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<h1>delete</h1>
<p>The <span class="inline">delete</span> operator is used to <strong>de-reference</strong> a <a href="../Structs.htm">struct</a>, and has the following syntax:</p>
<p class="code">delete <variable>;</p>
<p>What this means is that you call the delete operator along with the variable that holds a struct and it will remove the specific <em>reference </em>to the struct stored in the given variable (a reference is simply a value that points to the memory area
that is storing the struct and its contents). If this reference was the last reference to the struct in your game, then the <a class="tooltip" title="The garbage collector is an automated tool that is part of the game code and is used to remove certain things (like arrays and structs) from memory when they are no longer referenced in your code, without the need for you to explicitly remove them.">garbage collector</a> will remove the struct from memory in
a following <a class="tooltip" title="An iteration is a single pass through a set of operations in your project code. One form of iteration in computer programming is via loops. A loop will repeat a certain segment of code until a condition is met and it can proceed further. Each time the computer runs a loop, it is known as an iteration. In simple terms, iteration is the process of repeating a particular snippet of code over and over again to perform a certain action.">iteration</a>, typically at the very start of the next step.</p>
<p class="note"><strong>NOTE</strong>: <tt>delete</tt> can only be used along with variables, and <i>not</i> expressions</p>
<p>By default, structs with no further references in code will be garbage collected automatically in the steps following their use, but it is good practice to use this operator to flag them explicitly for the garbage collector to remove from memory at
the very start of the following step, freeing the memory quickly and more efficiently.</p>
<p>The following example shows a struct being created - for example in the Create Event of an instance:</p>
<p class="code">mystruct = {<br/> a : 0,<br/> b : 100,<br/> c : "Hello World"<br/> }</p>
<p>This struct will then be used in the instance events as usual, before finally being flagged for garbage collection in the <a href="../../../The_Asset_Editors/Object_Properties/Object_Events.htm">Clean Up</a> event, like this:</p>
<p class="code">delete mystruct;</p>
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