Question

Hopefully this isn’t too basic of a question. I’m wondering if there’s a difference between doing

while (1) {
    int *a = new int(1);
    // Do stuff with a
}

as opposed to

int *a;
while (1) {
    a = new int(1);
    // Do stuff with a
}

In both cases the same number of objects are dynamically allocated. But does the fact that the int keyword is used inside the loop in the first example affect the memory used?

Answer 1

The difference is scope.

while (1) {
    int *a = new int(1);
    // Do stuff with a

    // Don't forget to delete a.
}

// Cannot access `a` here...

Whereas:

int *a;
while (1) {
    a = new int(1);
    // Do stuff with a

    // Don't forget to delete a.
}

// Can access `a` here.

You have a memory leak in both of your examples. Prefer smart pointers!