Can You Delete a Pointer to Const in C ?

Deleting a Pointer to Const

The ability to delete a pointer to const, despite the restriction against calling non-const member functions on const pointers, can be perplexing. However, this capability serves an important purpose.

In the case of dynamically created objects, it allows for the creation of immutable objects that can be safely constructed and subsequently deleted without violating the constraint of constness. For example:

<code class="cpp">// dynamically create object that cannot be changed
const Foo *f = new Foo();

// use const member functions here

// delete it
delete f;</code>

Moreover, this capability is not limited to dynamically allocated objects. Even within the context of a block, the destructor for a const object must be callable to ensure proper object cleanup when the block exits:

<code class="cpp">{
 const Foo f;
 // use it
} // destructor called here</code>

Without the ability to invoke destructors on const objects, it would not be possible to utilize const objects in a meaningful way. This flexibility underlies the efficient and correct handling of const pointers and const objects in C .

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