https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=79230
--- Comment #18 from vehre at gcc dot gnu.org --- Correct me when I am wrong, but should the pointer component really be finalized automatically? I am in the opinion that pointer components are not finalized automatically. That is one of the significant differences to allocatable components. I am thinking about a single linked list, where one does: type link type(link), pointer :: next class(*) :: data end type Grant me the above to be pseudo-fortran to just explain the concept. Now, when I want to delete only the first item of the list and have: type (link), pointer :: head type (link), pointer :: newhead => head%next deallocate(head) ! This one would deallocate the whole list, when finalization is done! So I first need to do: head%next => NULL deallocate(head) which for a pointer is IMHO not the intention of the standard. When I like to have managed memory with full automatic free, then one should have chosen allocatable, or am I totally misunderstanding Fortran?
