malloc - memory allocation
MALLOC(3) | MALLOC(3) |
NAME malloc - memory allocation
SYNOPSIS #include <stdlib.h>
void * malloc(size_t size); DESCRIPTION The malloc() function allocates uninitialized space for an
object whose size is specified by size. The malloc() function maintains
multiple lists of free blocks according to size, allocating space from the
appropriate list.
The allocated space is suitably aligned (after possible pointer coercion) for storage of any type of object. If the space is of pagesize or larger, the memory returned will be page-aligned. Allocation of a zero size object returns a pointer to a zero size object. RETURN VALUES The malloc() and calloc() functions return a pointer to
the allocated space if successful; otherwise, a null pointer is returned
and errno is set to ENOMEM.
SEE ALSO STANDARDS The malloc() function conforms to ANSI X3.159-1989
(``ANSI C'').
HISTORY The present implementation of malloc() started out as a
filesystem on a drum attached to a 20-bit binary challenged computer built
with discrete germanium transistors, and it has since graduated to handle
primary storage rather than secondary.
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