C - I have a program which mallocs and later frees a lot of memory ...

I have a program which mallocs and later frees a lot of memory ...

Q

I have a program which mallocs and later frees a lot of memory, but I can see from the operating system that memory usage doesn't actually go back down.

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A

Most implementations of malloc/free do not return freed memory to the operating system, but merely make it available for future malloc calls within the same program.

2016-03-28, 755👍, 0💬

I have a program which mallocs and later frees a lot of memory ...
I have a program which mallocs and later frees a lot of memory, but I can see from the operating system that memory usage doesn't actually go back down. Most implementations of malloc/free do not return freed memory to the operating system, but merely make it available for future malloc calls within... 2016-03-28, 756👍, 0💬

How does free know how many bytes to free?
How does free know how many bytes to free? The malloc/free implementation remembers the size of each block as it is allocated, so it is not necessary to remind it of the size when freeing. (Typically, the size is stored adjacent to the allocated block, which is why things usually break badly if the ... 2016-03-24, 704👍, 0💬

So can I query the malloc package to find out how big an allocated block is?
So can I query the malloc package to find out how big an allocated block is? Unfortunately, there is no standard or portable way. (Some compilers provide nonstandard extensions.) If you need to know, you'll have to keep track of it yourself. 2016-03-24, 678👍, 0💬

Must I free allocated memory before the program exits?
Must I free allocated memory before the program exits? You shouldn't have to. A real operating system definitively reclaims all memory and other resources when a program exits; the system cannot afford to have memory integrity depend on the whims of random programs. (Strictly speaking, it is not eve... 2016-03-28, 662👍, 0💬

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