What is the purpose of move semantics in programming language?

Move semantics in C++ are designed to optimize resource management, especially when passing or returning objects. It allows for 'moving' resources (such as memory) from one object to another without copying, significantly improving performance.

Instead of creating a copy of an object, move semantics transfer the internal state (such as pointers) and leave the original object in a valid but empty state.

Example:

std::vector<int> v1 = {1, 2, 3};
std::vector<int> v2 = std::move(v1); // v2 takes the data, v1 becomes empty

This is particularly useful when working with temporary objects and large data structures.