Why doesn't the C++ default destructor destroy my objects?
c++, default, destructor
Solution
What makes you think the object `n` points to should be deleted by default? The default destructor destroys the pointer, not what it's pointing to.
Edit: I'll see if I can make this a little more clear.
If you had a local pointer, and it went out of scope, would you expect the object it points to to be destroyed?
{
Thing* t = new Thing;
// do some stuff here
// no "delete t;"
}
The `t` pointer is cleaned up, but the `Thing` it points to is not. This is a leak. Essentially the same thing is happening in your class.
Problem
The C++ specification says the default destructor deletes all non-static members. Nevertheless, I can't manage to achieve that. I have this: ``` class N { public: ~N() { std::cout << "Destroying object of type N"; } }; class M { public: M() { n = new N; } // ~M() { //this should happen by default // delete n; // } private: N* n; }; ``` Then this should print the given message, but it doesn't: ``` M* m = new M(); delete m; //this should invoke the default destructor ```