Calling delete on variable allocated on the stack

Question

Ignoring programming style and design, is it \"safe\" to call delete on a variable allocated on the stack?

For example:

   int nAmount;
   delete &am         


        

Answer 1

Keep in mind that when you allocate a block of memory using new (or malloc for that matter), the actual block of memory allocated will be larger than what you asked for. The memory block will also contain some bookkeeping information so that when you free the block, it can easily be put back into the free pool and possibly be coalesced with adjacent free blocks.

When you try to free any memory that you didn't receive from new, that bookkeeping information wont be there but the system will act like it is and the results are going to be unpredictable (usually bad).