C++ delete array crashes

Question

This is my code...

int* getA(int no)
{
   int *a = new int[no];
   return a;
}

void main()
{
   int* a = getA(10);
   delete []a;
}

When I delete the array a in main it crashes... what is the reason??

The error is "Windows has triggered a breakpoint in Final.exe. This may be due to a corruption of the heap, which indicates a bug in Final.exe or any of the DLLs it has loaded..........." But I am able to assign and access the elements of a in the main method but when I try to delete it is crashing....

It does not crash for me. Also, this main() definition is not legal in C++. — hamstergene
– hamstergene, Commented Sep 30, 2011 at 14:53
This shouldn't crash. Is this the code you're actually using? — MGZero
– MGZero, Commented Sep 30, 2011 at 14:57
void main() is a compiler extension. It should be int main(), even if you don't return anything. — Sebastian Mach
– Sebastian Mach, Commented Sep 30, 2011 at 15:18

Ernest Friedman-Hill · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-30 14:54:25Z

3

Nothing wrong with this code. Presumably either

It differs from your real code in some significant way, or
Something unrelated in your real code is corrupting the heap before this code runs.

answered Sep 30, 2011 at 14:54

Ernest Friedman-Hill

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Comments

sehe · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-30 14:54:56Z

1

It should just work (the delete).

Possibly, the application crashes because of undefined behaviour, if your compiler accepted that code. Try the following, and run it under a debugger to verify that it crashes in the delete:

int* getA(int no)
{
   int *a = new int[no];
   return a;
}

int main()
{
  int* a = getA(10);
  delete []a;

  return 0;
}

answered Sep 30, 2011 at 14:54

sehe

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