rustHow to delete pointer in Rust

In Rust, you can delete a pointer by using the std::mem::drop function. This function takes a mutable reference to the pointer and deallocates the memory associated with it. To use this function, you must first create a mutable reference to the pointer using the &mut operator. Then, you can call the drop function on the reference. For example:

let mut ptr = Box::new(5);
drop(&mut ptr);

This code creates a pointer to an integer with the value 5, and then calls the drop function on the pointer. This deallocates the memory associated with the pointer, effectively deleting it.

It is important to note that the drop function does not set the pointer to null. If you try to access the pointer after calling drop, you will get an error. To avoid this, you should set the pointer to null after calling drop. For example:

let mut ptr = Box::new(5);
drop(&mut ptr);
ptr = null;

This code calls the drop function on the pointer, and then sets the pointer to null. This ensures that the pointer is no longer valid and cannot be accessed.

Helpful links

• std::mem::drop
• Box
• null

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