Question

In C++ using delete to free memory obtained with malloc() doesn’t necessarily cause a program to blow up.

Should a warning or perhaps even an assertion failure should be produced if delete is used to free memory obtained using malloc()?

Why did Stroustrup not have this feature on C++?

Answer 1

In C++ using delete to free memory obtained with malloc() doesn’t necessarily cause a program to blow up.

No, but it does necessarily result in undefined behavior, which means that anything can happen, including the program blowing up or the program continuing to run in what appears to be a correct manner.

Do you guys think a warning or perhaps even an assertion failure should be produced if delete is used to free memory obtained using malloc()??

No. This is difficult, if not impossible, to check at compile time. Runtime checks are expensive, and in C++, you don’t get what you don’t pay for.

It might be a useful option to turn on while debugging, but really, the correct answer is just don’t mix and match them. I’ve not once had trouble with this.