Why is ::operator new[] necessary when ::operator new is enough?

Question

As we know, the C++ standard defines two forms of global allocation functions:

void* operator new(size_t);
void* operator new[](size_t);

An

Answer 1

The C++ Programming Language: Special Edition p 423 says

_The operator new() and operator delete() functions allow a user to take over allocation and deallocation of individual objects; operator new[]() and operator delete[]() serve exactly the same role for the allocation and deallocation of arrays.

Thanks Tony D for correcting my misunderstanding of this nuance.

Wow, it's not often I'm caught out on something in C++ I'm so certain about - I must have been spending too much time in Objective-C!

original wrong answer

It's simple - the new[] form invokes the constructor on every element of a classic C array.

So it first allocates the space for all the objects, then iterates calling the constructor for each slot.