new operator - Is it useful to test the return of "new" in C++?

Question

I usually never see test for new in C++ and I was wondering why.

Foo *f = new Foo;

// f is assumed as allocated, why usually, nobody test the return of new?

Answer 1

As per the current standard, new never returns NULL, it throws a std::bad_alloc instead. If you don't want new to throw(as per the old standard) but rather return NULL you should call it by postfixing it with "(std::nothrow)". i.e.

Foo* foo = new (std::nothrow) Foo;

Of course, if you have a very old or possibly broken toolchain it might not follow the standard.