Mike Copeland mentioned this to Gary Weinfurther:
 MC>    I'm still (more) confused.  If Windows releases allocated memory
 MC> when a program terminates, and if a Heap area isn't being reused within
 MC> the program's execution, why _should_ you burden the program code with
 MC> (seemingly extraneous) Dispose/FreeMem calls which do nothing functional
 MC> for the program?
Two reasons:
1. It's good coding practice.  "What ye create, ye shall also destroy."
2. While your application is running, all those allocations will accumulate 
and eventually use up all the system resources.  The entire Windows 
environment (at least in Windows 3.1) allows only 8192 global memory 
allocations.  That's system-wide. By not releasing your allocations as 
needed, you are robbing other applications of the ability to allocate memory.
 MC>    Believe me, I know the value/use of Dispose/FreeMem on TP/BP (I
 MC> moderate the Pascal_Lessons echo), but are you saying that Delphi has
 MC> different rules than them for their use?
No, it does not.  You should follow the same rules.  Your current and future 
employers and/or customers will thank you.
                                ...Gary
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