cpp / beginner
Snippet
Return by Value: Returning Local Copies
When a function returns a pointer to dynamically allocated memory, the caller becomes responsible for freeing that memory with delete[]. This pattern is common in C++ but requires careful memory management. Modern C++ prefers returning std::vector instead.
snippet.cpp
cpp
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#include <iostream>int* createArray(int size) {int* arr = new int[size];for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {arr[i] = i * 10;}return arr;}int main() {int* myArray = createArray(5);for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {std::cout << myArray[i] << " ";}std::cout << std::endl;delete[] myArray;return 0;}
Breakdown
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int* createArray(int size)
Function returns a pointer to dynamically allocated array
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int* arr = new int[size];
Allocates array on the heap with new
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return arr;
Returns the pointer, heap memory persists after function ends
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delete[] myArray;
Must free heap memory to prevent leaks