Destructors in C++

Destructor is an instance member function that is invoked automatically whenever an object is going to be destroyed. Meaning, a destructor is the last function that is going to be called before an object is destroyed.

Syntax

Destructors are automatically present in every C++ class but we can also redefine them using the following syntax.

~className(){
    // Body of destructor
}

where, tilda(~) is used to create destructor of a className.

Just like any other member function of the class, we can define the destructor outside the class too:

className {
public:
     ~className();
}

class-name :: ~className() {
    // Desctructor Body
}

But we still need to at least declare the destructor inside the class.

Examples of Destructor

The below programs demonstrate the behaviour of the destructor in different cases:

Example 1

The below code demonstrates the automatic execution of constructors and destructors when objects are created and destroyed, respectively.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Test {
public:

    // User-Defined Constructor
    Test() {
        cout << "Constructor Called"
             << endl;
    }

    // User-Defined Destructor
    ~Test() {
        cout << "Destructor Called"
             << endl;
    }
};
main() {
    Test t;

    return 0;
}

Constructor Called
Destructor Called

Example 2

The below C++ program demonstrates the number of times constructors and destructors are called.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int Count = 0;
class Test {
public:
    Test(){

        // Number of times constructor is called
        Count++;
        cout << "No. of Object created: " 
             << Count << endl;
    }
    ~Test() {
        
        // It will print count in decending order
        cout << "No. of Object destroyed: " << Count
             << endl;
        Count--;
    }
};

int main() {
    Test t, t1, t2, t3;
    return 0;
}

Output

No. of Object created: 1
No. of Object created: 2
No. of Object created: 3
No. of Object created: 4
No. of Object destroyed: 4
No. of Object destroyed: 3
No. of Object destroyed: 2
No. of Object destroyed: 1

Note: Objects are destroyed in the reverse order of their creation. In this case, t3 is the first to be destroyed, while t is the last.

When do we need to write a user-defined destructor?

If we do not write our own destructor in class, the compiler creates a default destructor for us. The default destructor works fine unless we have dynamically allocated memory or pointer in class. When a class contains a pointer to memory allocated in the class, we should write a destructor to release memory before the class instance is destroyed. This must be done to avoid memory leaks.

Example:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class MyClass {
private:

    // Pointer to dynamically 
    // allocated memory
    int* data;

public:
    MyClass(int value) {
        data = new int;
        *data = value;
        cout << *data << endl;
    }

    // User-defined destructor: Free 
    // the dynamically allocated memory
    ~MyClass() {
        
        // Deallocate the dynamically 
        // allocated memory
        delete data;  
        cout << "Destructor: Memory deallocated";
    }
};

int main() {
    MyClass obj1(10);
    return 0;
}

10
Destructor: Memory deallocated

In the above example, when the object is destroyed, the destructor releases the dynamically allocated resources, which in this case is the pointer.

Characteristics of a Destructor

All the points mentioned below show the characteristics of a destructor:

• Destructor has the same name as their class name preceded by a tilde (~) symbol.
• It is not possible to define more than one destructor.
• The destructor is only one way to destroy the object created by the constructor. Hence, destructor cannot be overloaded.
• It cannot be declared static or const.
• Destructor neither requires any argument nor returns any value.
• It is automatically called when an object goes out of scope. 
• Destructor release memory space occupied by the objects created by the constructor.
• In destructor, objects are destroyed in the reverse of an object creation.

When is the destructor called?

A destructor function is called automatically when the object goes out of scope or is deleted. Following are the cases where destructor is called:

1. Destructor is called when the function ends.
2. Destructor is called when the program ends.
3. Destructor is called when a block containing local variables ends.
4. Destructor is called when a delete operator is called.

How to call destructors explicitly?

Destructor can also be called explicitly for an object. We can call the destructors explicitly using the following statement:

object_name.~class_name()

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• C++
• School Programming
• cpp-destructor

Practice Tags :

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