is a compiler error;
Are you sure you are compiling this code? perhaps the file you have is not included in the project. Place a blantent error in the code (although you really have) and see what happens, like
CDialog w;
delete w;
this line surely is a compiler error;
>>this line surely is a compiler error;
You would think so but it's not flagged as an error in VC++ 6.0!! Try it....
You would think so but it's not flagged as an error in VC++ 6.0!! Try it....
ASKER
as jhance stated its neither an error nor warning in VC++ 6.0.
Huh? I did try it. I got two errors. c2059 and c2238
This makes no sense?
This makes no sense?
ASKER
actually, i'm curious about how vc++ handles to prevent the delete to destroy the local object. is it using some smart technique to determine the local objects and prevent their destruction, or the c++ language concept provides this mechanism implicitly to prohibit the local object destruction.
Are you sure you guys are compiling this. It is clearly a syntax error. It is one that VC reports for all cases I can construct (any non-pointer) as well as this specific case
the only think I can think if is that an implicit conversion to some pointer type is being called on the object. But the object doesn't define any pointer conversions that I am aware of, and even if it does, no conversion should be invoked by the compiler in this case. So that hardly seeems like that is what is happening, but it the only think I can think of. (And it doesn't work for me!)
the only think I can think if is that an implicit conversion to some pointer type is being called on the object. But the object doesn't define any pointer conversions that I am aware of, and even if it does, no conversion should be invoked by the compiler in this case. So that hardly seeems like that is what is happening, but it the only think I can think of. (And it doesn't work for me!)
>>This makes no sense?
Agreed! I'm 100% positive that I'm compiling it. And I get no errors or warnings at all on it. I even bumped the C++ warning level up to 4 and nothing.
Could this be a VC++ version issue? Like some rev levels have a problem with this and others don't? I think I have VC++ SP3 installed but I'm not sure about it.. It might be a later one.
Agreed! I'm 100% positive that I'm compiling it. And I get no errors or warnings at all on it. I even bumped the C++ warning level up to 4 and nothing.
Could this be a VC++ version issue? Like some rev levels have a problem with this and others don't? I think I have VC++ SP3 installed but I'm not sure about it.. It might be a later one.
ASKER
the explanation of the errors you reported are below and makes no sense of our subject. may be some of our compiler settings causes the difference, i'm not sure why we are encountering different compiler behaviours.
----------
Compiler Error C2059
syntax error : 'token'
The token caused a syntax error. Problems of this type can sometimes be attributed to a syntactical or clerical error. For example:
void main ( // No closing parenthesis.
{
}
----------
Compiler Error C2238
unexpected token(s) preceding 'token'
An incorrect token, or tokens, was found before the specified token.
This error can be caused by an invalid name in a bit-field declaration.
The following is an example of this error:
struct bits
{
int field1 : 16;
int 9 : 16; // error, 9 is not a valid name
};
----------
Compiler Error C2059
syntax error : 'token'
The token caused a syntax error. Problems of this type can sometimes be attributed to a syntactical or clerical error. For example:
void main ( // No closing parenthesis.
{
}
----------
Compiler Error C2238
unexpected token(s) preceding 'token'
An incorrect token, or tokens, was found before the specified token.
This error can be caused by an invalid name in a bit-field declaration.
The following is an example of this error:
struct bits
{
int field1 : 16;
int 9 : 16; // error, 9 is not a valid name
};
>> actually, i'm curious about how vc++
>> handles to prevent the delete to destroy
>> the local object. is it
>> using some smart technique to determine
>> the local objects and prevent their
>> destruction,
Nope. delete on an non-pointer type is a syntax error. it does not matter where it comes from (local or heap). Delete on a pointer is never a syntax error. Now if the pointer was not allocated with new, then the delete operation is a semantic error, but not a syntax error and the compiler will not complain about it, but the program behavior is undefined--and rarely good!
So for example
int *iptr = new int;
delete *iptr; // syntax error. does not compile. this
// int is from the heap, but you cannot delete
// an int, only a pointer.
int i - 5;
delete &i; // This compiles. But the behavior
// is undefined. Probably causes a crash.
>> Could this be a VC++ version issue?
Its possible, but seems unlikely. Though nothing else seems more likely.
Can you guts try this other other data types? What does
int i;
delete i;
do?
>> handles to prevent the delete to destroy
>> the local object. is it
>> using some smart technique to determine
>> the local objects and prevent their
>> destruction,
Nope. delete on an non-pointer type is a syntax error. it does not matter where it comes from (local or heap). Delete on a pointer is never a syntax error. Now if the pointer was not allocated with new, then the delete operation is a semantic error, but not a syntax error and the compiler will not complain about it, but the program behavior is undefined--and rarely good!
So for example
int *iptr = new int;
delete *iptr; // syntax error. does not compile. this
// int is from the heap, but you cannot delete
// an int, only a pointer.
int i - 5;
delete &i; // This compiles. But the behavior
// is undefined. Probably causes a crash.
>> Could this be a VC++ version issue?
Its possible, but seems unlikely. Though nothing else seems more likely.
Can you guts try this other other data types? What does
int i;
delete i;
do?
>> explanation of the errors you reported
>> are below and makes no sense of our subject
yes they do. The first is the error I would expect. The 2nd is a sideffect of it trying to continue after the first error.
>> are below and makes no sense of our subject
yes they do. The first is the error I would expect. The 2nd is a sideffect of it trying to continue after the first error.
ASKER
i tried it for int and get the error,
Compiler Error C2541
delete : cannot delete objects that are not pointers
may be cause of a vc++ issue it doesn't expose the same error for user-defined objects.
Compiler Error C2541
delete : cannot delete objects that are not pointers
may be cause of a vc++ issue it doesn't expose the same error for user-defined objects.
Strange that I don't get C2541 when I do get an error for the class then. I need to do a bit of research here...
Now this must be a version issue. When I do
int i;
delete i;
I get the same erros as when I try to delete the object, that is, I get C2059 and C2238 in both cases.
I can't do the next test though.
Can you step into the delete of this object in the debugger. Look to see if a conversion operator for the CDialog class is being called. I am 99.9% sure that is not allowed, but it mgiht be a mistake in the VC compiler that then allows this code to compile.
int i;
delete i;
I get the same erros as when I try to delete the object, that is, I get C2059 and C2238 in both cases.
I can't do the next test though.
Can you step into the delete of this object in the debugger. Look to see if a conversion operator for the CDialog class is being called. I am 99.9% sure that is not allowed, but it mgiht be a mistake in the VC compiler that then allows this code to compile.
CDialog (from CWnd) defines operator HWND, which is a void* (I think - sometimes, can be a struct if STRICT is defined?, in which case it won't compile?), hence this compiles, as an example, this also compiles:
class X
{
public:
operator void*()
{
return 0;
}
};
int main()
{
X theX;
delete theX;
}
class X
{
public:
operator void*()
{
return 0;
}
};
int main()
{
X theX;
delete theX;
}
So it is a conversion? I didn't think that was allowed. I have to look into that I'm not sure what the rules are for that. Like if a class has two pointer conversions, which one would delete use, or would then be ambiguous.
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It doesn't surprise me that you could run instructions after deleting an object. But it is absolutely bad practice. Your code is not portable because you don't know how C++ compilers will handle your code.
Never use an object after you delete it.