Do you know what are Memory Leaks in C++ programming language? have you ever thought about the process to deal with Memory Leaks in C & C ++ programming languages? Let us try to find out what are memory leaks in CPP & the process to avoid such mistakes while writing the programming.
But before we start writing about the memory leaks in C++ programming language, we need to know about it & its background. Then it will help to understand the theory related to memory leaks in C & C++ programming languages. We will define a daily life example here which will help to clear the concept of memory leaks in CPP.
Let us try to assume one daily life scenario.
Real-life Example:
Suppose, you love to collect pens in your pen stand. You set the pen stand on your working desk, and there are different types of Pen present. you love to write with a special quality Pen. It is the Use & Throw pen. That means, after writing using that pen, when the ink will be empty, you need to throw it away. But, you love those pens so much that you kept them in the pen stand after completing all the inks also. Now, when you bring a new set of a pen, you find out that, there is no more space left in the stand.
So, what will you do in this situation? There is no more pen stand is present to keep other useless pens.
So, you have to remove all the pens from the stand which are not in working condition. For the pens where the ink is empty, you need to identify & remove it from the stand. Then only you can able to place those new pens there. The same thing happens in the memory leaks in C++ programming language. Programmers unintentionally filled the memory of the computer with unnecessary things. In the end, there is no more space present to store new variables.
In this article, we will try to enlighten all the details of memory leaks in C & C++ programming languages. Also, we will define the process that will help to avoid memory leaks in CPP. But lets us jump to the topic by discussing the basic of memory leaks in CPP.
Also, if you want to read more article on C++ the you can check out our article on “What are the Types of Pointers in C++ with Examples?”
What Are Memory Leaks In CPP? Read Below
Memory leaks in CPP occur with the concept of Dynamic Memory Allocation. In dynamic memory allocation, programmers use some keywords that help to generate a specific number of memory in the computer.
As much as an element is present in the array, the same size will be allocated to the memory. But this thing is not only happening to C++ programming language. This thing more often can be seen in the C programming language.
Memory leaks in C++ programming language come from the same concept. Now, you might think, in this process, the memory is going to save. Then what is the issue with the Memory leaks in C++? The main issue is not with the allocation of the dynamic memory process. The main issue with the deallocation of the memory.
Like, the Array concept the memory here is not going to be deallocated automatically. Programmers need to deallocate the memory using some keywords. Programmers forget to deallocate the memory which was allocated using the dynamic memory allocation process. But when the programmer closes the program, it will automatically deallocate all the memory.
Now, you might ask, if it is going to be deallocated at the last, then why is it necessary to deallocate manually? It is necessary because, when you are going to again open the program, it will again cause a shortage of memory. And if at that time, you are running different programs at the same compiler, there might be some shortage of memory.
As a result, the program is going to crash. And you will not find any output from that program. And you need to take care of it while developing big projects. Because it is a common issue while developing projects.
What Are The Disadvantage Of Memory Leaks In CPP:
Now, after having brief knowledge of the memory leaks in CPP, we need to find out some of its important disadvantages of it. The disadvantages will help to memorize the concept of the memory leaks in CPP & it will help you to provide more strength on this topic. Let us try to find out the below-mentioned disadvantages of memory leaks in CPP:
- The memory leaks in CPP will cause a shortage of memory in the computer. While compiling a program, you might find such errors where the problem is related to the memory. And then you might not figure out the main issue of that error. So, we need to be very careful.
- Sometimes, the program rejects to open in the compiler if there are memory leaks in C++ programming language. the very first time, it will open without any issues. But if there are memory leaks in that program, it might deny opening the program. Hence, you will face some difficulties.
- While running the program, you might come across a situation where the program gets crashes. It happens when all the remaining memory space in the computer used by the memory leaks in C++ programming language. So, users need to remove that.
What Is The Method To Detect Memory Leaks In C++? Get To Know
There is no special method is present which will help to detect the memory leaks in C++ programming language. It is not an issue that is occurring due to some mechanical problem. Programmers forget to deallocate the memory that was allocated using dynamic memory allocation.
There are different keywords are present in the dynamic memory allocation. Like, there are malloc(), calloc(), etc. These are the keywords that help to generate the memory in the C programming language.
And in the case of the C++ programming language, the ‘new’ keyword is used. Users need to be careful while writing any line with the ‘new’ keyword. After allocating anything with the help of the ‘new’ keyword, users need to remove it from the memory of the program using the ‘delete’ operator.
The ‘delete’ operator is used to remove the memory leaks in C++ programming language. It will be cleared when we will discuss it briefly with the help of the program.
What is the Program To Identify The Memory Leaks In C++?
In the below-mentioned program, we have taken one user-defined function. That function is being called from the main function. There is no issue till this point. Now, in the user-defined function, we have taken one pointer where we are allocating one memory.
We are allocating the memory of a float number to that variable. The pointer is also considered the key element that causes memory leaks in C++ programming language.
After writing that statement, we print a statement randomly. Then we are closing that function without deallocating the taken memory space. It is going to be a problem as memory leaks. It is a simple issue, if there is much such memory allocation happens, it will going to be serious trouble for the programmer.
Example:
#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std; void func(){ // User Defined Function To Identify Memory leak float* zap = new float(3.4); // Allocating Memory To The Float Pointer cout << "There Are Memory Leak";} // Printing Any Statement int main(){ func();return 0;} // Calling The User Defined Function
Let us try to find out the output of the above code. It will help to understand the process of memory leaks in C++ programming language.
Output:
What Is The Method To Avoid Memory Leaks In C++? Get To Know
Now, as we have understood the total process of memory leaks in C++ programming language, it is time to get some tips to avoid using memory leaks in C++ programming language. Basically, as a programmer, you need to be very cautious while writing programs in dynamic memory allocation. Other than that, there are some more tips, that will help to avoid making such mistakes.
Let us try to find out the tips that will help to remove memory leaks in C++ programming language.
- Programmers need to use the smart pointer whenever there is a provision for it. Programmers need to reduce the work for memory management on their own. It will help a lot.
- Programmers need to use the std::string class more often whenever there is a need to handle the character elements. Programmers need to reduce the use of the char* pointer operations. The std::string class can be able to handle all the memory management on its own.
- Users can able to use the raw or new pointer whenever they are marking to any other old library of the C++ programming language. It will help to reduce the memory leaks in C++ programming language.
- Programmers need to be very careful while doing such operations. You need to pay full attention to the code which you are writing with the help of the dynamic memory allocation process. There is no other way than to give full concentration to avoid such issues.
- Programmers need to deallocate the memory which they have taken in the program. In that case, users need to use the delete operation to remove memory from C++ programming language. So, the memory is taken with the help of the ‘new’ keyword. And deallocated with the help of the ‘delete’ keyword.
What Is The Program To Remove The Memory Leaks In C++?
It is the same program that we developed earlier. But some new changes are happening in this programming. Here, we have again taken one user-defined function to develop the process to remove memory leaks in C++ programming language.
That function is called in the main function to show the complete procedure. Here, we have again allocated one memory to the float pointer using the ‘new’ keyword.
We have also written one statement for printing. The overall process till this will be the same as the earlier one. Now after that, we are going to deallocate the space. We will use the ‘delete’ keyword to remove the memory space. The ‘delete’ is the inbuild function present to do such tasks. Here, the name of the pointer will be shared as the argument to the function.
Hence, the memory leaks in C++ programming language will be removed now. After doing that, we have written another line to mark complete the process. Now, the program will be returned to the main function again.
General Syntax: delete(pointer-name);
Example:
#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std; void func() // User Defined Function To Identify Memory leak { float* zap = new float(3.4); // Allocating Memory To The Float Pointer cout << "There Are Memory Leak"<<endl; // Printing Any Statement delete(zap); // Delete Function To Remove Memory cout << "Memory Leak Removed"; // Printing Any Statement } // Function Closed With Deallocation int main() // Main Function { func(); // Calling The User Defined Function return 0;}
Let us try to find out the output of the above code. It will help to understand the process to remove memory leaks in C++ programming language.
Output:
Conclusion:
As we saw, memory leaks in C++ programming language are a very important topic. We need to understand this topic to easily solve difficult issues without any problems.
It’s very important for us to first identify the place where such problems are arising. We need to clarify the concept of dynamic memory allocation before moving to this topic. As this topic is highly related to the dynamic memory allocation process.
It is advisable to clear the basic concept of the C++ programming language. We need to clear the concept of the pointers to have a good grip on this topic. We need to remember to remove the memory space from the programming after allocating that. It will help us in the future while developing big projects.
So, hope you have liked this piece of article. Share your thoughts in the comments section and let us know if we can improve more.
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