A _local handle_ is a pointer to an object. All V8 objects are accessed using handles, they are necessary because of the way the V8 garbage collector works.
A handle scope can be thought of as a container for any number of handles. When you've finished with your handles, instead of deleting each one individually you can simply delete their scope.
The creation of `HandleScope` objects is different across the supported versions of V8. Therefore, NAN provides its own implementations that can be used safely across these.
Also see the V8 Embedders Guide section on [Handles and Garbage Collection](https://github.com/v8/v8/wiki/Embedder%27s%20Guide#handles-and-garbage-collection).
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### Nan::HandleScope
A simple wrapper around [`v8::HandleScope`](https://v8docs.nodesource.com/node-8.16/d3/d95/classv8_1_1_handle_scope.html).
Definition:
```c++
class Nan::HandleScope {
public:
Nan::HandleScope();
static int NumberOfHandles();
};
```
Allocate a new `Nan::HandleScope` whenever you are creating new V8 JavaScript objects. Note that an implicit `HandleScope` is created for you on JavaScript-accessible methods so you do not need to insert one yourself.
Similar to [`Nan::HandleScope`](#api_nan_handle_scope) but should be used in cases where a function needs to return a V8 JavaScript type that has been created within it.