freeing-descriptors.md

title	Freeing Descriptors | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date	01/19/2017
ms.prod	sql
ms.prod_service	connectivity
ms.reviewer
ms.technology	connectivity
ms.topic	conceptual
helpviewer_keywords	SQLFreeHandle function [ODBC] descriptors [ODBC], allocating and freeing freeing descriptors [ODBC] allocating and freeing descriptors [ODBC]
ms.assetid	317213f4-0ebb-4bf8-a37a-4d6b1313823f
author	David-Engel
ms.author	v-daenge

Freeing Descriptors

Explicitly allocated descriptors can be freed either explicitly, by calling SQLFreeHandle with HandleType of SQL_HANDLE_DESC, or implicitly, when the connection handle is freed. When an explicitly allocated descriptor is freed, all statement handles to which the freed descriptor applied automatically revert to the descriptors implicitly allocated for them.

Implicitly allocated descriptors can be freed only by calling SQLDisconnect, which drops any statements or descriptors open on the connection, or by calling SQLFreeHandle with a HandleType of SQL_HANDLE_STMT to free a statement handle and all the implicitly allocated descriptors associated with the statement. An implicitly allocated descriptor cannot be freed by calling SQLFreeHandle with a HandleType of SQL_HANDLE_DESC.

Even when freed, an implicitly allocated descriptor remains valid, and SQLGetDescField can be called on its fields.