Is it possible to delete an object in c++ without calling the destructor?

Question

I have an object with some pointers inside of it. The destructor calls delete on these pointers. But sometimes I want to delete them, and sometimes I don't. So I'd like to be able to delete the object without calling the destructor. Is this possible?

Edit: I realize this is an AWFUL idea that no one should ever do. Nonetheless, I want to do it because it will make some internal functions much easier to write.

Answer 1

The delete operator does two things to the object you pass it:

• calls the appropriate destructor.
• calls the deallocation function, operator delete.

So deleting an object without calling a destructor means you want to simply call operator delete on the object:

Foo *f = new Foo;
operator delete(f);

operator delete is a normal function call and the usual name lookup and overload resolution is done. However the delete operator has its own rules for finding the correct operator delete. For example the delete operator will look for member operator delete functions that the usual name lookup and overload resolution does not find. That means that you need to make sure you're calling the right function when you manually use operator delete.

As you say, using operator delete directly is an awful idea. Failing to call the destructor breaks RAII, resulting in resource leaks. It can even lead to undefined behavior. Also, you'll have to take on the responsibility of writing exception safe code without RAII, which is exceptionally hard. You're almost guaranteed to get it wrong.