How to write a proper class destructor?

[Frits van Bommel]

Bradley Smith wrote:
> kris wrote:
>> Bradley Smith wrote:
>>> According to the documentation, a class destructor is "expected to 
>>> release any resources held by the object."[1] However, if resources 
>>> to be released are in objects to be garbage collected, "those 
>>> references are no longer valid."[1]
>>>
>>> How is a class supposed to release something for which it no longer 
>>> has a valid reference?
>>>
>>>
>>> [1] http://www.digitalmars.com/d/class.html#destructors.
>>
>> Yeah, that's a good one :)
>>
>> Tango has a good resolution for this, that stemmed from long 
>> discussion on the NG. Those changes never made it into phobos, IIRC
> 
> Isn't the destructor behavior dictated by the language? How can it be 
> fixed with a library? Replace or bypass the GC?

*Behavior* is dictated by the language, yes. But the *order* in which 
they're invoked is determined by the library (specifically, the GC) and 
the program (if 'delete' is used). So yes, this may be fixable by 
replacing the GC.