What is a smart pointer and when should it be used?

Hello everyone! I recently started learning C++ and constantly encounter problems when working with memory. I'm especially scared of memory leaks and dangling pointers. For example, I often write code like this: ```cpp class MyClass { public: int* data; MyClass() { data = new int(42); } ~MyClass() { delete data; } }; void example() { MyClass* obj = new MyClass(); // ... some code that may throw an exception delete obj; } ``` The problem is that if an exception occurs between `new` and `delete`, or if I forget to call `delete`, memory leaks. And if someone deletes the object prematurely while I continue to use it, the program crashes. I've heard that C++11 introduced "smart pointers" that are supposed to solve these issues.