How to write a proper class destructor?

[Frits van Bommel]

Bradley Smith wrote:
> Jarrett Billingsley wrote:
>> I remember someone suggesting that 'scope' be a valid modifier for 
>> class instance variables, and it'd basically mean "when this class 
>> gets destroyed, destroy this other instance as well."  Like 
>> auto-deletion when you use a scope reference in a function:
> 
> Is scope a valid modifier for a data member?

No, that paragraph was about a suggestion that it *should* be :).

>> Another solution would be to change the behavior of the GC so that 
>> deletion on program end _is_ deterministic.  That is, it'd basically 
>> run a collection sweep, call finalizers on objects which don't have 
>> references to them, and keep doing that until nothing is left.  That 
>> way, references to other classes would always be valid in destructors, 
>> since the GC wouldn't collect those references until everything that 
>> points to them is destroyed.
> 
> Are you saying that a proper class destructor can't be written without 
> modifying the language?

I think he's saying that it can be fixed by modifying the GC (which 
isn't so much part of the language as it is of the standard library).