Should I Release This Memory?

[zb0S216C]

Take the following code segment:

template< typename ArrayType >
ArrayType *VectorToArray( ArrayType **p_ppThisBlock = NULL, vector< ArrayType > *p_vThisVector = NULL )
{
    // If either of the parameters are NULL, return.
    if( p_ppThisBlock == NULL || p_vThisVector == NULL )
    {
        return NULL;
    }

    else if( p_ppThisBlock != NULL && p_vThisVector != NULL )
    {
        // Create the array which will store the vectors values.
        p_ppThisBlock = new ArrayType[ p_vThisVector -> size( ) ];

        // Initialize the new array.
        for( unsigned uIndex( 0 ); uIndex < p_vThisVector -> size( ); uIndex++ )
        {
            p_ppThisBlock[ uIndex ] = p_vThisVector[ uIndex ];
        }

        // Return the memory block.
        return p_ppThisBlock;
    }
}

My question is: Do I need to free the memory allocated by p_ppThisBlock when the function ends? And is it relevant to return the block of memory that has been allocated by p_ppThisBlock.

[filipe]

If you delete it, you won't be returning anything. The caller will have to handle deletion when it's time, though. Notice that objects that don't have clear ownership are considered A Bad Thing because it's very easy to forget to delete them.

PS: just say no to hungarian notation. It makes your code much harder to read. Just look at the difference:

template<typename T>
T* vectorToArray(T* arr = NULL, std::vector<T>* vec = NULL)  // fixed a bug; type of arr
{
    // If either of the parameters are NULL, return.
    if(arr == NULL || vec == NULL)
    {
        return NULL;
    }
    else  // none of them is NULL, no need to check again
    {
        // Create the array which will store the vectors values.
        arr = new T[vec->size()];

        // Initialize the new array.
        for(unsigned i = 0; i < vec->size(); ++i)
        {
            arr[i] = (*vec)[i];  // fixed a bug here
        }

        // Return the memory block.
        return arr;
    }
}

PPS: any reason the array has to be passed in and it can't be NULL? That's a guaranteed memory leak. And if you're operating directly into the array, why return it?