std::string - memory issue

I have a class, and in its constructor I declare a std::string variable, buffer. It stores the contents of an input file, so this variable usually uses about 4MB.

I've noticed that when the program exits the constructor, the memory used by this variable is still used. This variable is not a pointer, so I don't understand why the memory is not getting recycled like your usual stack variable. What's going on and what should I do?

What STL implementation (and compiler) are you using?

Some libraries use memory pools under the hood when using default allocators.

gg

mingw (I think 3.80). Not sure what you mean by STL implementation.

Then it's GNU's implementation.

http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstd...allocator.html

You'll want to do your own memory management, either through a custom allocator that guarentees the ::deletion of memory, or by not using std::string.

If you're not worried about portability, then use one of the non-standard allocators that the GNU implementation provides (scroll to the bottom of the above link).

gg