Which of the following best describes the purpose of a destructor in a class?

The purpose of a destructor in a class is to provide a special member function that is automatically called when an object of that class is destroyed. This function is essential for releasing any resources that the object may have acquired during its lifetime, such as memory or file handles. By correctly implementing a destructor, a programmer ensures that these resources are freed properly, thereby preventing memory leaks and other resource-related issues.

In C++, a destructor has the same name as the class, preceded by a tilde (~), and does not take any parameters or return a value. When an object goes out of scope or is explicitly deleted, its destructor is invoked, allowing the class to perform cleanup operations necessary for resource management. This is a critical aspect of managing resources in object-oriented programming, especially in languages like C++ that do not have automatic garbage collection.

Understanding destructors is fundamental for students, as they play a crucial role in maintaining program efficiency and stability by ensuring that resources are managed correctly throughout the object's lifetime.