return pointer to data declared in function

Question

I know this won\'T work because the variable x gets destroyed when the function returns:

int* myFunction()
{
    int x = 4; return &x;
}

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Answer 1

Boost or TR1 shared pointers are generally the way to go. It avoids the copy overhead, and gives you semi-automatic deletion. So your function should look like:

boost::shared_ptr myFunction2()
{
    boost::shared_ptr x = new int; 

    *x = 4; 
    return x;
}

The other option is just to allow a copy. That's not too bad if the object is small (like this one) or you can arrange to create the object in the return statement. The compiler will usually optimize a copy away if the object is created in the return statement.