Chapter 13: Problem 69

T \(F \quad\) A class may only have one destructor.

Short Answer

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Answer: A class can have only one destructor because its primary purpose is to perform clean-up tasks when an object is destroyed, ensuring consistent treatment of all objects in the class. Destructors cannot be overloaded since they don't accept arguments, and there is no need for multiple methods of cleaning up resources, which might complicate resource management. Inheritance of destructors from base classes further ensures proper cleanup of resources acquired by both derived and base classes.

Step by step solution

Introduction to Destructors

In C++, a destructor is a special member function of a class that is executed whenever an object of the class goes out of scope or is explicitly deleted. A destructor is used to release any resources acquired by the object during its lifetime, such as memory or file handles. The syntax for declaring a destructor is to use the character '~' followed by the class name.

Purpose of One Destructor

A class may only have one destructor because its primary purpose is to perform clean-up tasks when an object is destroyed. There should be no ambiguity or multiple methods of cleaning up an object which might complicates the process of resource management. Having a single destructor ensures that all objects of a class are treated consistently when they are destroyed.

Overloading Not Allowed

Unlike constructors, destructors cannot be overloaded. This means there can't be multiple destructors with different signatures in the same class. Since destructors don't accept any arguments, there is no need for overloading as there is only one way to clean up resources associated with an object.

Destructor Inheritance

If a class has a base class with a destructor, the derived class inherits the destructor of the base class. When a derived class object is destroyed, its destructor is called first, followed by the destructor of the base class. This ensures proper cleanup of resources acquired by both the derived and base classes.

Conclusion

So, the statement "A class may only have one destructor." is true. A single destructor per class is sufficient for proper resource management, and since destructors cannot accept arguments, there is no need for overloading. The inheritance of destructors from base classes ensures that parent class resources are correctly released as well.

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T \(F \quad\) A class may only have one destructor.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Introduction to Destructors

Purpose of One Destructor

Overloading Not Allowed

Destructor Inheritance

Conclusion

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