What is a memory leak in a C++ program?
Options
- A. Using memory after it has been released
- B. Allocated memory that is no longer accessible but has not been released
- C. Accessing a constant variable
- D. More than one of the above
- E. None of the above
Quiz Practice:
B. Allocated memory that is no longer accessible but has not been released
Answer: Allocated memory that is no longer accessible but has not been released
A memory leak occurs when dynamically allocated memory is not released after it is no longer needed.
For example:
int *p = new int(10);
If the program loses the pointer p without executing delete p;, the allocated memory may remain occupied until the program terminates.
Repeated memory leaks can increase memory usage and may eventually affect program performance.