Memory Management

In C++, memory management is an important aspect of programming. Understanding how memory is allocated and deallocated can help us write efficient and bug-free code.

Stack and Heap Memory

In C++, variables can be allocated memory in two different ways: stack memory and heap memory.

Stack memory is used for variables that are defined inside a function or a code block. It is automatically allocated and deallocated as the function or code block is entered and exited. Stack memory is limited and has a fixed size.

Heap memory, on the other hand, is used for dynamically allocated variables. These variables are allocated using the new keyword and deallocated using the delete keyword. Heap memory is larger than stack memory and can be managed manually.

Pointers and References

In C++, pointers and references allow us to work with memory addresses and manipulate data indirectly. A pointer is a variable that stores the address of another variable. We can use pointers to allocate memory dynamically and access and modify the data stored at that memory address.

Here's an example of using a pointer to dynamically allocate and deallocate memory:

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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

​

int main() {

  // Creating a pointer

  int* ptr = new int;

​

  // Assigning a value

  *ptr = 5;

​

  // Printing the value

  cout << "Value: " << *ptr << endl;

​

  // Deleting the pointer

  delete ptr;

​

  return 0;

}