This is Info file libc.info, produced by Makeinfo version 1.68 from the
input file libc.texinfo.

INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU libraries
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Libc: (libc).                 C library.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents the GNU C library.

   This is Edition 0.08 DRAFT, last updated 11 Jan 1999, of `The GNU C
Library Reference Manual', for Version 2.1 Beta.

   Copyright (C) 1993, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the section entitled "GNU Library General Public License" is
included exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire
resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission
notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the text of the translation of the section
entitled "GNU Library General Public License" must be approved for
accuracy by the Foundation.


File: libc.info,  Node: Hooks for Malloc,  Next: Statistics of Malloc,  Prev: Heap Consistency Checking,  Up: Unconstrained Allocation

Storage Allocation Hooks
------------------------

   The GNU C library lets you modify the behavior of `malloc',
`realloc', and `free' by specifying appropriate hook functions.  You
can use these hooks to help you debug programs that use dynamic storage
allocation, for example.

   The hook variables are declared in `malloc.h'.

 - Variable: __malloc_hook
     The value of this variable is a pointer to function that `malloc'
     uses whenever it is called.  You should define this function to
     look like `malloc'; that is, like:

          void *FUNCTION (size_t SIZE, void *CALLER)

     The value of CALLER is the return address found on the stack when
     the `malloc' function was called.  This value allows to trace the
     memory consumption of the program.

 - Variable: __realloc_hook
     The value of this variable is a pointer to function that `realloc'
     uses whenever it is called.  You should define this function to
     look like `realloc'; that is, like:

          void *FUNCTION (void *PTR, size_t SIZE, void *CALLER)

     The value of CALLER is the return address found on the stack when
     the `realloc' function was called.  This value allows to trace the
     memory consumption of the program.

 - Variable: __free_hook
     The value of this variable is a pointer to function that `free'
     uses whenever it is called.  You should define this function to
     look like `free'; that is, like:

          void FUNCTION (void *PTR, void *CALLER)

     The value of CALLER is the return address found on the stack when
     the `free' function was called.  This value allows to trace the
     memory consumption of the program.

 - Variable: __memalign_hook
     The value of this variable is a pointer to function that `memalign'
     uses whenever it is called.  You should define this function to
     look like `memalign'; that is, like:

          void *FUNCTION (size_t SIZE, size_t ALIGNMENT)

   You must make sure that the function you install as a hook for one of
these functions does not call that function recursively without
restoring the old value of the hook first!  Otherwise, your program
will get stuck in an infinite recursion.  Before calling the function
recursively, one should make sure to restore all the hooks to their
previous value.  When coming back from the recursive call, all the
hooks should be resaved since a hook might modify itself.

   Here is an example showing how to use `__malloc_hook' and
`__free_hook' properly.  It installs a function that prints out
information every time `malloc' or `free' is called.  We just assume
here that `realloc' and `memalign' are not used in our program.

     /* Global variables used to hold underlaying hook values.  */
     static void *(*old_malloc_hook) (size_t);
     static void (*old_free_hook) (void*);
     
     /* Prototypes for our hooks.  */
     static void *my_malloc_hook (size_t);
     static void my_free_hook(void*);
     
     static void *
     my_malloc_hook (size_t size)
     {
       void *result;
       /* Restore all old hooks */
       __malloc_hook = old_malloc_hook;
       __free_hook = old_free_hook;
       /* Call recursively */
       result = malloc (size);
       /* Save underlaying hooks */
       old_malloc_hook = __malloc_hook;
       old_free_hook = __free_hook;
       /* `printf' might call `malloc', so protect it too. */
       printf ("malloc (%u) returns %p\n", (unsigned int) size, result);
       /* Restore our own hooks */
       __malloc_hook = my_malloc_hook;
       __free_hook = my_free_hook;
       return result;
     }
     
     static void *
     my_free_hook (void *ptr)
     {
       /* Restore all old hooks */
       __malloc_hook = old_malloc_hook;
       __free_hook = old_free_hook;
       /* Call recursively */
       free (ptr);
       /* Save underlaying hooks */
       old_malloc_hook = __malloc_hook;
       old_free_hook = __free_hook;
       /* `printf' might call `free', so protect it too. */
       printf ("freed pointer %p\n", ptr);
       /* Restore our own hooks */
       __malloc_hook = my_malloc_hook;
       __free_hook = my_free_hook;
     }
     
     main ()
     {
       ...
       old_malloc_hook = __malloc_hook;
       old_free_hook = __free_hook;
       __malloc_hook = my_malloc_hook;
       __free_hook = my_free_hook;
       ...
     }

   The `mcheck' function (*note Heap Consistency Checking::.) works by
installing such hooks.


File: libc.info,  Node: Statistics of Malloc,  Next: Summary of Malloc,  Prev: Hooks for Malloc,  Up: Unconstrained Allocation

Statistics for Storage Allocation with `malloc'
-----------------------------------------------

   You can get information about dynamic storage allocation by calling
the `mallinfo' function.  This function and its associated data type
are declared in `malloc.h'; they are an extension of the standard
SVID/XPG version.

 - Data Type: struct mallinfo
     This structure type is used to return information about the dynamic
     storage allocator.  It contains the following members:

    `int arena'
          This is the total size of memory allocated with `sbrk' by
          `malloc', in bytes.

    `int ordblks'
          This is the number of chunks not in use.  (The storage
          allocator internally gets chunks of memory from the operating
          system, and then carves them up to satisfy individual
          `malloc' requests; see *Note Efficiency and Malloc::.)

    `int smblks'
          This field is unused.

    `int hblks'
          This is the total number of chunks allocated with `mmap'.

    `int hblkhd'
          This is the total size of memory allocated with `mmap', in
          bytes.

    `int usmblks'
          This field is unused.

    `int fsmblks'
          This field is unused.

    `int uordblks'
          This is the total size of memory occupied by chunks handed
          out by `malloc'.

    `int fordblks'
          This is the total size of memory occupied by free (not in
          use) chunks.

    `int keepcost'
          This is the size of the top-most, releaseable chunk that
          normally borders the end of the heap (i.e. the "brk" of the
          process).


 - Function: struct mallinfo mallinfo (void)
     This function returns information about the current dynamic memory
     usage in a structure of type `struct mallinfo'.


File: libc.info,  Node: Summary of Malloc,  Prev: Statistics of Malloc,  Up: Unconstrained Allocation

Summary of `malloc'-Related Functions
-------------------------------------

   Here is a summary of the functions that work with `malloc':

`void *malloc (size_t SIZE)'
     Allocate a block of SIZE bytes.  *Note Basic Allocation::.

`void free (void *ADDR)'
     Free a block previously allocated by `malloc'.  *Note Freeing
     after Malloc::.

`void *realloc (void *ADDR, size_t SIZE)'
     Make a block previously allocated by `malloc' larger or smaller,
     possibly by copying it to a new location.  *Note Changing Block
     Size::.

`void *calloc (size_t COUNT, size_t ELTSIZE)'
     Allocate a block of COUNT * ELTSIZE bytes using `malloc', and set
     its contents to zero.  *Note Allocating Cleared Space::.

`void *valloc (size_t SIZE)'
     Allocate a block of SIZE bytes, starting on a page boundary.
     *Note Aligned Memory Blocks::.

`void *memalign (size_t SIZE, size_t BOUNDARY)'
     Allocate a block of SIZE bytes, starting on an address that is a
     multiple of BOUNDARY.  *Note Aligned Memory Blocks::.

`int mallopt (int PARAM, int VALUE)'
     Adjust a tunable parameter.  *Note Malloc Tunable Parameters::.

`int mcheck (void (*ABORTFN) (void))'
     Tell `malloc' to perform occasional consistency checks on
     dynamically allocated memory, and to call ABORTFN when an
     inconsistency is found.  *Note Heap Consistency Checking::.

`void *(*__malloc_hook) (size_t SIZE, void *CALLER)'
     A pointer to a function that `malloc' uses whenever it is called.

`void *(*__realloc_hook) (void *PTR, size_t SIZE, void *CALLER)'
     A pointer to a function that `realloc' uses whenever it is called.

`void (*__free_hook) (void *PTR, void *CALLER)'
     A pointer to a function that `free' uses whenever it is called.

`void (*__memalign_hook) (size_t SIZE, size_t ALIGNMENT)'
     A pointer to a function that `memalign' uses whenever it is called.

`struct mallinfo mallinfo (void)'
     Return information about the current dynamic memory usage.  *Note
     Statistics of Malloc::.


File: libc.info,  Node: Allocation Debugging,  Next: Obstacks,  Prev: Unconstrained Allocation,  Up: Memory Allocation

Allocation Debugging
====================

   An complicated task when programming with languages which do not use
garbage collected dynamic memory allocation is to find memory leaks.
Long running programs must assure that dynamically allocated objects are
freed at the end of their lifetime.  If this does not happen the system
runs out of memory, sooner or later.

   The `malloc' implementation in the GNU C library provides some
simple means to detect sich leaks and provide some information to find
the location.  To do this the application must be started in a special
mode which is enabled by an environment variable.  There are no speed
penalties if the program is compiled in preparation of the debugging if
the debug mode is not enabled.

* Menu:

* Tracing malloc::               How to install the tracing functionality.
* Using the Memory Debugger::    Example programs excerpts.
* Tips for the Memory Debugger:: Some more or less clever ideas.
* Interpreting the traces::      What do all these lines mean?


File: libc.info,  Node: Tracing malloc,  Next: Using the Memory Debugger,  Up: Allocation Debugging

How to install the tracing functionality
----------------------------------------

 - Function: void mtrace (void)
     When the `mtrace' function is called it looks for an environment
     variable named `MALLOC_TRACE'.  This variable is supposed to
     contain a valid file name.  The user must have write access.  If
     the file already exists it is truncated.  If the environment
     variable is not set or it does not name a valid file which can be
     opened for writing nothing is done.  The behaviour of `malloc'
     etc. is not changed.  For obvious reasons this also happens if the
     application is install SUID or SGID.

     If the named file is successfully opened `mtrace' installs special
     handlers for the functions `malloc', `realloc', and `free' (*note
     Hooks for Malloc::.).  From now on all uses of these functions are
     traced and protocolled into the file.  There is now of course a
     speed penalty for all calls to the traced functions so that the
     tracing should not be enabled during their normal use.

     This function is a GNU extension and generally not available on
     other systems.  The prototype can be found in `mcheck.h'.

 - Function: void muntrace (void)
     The `muntrace' function can be called after `mtrace' was used to
     enable tracing the `malloc' calls.  If no (succesful) call of
     `mtrace' was made `muntrace' does nothing.

     Otherwise it deinstalls the handlers for `malloc', `realloc', and
     `free' and then closes the protocol file.  No calls are
     protocolled anymore and the programs runs again with the full
     speed.

     This function is a GNU extension and generally not available on
     other systems.  The prototype can be found in `mcheck.h'.


File: libc.info,  Node: Using the Memory Debugger,  Next: Tips for the Memory Debugger,  Prev: Tracing malloc,  Up: Allocation Debugging

Example programs excerpts
-------------------------

   Even though the tracing functionality does not influence the runtime
behaviour of the program it is no wise idea to call `mtrace' in all
programs.  Just imagine you debug a program using `mtrace' and all
other programs used in the debug sessions also trace their `malloc'
calls.  The output file would be the same for all programs and so is
unusable.  Therefore one should call `mtrace' only if compiled for
debugging.  A program could therefore start like this:

     #include <mcheck.h>
     
     int
     main (int argc, char *argv[])
     {
     #ifdef DEBUGGING
       mtrace ();
     #endif
       ...
     }

   This is all what is needed if you want to trace the calls during the
whole runtime of the program.  Alternatively you can stop the tracing at
any time with a call to `muntrace'.  It is even possible to restart the
tracing again with a new call to `mtrace'.  But this can course
unreliable results since there are possibly calls of the functions which
are not called.  Please note that not only the application uses the
traced functions, also libraries (including the C library itself) use
this function.

   This last point is also why it is no good idea to call `muntrace'
before the program terminated.  The libraries are informed about the
termination of the program only after the program returns from `main'
or calls `exit' and so cannot free the memory they use before this time.

   So the best thing one can do is to call `mtrace' as the very first
function in the program and never call `muntrace'.  So the program
traces almost all uses of the `malloc' functions (except those calls
which are executed by constructors of the program or used libraries).


File: libc.info,  Node: Tips for the Memory Debugger,  Next: Interpreting the traces,  Prev: Using the Memory Debugger,  Up: Allocation Debugging

Some more or less clever ideas
------------------------------

   You know the situation.  The program is prepared for debugging and in
all debugging sessions it runs well.  But once it is started without
debugging the error shows up.  In our situation here: the memory leaks
becomes visible only when we just turned off the debugging.  If you
foresee such situations you can still win.  Simply use something
equivalent to the following little program:

     #include <mcheck.h>
     #include <signal.h>
     
     static void
     enable (int sig)
     {
       mtrace ();
       signal (SIGUSR1, enable);
     }
     
     static void
     disable (int sig)
     {
       muntrace ();
       signal (SIGUSR2, disable);
     }
     
     int
     main (int argc, char *argv[])
     {
       ...
     
       signal (SIGUSR1, enable);
       signal (SIGUSR2, disable);
     
       ...
     }

   I.e., the user can start the memory debugger any time s/he wants if
the program was started with `MALLOC_TRACE' set in the environment.
The output will of course not show the allocations which happened before
the first signal but if there is a memory leak this will show up
nevertheless.


File: libc.info,  Node: Interpreting the traces,  Prev: Tips for the Memory Debugger,  Up: Allocation Debugging

Interpreting the traces
-----------------------

   If you take a look at the output it will look similar to this:

     = Start
      [0x8048209] - 0x8064cc8
      [0x8048209] - 0x8064ce0
      [0x8048209] - 0x8064cf8
      [0x80481eb] + 0x8064c48 0x14
      [0x80481eb] + 0x8064c60 0x14
      [0x80481eb] + 0x8064c78 0x14
      [0x80481eb] + 0x8064c90 0x14
     = End

   What this all means is not really important since the trace file is
not meant to be read by a human.  Therefore no attention is payed to
good readability.  Instead there is a program which comes with the GNU C
library which interprets the traces and outputs a summary in on
user-friendly way.  The program is called `mtrace' (it is in fact a
Perl script) and it takes one or two arguments.  In any case the name of
the file with the trace output must be specified.  If an optional
argument precedes the name of the trace file this must be the name of
the program which generated the trace.

     drepper$ mtrace tst-mtrace log
     No memory leaks.

   In this case the program `tst-mtrace' was run and it produced a
trace file `log'.  The message printed by `mtrace' shows there are no
problems with the code, all allocated memory was freed afterwards.

   If we call `mtrace' on the example trace given above we would get a
different outout:

     drepper$ mtrace errlog
     - 0x08064cc8 Free 2 was never alloc'd 0x8048209
     - 0x08064ce0 Free 3 was never alloc'd 0x8048209
     - 0x08064cf8 Free 4 was never alloc'd 0x8048209
     
     Memory not freed:
     -----------------
        Address     Size     Caller
     0x08064c48     0x14  at 0x80481eb
     0x08064c60     0x14  at 0x80481eb
     0x08064c78     0x14  at 0x80481eb
     0x08064c90     0x14  at 0x80481eb

   We have called `mtrace' with only one argument and so the script has
no chance to find out what is meant with the addresses given in the
trace.  We can do better:

     drepper$ mtrace tst-mtrace errlog
     - 0x08064cc8 Free 2 was never alloc'd /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:39
     - 0x08064ce0 Free 3 was never alloc'd /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:39
     - 0x08064cf8 Free 4 was never alloc'd /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:39
     
     Memory not freed:
     -----------------
        Address     Size     Caller
     0x08064c48     0x14  at /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:33
     0x08064c60     0x14  at /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:33
     0x08064c78     0x14  at /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:33
     0x08064c90     0x14  at /home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c:33

   Suddenly the output makes much more sense and the user can see
immediately where the function calls causing the trouble can be found.

   Interpreting this output is not complicated.  There are at most two
different situations being detected.  First, `free' was called for
pointers which were never returned by one of the allocation functions.
This is usually a very bad problem and how this looks like is shown in
the first three lines of the output.  Situations like this are quite
rare and if they appear they show up very drastically: the program
normally crashes.

   The other situation which is much harder to detect are memory leaks.
As you can see in the output the `mtrace' function collects all this
information and so can say that the program calls an allocation function
from line 33 in the source file `/home/drepper/tst-mtrace.c' four times
without freeing this memory before the program terminates.  Whether
this is a real problem keeps to be investigated.


File: libc.info,  Node: Obstacks,  Next: Variable Size Automatic,  Prev: Allocation Debugging,  Up: Memory Allocation

Obstacks
========

   An "obstack" is a pool of memory containing a stack of objects.  You
can create any number of separate obstacks, and then allocate objects in
specified obstacks.  Within each obstack, the last object allocated must
always be the first one freed, but distinct obstacks are independent of
each other.

   Aside from this one constraint of order of freeing, obstacks are
totally general: an obstack can contain any number of objects of any
size.  They are implemented with macros, so allocation is usually very
fast as long as the objects are usually small.  And the only space
overhead per object is the padding needed to start each object on a
suitable boundary.

* Menu:

* Creating Obstacks::		How to declare an obstack in your program.
* Preparing for Obstacks::	Preparations needed before you can
				 use obstacks.
* Allocation in an Obstack::    Allocating objects in an obstack.
* Freeing Obstack Objects::     Freeing objects in an obstack.
* Obstack Functions::		The obstack functions are both
				 functions and macros.
* Growing Objects::             Making an object bigger by stages.
* Extra Fast Growing::		Extra-high-efficiency (though more
				 complicated) growing objects.
* Status of an Obstack::        Inquiries about the status of an obstack.
* Obstacks Data Alignment::     Controlling alignment of objects in obstacks.
* Obstack Chunks::              How obstacks obtain and release chunks;
				 efficiency considerations.
* Summary of Obstacks::


File: libc.info,  Node: Creating Obstacks,  Next: Preparing for Obstacks,  Up: Obstacks

Creating Obstacks
-----------------

   The utilities for manipulating obstacks are declared in the header
file `obstack.h'.

 - Data Type: struct obstack
     An obstack is represented by a data structure of type `struct
     obstack'.  This structure has a small fixed size; it records the
     status of the obstack and how to find the space in which objects
     are allocated.  It does not contain any of the objects themselves.
     You should not try to access the contents of the structure
     directly; use only the functions described in this chapter.

   You can declare variables of type `struct obstack' and use them as
obstacks, or you can allocate obstacks dynamically like any other kind
of object.  Dynamic allocation of obstacks allows your program to have a
variable number of different stacks.  (You can even allocate an obstack
structure in another obstack, but this is rarely useful.)

   All the functions that work with obstacks require you to specify
which obstack to use.  You do this with a pointer of type `struct
obstack *'.  In the following, we often say "an obstack" when strictly
speaking the object at hand is such a pointer.

   The objects in the obstack are packed into large blocks called
"chunks".  The `struct obstack' structure points to a chain of the
chunks currently in use.

   The obstack library obtains a new chunk whenever you allocate an
object that won't fit in the previous chunk.  Since the obstack library
manages chunks automatically, you don't need to pay much attention to
them, but you do need to supply a function which the obstack library
should use to get a chunk.  Usually you supply a function which uses
`malloc' directly or indirectly.  You must also supply a function to
free a chunk.  These matters are described in the following section.


File: libc.info,  Node: Preparing for Obstacks,  Next: Allocation in an Obstack,  Prev: Creating Obstacks,  Up: Obstacks

Preparing for Using Obstacks
----------------------------

   Each source file in which you plan to use the obstack functions must
include the header file `obstack.h', like this:

     #include <obstack.h>

   Also, if the source file uses the macro `obstack_init', it must
declare or define two functions or macros that will be called by the
obstack library.  One, `obstack_chunk_alloc', is used to allocate the
chunks of memory into which objects are packed.  The other,
`obstack_chunk_free', is used to return chunks when the objects in them
are freed.  These macros should appear before any use of obstacks in
the source file.

   Usually these are defined to use `malloc' via the intermediary
`xmalloc' (*note Unconstrained Allocation::.).  This is done with the
following pair of macro definitions:

     #define obstack_chunk_alloc xmalloc
     #define obstack_chunk_free free

Though the storage you get using obstacks really comes from `malloc',
using obstacks is faster because `malloc' is called less often, for
larger blocks of memory.  *Note Obstack Chunks::, for full details.

   At run time, before the program can use a `struct obstack' object as
an obstack, it must initialize the obstack by calling `obstack_init'.

 - Function: int obstack_init (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     Initialize obstack OBSTACK-PTR for allocation of objects.  This
     function calls the obstack's `obstack_chunk_alloc' function.  If
     allocation of memory fails, the function pointed to by
     `obstack_alloc_failed_handler' is called.  The `obstack_init'
     function always returns 1 (Compatibility notice: Former versions of
     obstack returned 0 if allocation failed).

   Here are two examples of how to allocate the space for an obstack and
initialize it.  First, an obstack that is a static variable:

     static struct obstack myobstack;
     ...
     obstack_init (&myobstack);

Second, an obstack that is itself dynamically allocated:

     struct obstack *myobstack_ptr
       = (struct obstack *) xmalloc (sizeof (struct obstack));
     
     obstack_init (myobstack_ptr);

 - Variable: obstack_alloc_failed_handler
     The value of this variable is a pointer to a function that
     `obstack' uses when `obstack_chunk_alloc' fails to allocate
     memory.  The default action is to print a message and abort.  You
     should supply a function that either calls `exit' (*note Program
     Termination::.) or `longjmp' (*note Non-Local Exits::.) and
     doesn't return.

          void my_obstack_alloc_failed (void)
          ...
          obstack_alloc_failed_handler = &my_obstack_alloc_failed;



File: libc.info,  Node: Allocation in an Obstack,  Next: Freeing Obstack Objects,  Prev: Preparing for Obstacks,  Up: Obstacks

Allocation in an Obstack
------------------------

   The most direct way to allocate an object in an obstack is with
`obstack_alloc', which is invoked almost like `malloc'.

 - Function: void * obstack_alloc (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int
          SIZE)
     This allocates an uninitialized block of SIZE bytes in an obstack
     and returns its address.  Here OBSTACK-PTR specifies which obstack
     to allocate the block in; it is the address of the `struct obstack'
     object which represents the obstack.  Each obstack function or
     macro requires you to specify an OBSTACK-PTR as the first argument.

     This function calls the obstack's `obstack_chunk_alloc' function if
     it needs to allocate a new chunk of memory; it calls
     `obstack_alloc_failed_handler' if allocation of memory by
     `obstack_chunk_alloc' failed.

   For example, here is a function that allocates a copy of a string STR
in a specific obstack, which is in the variable `string_obstack':

     struct obstack string_obstack;
     
     char *
     copystring (char *string)
     {
       size_t len = strlen (string) + 1;
       char *s = (char *) obstack_alloc (&string_obstack, len);
       memcpy (s, string, len);
       return s;
     }

   To allocate a block with specified contents, use the function
`obstack_copy', declared like this:

 - Function: void * obstack_copy (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *ADDRESS, int SIZE)
     This allocates a block and initializes it by copying SIZE bytes of
     data starting at ADDRESS.  It calls `obstack_alloc_failed_handler'
     if allocation of memory by `obstack_chunk_alloc' failed.

 - Function: void * obstack_copy0 (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *ADDRESS, int SIZE)
     Like `obstack_copy', but appends an extra byte containing a null
     character.  This extra byte is not counted in the argument SIZE.

   The `obstack_copy0' function is convenient for copying a sequence of
characters into an obstack as a null-terminated string.  Here is an
example of its use:

     char *
     obstack_savestring (char *addr, int size)
     {
       return obstack_copy0 (&myobstack, addr, size);
     }

Contrast this with the previous example of `savestring' using `malloc'
(*note Basic Allocation::.).


File: libc.info,  Node: Freeing Obstack Objects,  Next: Obstack Functions,  Prev: Allocation in an Obstack,  Up: Obstacks

Freeing Objects in an Obstack
-----------------------------

   To free an object allocated in an obstack, use the function
`obstack_free'.  Since the obstack is a stack of objects, freeing one
object automatically frees all other objects allocated more recently in
the same obstack.

 - Function: void obstack_free (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *OBJECT)
     If OBJECT is a null pointer, everything allocated in the obstack
     is freed.  Otherwise, OBJECT must be the address of an object
     allocated in the obstack.  Then OBJECT is freed, along with
     everything allocated in OBSTACK since OBJECT.

   Note that if OBJECT is a null pointer, the result is an
uninitialized obstack.  To free all storage in an obstack but leave it
valid for further allocation, call `obstack_free' with the address of
the first object allocated on the obstack:

     obstack_free (obstack_ptr, first_object_allocated_ptr);

   Recall that the objects in an obstack are grouped into chunks.  When
all the objects in a chunk become free, the obstack library
automatically frees the chunk (*note Preparing for Obstacks::.).  Then
other obstacks, or non-obstack allocation, can reuse the space of the
chunk.


File: libc.info,  Node: Obstack Functions,  Next: Growing Objects,  Prev: Freeing Obstack Objects,  Up: Obstacks

Obstack Functions and Macros
----------------------------

   The interfaces for using obstacks may be defined either as functions
or as macros, depending on the compiler.  The obstack facility works
with all C compilers, including both ISO C and traditional C, but there
are precautions you must take if you plan to use compilers other than
GNU C.

   If you are using an old-fashioned non-ISO C compiler, all the obstack
"functions" are actually defined only as macros.  You can call these
macros like functions, but you cannot use them in any other way (for
example, you cannot take their address).

   Calling the macros requires a special precaution: namely, the first
operand (the obstack pointer) may not contain any side effects, because
it may be computed more than once.  For example, if you write this:

     obstack_alloc (get_obstack (), 4);

you will find that `get_obstack' may be called several times.  If you
use `*obstack_list_ptr++' as the obstack pointer argument, you will get
very strange results since the incrementation may occur several times.

   In ISO C, each function has both a macro definition and a function
definition.  The function definition is used if you take the address of
the function without calling it.  An ordinary call uses the macro
definition by default, but you can request the function definition
instead by writing the function name in parentheses, as shown here:

     char *x;
     void *(*funcp) ();
     /* Use the macro.  */
     x = (char *) obstack_alloc (obptr, size);
     /* Call the function.  */
     x = (char *) (obstack_alloc) (obptr, size);
     /* Take the address of the function.  */
     funcp = obstack_alloc;

This is the same situation that exists in ISO C for the standard library
functions.  *Note Macro Definitions::.

   *Warning:* When you do use the macros, you must observe the
precaution of avoiding side effects in the first operand, even in ISO C.

   If you use the GNU C compiler, this precaution is not necessary,
because various language extensions in GNU C permit defining the macros
so as to compute each argument only once.


File: libc.info,  Node: Growing Objects,  Next: Extra Fast Growing,  Prev: Obstack Functions,  Up: Obstacks

Growing Objects
---------------

   Because storage in obstack chunks is used sequentially, it is
possible to build up an object step by step, adding one or more bytes
at a time to the end of the object.  With this technique, you do not
need to know how much data you will put in the object until you come to
the end of it.  We call this the technique of "growing objects".  The
special functions for adding data to the growing object are described
in this section.

   You don't need to do anything special when you start to grow an
object.  Using one of the functions to add data to the object
automatically starts it.  However, it is necessary to say explicitly
when the object is finished.  This is done with the function
`obstack_finish'.

   The actual address of the object thus built up is not known until the
object is finished.  Until then, it always remains possible that you
will add so much data that the object must be copied into a new chunk.

   While the obstack is in use for a growing object, you cannot use it
for ordinary allocation of another object.  If you try to do so, the
space already added to the growing object will become part of the other
object.

 - Function: void obstack_blank (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int SIZE)
     The most basic function for adding to a growing object is
     `obstack_blank', which adds space without initializing it.

 - Function: void obstack_grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *DATA, int SIZE)
     To add a block of initialized space, use `obstack_grow', which is
     the growing-object analogue of `obstack_copy'.  It adds SIZE bytes
     of data to the growing object, copying the contents from DATA.

 - Function: void obstack_grow0 (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *DATA, int SIZE)
     This is the growing-object analogue of `obstack_copy0'.  It adds
     SIZE bytes copied from DATA, followed by an additional null
     character.

 - Function: void obstack_1grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, char C)
     To add one character at a time, use the function `obstack_1grow'.
     It adds a single byte containing C to the growing object.

 - Function: void obstack_ptr_grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void
          *DATA)
     Adding the value of a pointer one can use the function
     `obstack_ptr_grow'.  It adds `sizeof (void *)' bytes containing
     the value of DATA.

 - Function: void obstack_int_grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int
          DATA)
     A single value of type `int' can be added by using the
     `obstack_int_grow' function.  It adds `sizeof (int)' bytes to the
     growing object and initializes them with the value of DATA.

 - Function: void * obstack_finish (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     When you are finished growing the object, use the function
     `obstack_finish' to close it off and return its final address.

     Once you have finished the object, the obstack is available for
     ordinary allocation or for growing another object.

     This function can return a null pointer under the same conditions
     as `obstack_alloc' (*note Allocation in an Obstack::.).

   When you build an object by growing it, you will probably need to
know afterward how long it became.  You need not keep track of this as
you grow the object, because you can find out the length from the
obstack just before finishing the object with the function
`obstack_object_size', declared as follows:

 - Function: int obstack_object_size (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This function returns the current size of the growing object, in
     bytes.  Remember to call this function *before* finishing the
     object.  After it is finished, `obstack_object_size' will return
     zero.

   If you have started growing an object and wish to cancel it, you
should finish it and then free it, like this:

     obstack_free (obstack_ptr, obstack_finish (obstack_ptr));

This has no effect if no object was growing.

   You can use `obstack_blank' with a negative size argument to make
the current object smaller.  Just don't try to shrink it beyond zero
length--there's no telling what will happen if you do that.


File: libc.info,  Node: Extra Fast Growing,  Next: Status of an Obstack,  Prev: Growing Objects,  Up: Obstacks

Extra Fast Growing Objects
--------------------------

   The usual functions for growing objects incur overhead for checking
whether there is room for the new growth in the current chunk.  If you
are frequently constructing objects in small steps of growth, this
overhead can be significant.

   You can reduce the overhead by using special "fast growth" functions
that grow the object without checking.  In order to have a robust
program, you must do the checking yourself.  If you do this checking in
the simplest way each time you are about to add data to the object, you
have not saved anything, because that is what the ordinary growth
functions do.  But if you can arrange to check less often, or check
more efficiently, then you make the program faster.

   The function `obstack_room' returns the amount of room available in
the current chunk.  It is declared as follows:

 - Function: int obstack_room (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This returns the number of bytes that can be added safely to the
     current growing object (or to an object about to be started) in
     obstack OBSTACK using the fast growth functions.

   While you know there is room, you can use these fast growth functions
for adding data to a growing object:

 - Function: void obstack_1grow_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, char
          C)
     The function `obstack_1grow_fast' adds one byte containing the
     character C to the growing object in obstack OBSTACK-PTR.

 - Function: void obstack_ptr_grow_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR,
          void *DATA)
     The function `obstack_ptr_grow_fast' adds `sizeof (void *)' bytes
     containing the value of DATA to the growing object in obstack
     OBSTACK-PTR.

 - Function: void obstack_int_grow_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR,
          int DATA)
     The function `obstack_int_grow_fast' adds `sizeof (int)' bytes
     containing the value of DATA to the growing object in obstack
     OBSTACK-PTR.

 - Function: void obstack_blank_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int
          SIZE)
     The function `obstack_blank_fast' adds SIZE bytes to the growing
     object in obstack OBSTACK-PTR without initializing them.

   When you check for space using `obstack_room' and there is not
enough room for what you want to add, the fast growth functions are not
safe.  In this case, simply use the corresponding ordinary growth
function instead.  Very soon this will copy the object to a new chunk;
then there will be lots of room available again.

   So, each time you use an ordinary growth function, check afterward
for sufficient space using `obstack_room'.  Once the object is copied
to a new chunk, there will be plenty of space again, so the program will
start using the fast growth functions again.

   Here is an example:

     void
     add_string (struct obstack *obstack, const char *ptr, int len)
     {
       while (len > 0)
         {
           int room = obstack_room (obstack);
           if (room == 0)
             {
               /* Not enough room. Add one character slowly,
                  which may copy to a new chunk and make room.  */
               obstack_1grow (obstack, *ptr++);
               len--;
             }
           else
             {
               if (room > len)
                 room = len;
               /* Add fast as much as we have room for. */
               len -= room;
               while (room-- > 0)
                 obstack_1grow_fast (obstack, *ptr++);
             }
         }
     }


File: libc.info,  Node: Status of an Obstack,  Next: Obstacks Data Alignment,  Prev: Extra Fast Growing,  Up: Obstacks

Status of an Obstack
--------------------

   Here are functions that provide information on the current status of
allocation in an obstack.  You can use them to learn about an object
while still growing it.

 - Function: void * obstack_base (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This function returns the tentative address of the beginning of the
     currently growing object in OBSTACK-PTR.  If you finish the object
     immediately, it will have that address.  If you make it larger
     first, it may outgrow the current chunk--then its address will
     change!

     If no object is growing, this value says where the next object you
     allocate will start (once again assuming it fits in the current
     chunk).

 - Function: void * obstack_next_free (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This function returns the address of the first free byte in the
     current chunk of obstack OBSTACK-PTR.  This is the end of the
     currently growing object.  If no object is growing,
     `obstack_next_free' returns the same value as `obstack_base'.

 - Function: int obstack_object_size (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This function returns the size in bytes of the currently growing
     object.  This is equivalent to

          obstack_next_free (OBSTACK-PTR) - obstack_base (OBSTACK-PTR)


File: libc.info,  Node: Obstacks Data Alignment,  Next: Obstack Chunks,  Prev: Status of an Obstack,  Up: Obstacks

Alignment of Data in Obstacks
-----------------------------

   Each obstack has an "alignment boundary"; each object allocated in
the obstack automatically starts on an address that is a multiple of the
specified boundary.  By default, this boundary is 4 bytes.

   To access an obstack's alignment boundary, use the macro
`obstack_alignment_mask', whose function prototype looks like this:

 - Macro: int obstack_alignment_mask (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     The value is a bit mask; a bit that is 1 indicates that the
     corresponding bit in the address of an object should be 0.  The
     mask value should be one less than a power of 2; the effect is
     that all object addresses are multiples of that power of 2.  The
     default value of the mask is 3, so that addresses are multiples of
     4.  A mask value of 0 means an object can start on any multiple of
     1 (that is, no alignment is required).

     The expansion of the macro `obstack_alignment_mask' is an lvalue,
     so you can alter the mask by assignment.  For example, this
     statement:

          obstack_alignment_mask (obstack_ptr) = 0;

     has the effect of turning off alignment processing in the
     specified obstack.

   Note that a change in alignment mask does not take effect until
*after* the next time an object is allocated or finished in the
obstack.  If you are not growing an object, you can make the new
alignment mask take effect immediately by calling `obstack_finish'.
This will finish a zero-length object and then do proper alignment for
the next object.


File: libc.info,  Node: Obstack Chunks,  Next: Summary of Obstacks,  Prev: Obstacks Data Alignment,  Up: Obstacks

Obstack Chunks
--------------

   Obstacks work by allocating space for themselves in large chunks, and
then parceling out space in the chunks to satisfy your requests.  Chunks
are normally 4096 bytes long unless you specify a different chunk size.
The chunk size includes 8 bytes of overhead that are not actually used
for storing objects.  Regardless of the specified size, longer chunks
will be allocated when necessary for long objects.

   The obstack library allocates chunks by calling the function
`obstack_chunk_alloc', which you must define.  When a chunk is no
longer needed because you have freed all the objects in it, the obstack
library frees the chunk by calling `obstack_chunk_free', which you must
also define.

   These two must be defined (as macros) or declared (as functions) in
each source file that uses `obstack_init' (*note Creating Obstacks::.).
Most often they are defined as macros like this:

     #define obstack_chunk_alloc malloc
     #define obstack_chunk_free free

   Note that these are simple macros (no arguments).  Macro definitions
with arguments will not work!  It is necessary that
`obstack_chunk_alloc' or `obstack_chunk_free', alone, expand into a
function name if it is not itself a function name.

   If you allocate chunks with `malloc', the chunk size should be a
power of 2.  The default chunk size, 4096, was chosen because it is long
enough to satisfy many typical requests on the obstack yet short enough
not to waste too much memory in the portion of the last chunk not yet
used.

 - Macro: int obstack_chunk_size (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)
     This returns the chunk size of the given obstack.

   Since this macro expands to an lvalue, you can specify a new chunk
size by assigning it a new value.  Doing so does not affect the chunks
already allocated, but will change the size of chunks allocated for
that particular obstack in the future.  It is unlikely to be useful to
make the chunk size smaller, but making it larger might improve
efficiency if you are allocating many objects whose size is comparable
to the chunk size.  Here is how to do so cleanly:

     if (obstack_chunk_size (obstack_ptr) < NEW-CHUNK-SIZE)
       obstack_chunk_size (obstack_ptr) = NEW-CHUNK-SIZE;


File: libc.info,  Node: Summary of Obstacks,  Prev: Obstack Chunks,  Up: Obstacks

Summary of Obstack Functions
----------------------------

   Here is a summary of all the functions associated with obstacks.
Each takes the address of an obstack (`struct obstack *') as its first
argument.

`void obstack_init (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Initialize use of an obstack.  *Note Creating Obstacks::.

`void *obstack_alloc (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int SIZE)'
     Allocate an object of SIZE uninitialized bytes.  *Note Allocation
     in an Obstack::.

`void *obstack_copy (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void *ADDRESS, int SIZE)'
     Allocate an object of SIZE bytes, with contents copied from
     ADDRESS.  *Note Allocation in an Obstack::.

`void *obstack_copy0 (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void *ADDRESS, int SIZE)'
     Allocate an object of SIZE+1 bytes, with SIZE of them copied from
     ADDRESS, followed by a null character at the end.  *Note
     Allocation in an Obstack::.

`void obstack_free (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void *OBJECT)'
     Free OBJECT (and everything allocated in the specified obstack
     more recently than OBJECT).  *Note Freeing Obstack Objects::.

`void obstack_blank (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int SIZE)'
     Add SIZE uninitialized bytes to a growing object.  *Note Growing
     Objects::.

`void obstack_grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void *ADDRESS, int SIZE)'
     Add SIZE bytes, copied from ADDRESS, to a growing object.  *Note
     Growing Objects::.

`void obstack_grow0 (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, void *ADDRESS, int SIZE)'
     Add SIZE bytes, copied from ADDRESS, to a growing object, and then
     add another byte containing a null character.  *Note Growing
     Objects::.

`void obstack_1grow (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, char DATA-CHAR)'
     Add one byte containing DATA-CHAR to a growing object.  *Note
     Growing Objects::.

`void *obstack_finish (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Finalize the object that is growing and return its permanent
     address.  *Note Growing Objects::.

`int obstack_object_size (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Get the current size of the currently growing object.  *Note
     Growing Objects::.

`void obstack_blank_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, int SIZE)'
     Add SIZE uninitialized bytes to a growing object without checking
     that there is enough room.  *Note Extra Fast Growing::.

`void obstack_1grow_fast (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR, char DATA-CHAR)'
     Add one byte containing DATA-CHAR to a growing object without
     checking that there is enough room.  *Note Extra Fast Growing::.

`int obstack_room (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Get the amount of room now available for growing the current
     object.  *Note Extra Fast Growing::.

`int obstack_alignment_mask (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     The mask used for aligning the beginning of an object.  This is an
     lvalue.  *Note Obstacks Data Alignment::.

`int obstack_chunk_size (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     The size for allocating chunks.  This is an lvalue.  *Note Obstack
     Chunks::.

`void *obstack_base (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Tentative starting address of the currently growing object.  *Note
     Status of an Obstack::.

`void *obstack_next_free (struct obstack *OBSTACK-PTR)'
     Address just after the end of the currently growing object.  *Note
     Status of an Obstack::.


File: libc.info,  Node: Variable Size Automatic,  Prev: Obstacks,  Up: Memory Allocation

Automatic Storage with Variable Size
====================================

   The function `alloca' supports a kind of half-dynamic allocation in
which blocks are allocated dynamically but freed automatically.

   Allocating a block with `alloca' is an explicit action; you can
allocate as many blocks as you wish, and compute the size at run time.
But all the blocks are freed when you exit the function that `alloca'
was called from, just as if they were automatic variables declared in
that function.  There is no way to free the space explicitly.

   The prototype for `alloca' is in `stdlib.h'.  This function is a BSD
extension.

 - Function: void * alloca (size_t SIZE);
     The return value of `alloca' is the address of a block of SIZE
     bytes of storage, allocated in the stack frame of the calling
     function.

   Do not use `alloca' inside the arguments of a function call--you
will get unpredictable results, because the stack space for the
`alloca' would appear on the stack in the middle of the space for the
function arguments.  An example of what to avoid is `foo (x, alloca
(4), y)'.

* Menu:

* Alloca Example::              Example of using `alloca'.
* Advantages of Alloca::        Reasons to use `alloca'.
* Disadvantages of Alloca::     Reasons to avoid `alloca'.
* GNU C Variable-Size Arrays::  Only in GNU C, here is an alternative
				 method of allocating dynamically and
				 freeing automatically.

