What is a handle in C++?

In C++/CLI, a handle is a pointer to an object located on the GC heap. Creating an object on the (unmanaged) C++ heap is achieved using new and the result of a new expression is a "normal" pointer. A managed object is allocated on the GC (managed) heap with a gcnew expression. The result will be a handle. You can't do pointer arithmetic on handles. You don't free handles. The GC will take care of them. Also, the GC is free to relocate objects on the managed heap and update the handles to point to the new locations while the program is running.