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Use the free function to release memory that was previously allocated by malloc, calloc or realloc.

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Q: Which function should be used to free the memory allocated by calloc?
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Is it better to use malloc or calloc to allocate memory?

In general using malloc is faster, since calloc initializes the allocated memory to contain all zeroes. If this is what you want, however, then calloc can be used. The results can vary among different operating systems and environments, though. Memory allocation in an OS that uses floating blocks in heaps, such as Microsoft Windows and MacOS, should use the OS-native memory allocators instead. "Use malloc() almost always and calloc() almost never." The reason is that the initialization to zero that calloc() performs is usually not very helpful: - The initialization to "all-bits-zero" is not necessarily the same as initialization to "all-data-zero." C says very little about the representation of values in memory, nothing at all for floating-point or pointer values. On many machines all-bits-zero representations will in fact correspond to f.p. zeroes or null pointers, but this is not guaranteed by the language and there have been machines where the correspondence did not hold. If you get in the habit of using calloc() to initialize f.p. and pointer items, you may be heading for trouble. - Usually, one allocates a chunk of dynamic memory in order to store something in it -- and when you store something in it, you'll overwrite whatever was there before. Thus, the initialization performed by calloc() is usually not needed anyhow. There are occasional exceptions where all- bits-zero initialization is helpful, but they are unusual.


What is malloc vs calloc?

malloc allocate a memory section whereas memset manipulate the content of the memory section, (for example fill a memory section pointed by pointer ptr with 0, we use memset(ptr,0,sizeof(ptr_data_type)) A memory section must be allocated(using either 'malloc' or 'new' in C++) before memset can be used on it.


Static and dynamic memory allocation in c plus plus?

dynamic memory allocation is that type of memory which create to allocate the memory on running time or at compile time by the function of malloc , calloc , realloc and free. dynamic memory allocation is give the best utilization of memory which gives the sufficient use of memory.


How can you increase the size of a statically allocated array?

/* Allocate space for an array with ten elements of type int. */int *ptr = malloc(10 * sizeof (int));if (ptr == NULL) { /* Memory could not be allocated, the program should handle the error here as appropriate. */ realloc It is often useful to be able to grow or shrink a block of memory. This can be done using realloc which returns a pointer to a memory region of the specified size, which contains the same data as the old region pointed to by ptr (truncated to the minimum of the old and new sizes). If realloc is unable to resize the memory region in-place, it allocates new storage, copies the required data, and frees the old pointer. If this allocation fails, realloc maintains the original pointer unaltered, and returns the null pointer value. The newly allocated region of memory is uninitialized (its contents are not predictable). The function prototype is void *realloc(void *pointer, size_t size);


What do you mean by garbage collection in data structure?

all classes and variables created in a program are put on something called the Heap, which is stored in main memory (RAM). The Garbage collector gets rid of any class or variable that becomes impossible to reference ever again in the program. For example, say you have a main method and from there you call another method, any local variables created in that other method will be put on the heap while they are in use, ie that function is running. As soon as the method ends, the Garbage collector will come and "release" the memory where those variables were for use in other parts, because you can never access them again when the method finishes.

Related questions

71 Which function should be used to free the memory allocated by calloc?

free() is a function used to free the memory allocated dynamically ,by both malloc and calloc functions. free(ptr): ptr is a pointer to a memory block which has already been creeated by malloc or calloc.


Is it better to use malloc or calloc to allocate memory?

In general using malloc is faster, since calloc initializes the allocated memory to contain all zeroes. If this is what you want, however, then calloc can be used. The results can vary among different operating systems and environments, though. Memory allocation in an OS that uses floating blocks in heaps, such as Microsoft Windows and MacOS, should use the OS-native memory allocators instead. "Use malloc() almost always and calloc() almost never." The reason is that the initialization to zero that calloc() performs is usually not very helpful: - The initialization to "all-bits-zero" is not necessarily the same as initialization to "all-data-zero." C says very little about the representation of values in memory, nothing at all for floating-point or pointer values. On many machines all-bits-zero representations will in fact correspond to f.p. zeroes or null pointers, but this is not guaranteed by the language and there have been machines where the correspondence did not hold. If you get in the habit of using calloc() to initialize f.p. and pointer items, you may be heading for trouble. - Usually, one allocates a chunk of dynamic memory in order to store something in it -- and when you store something in it, you'll overwrite whatever was there before. Thus, the initialization performed by calloc() is usually not needed anyhow. There are occasional exceptions where all- bits-zero initialization is helpful, but they are unusual.


With every use of memory allocation function should be used to release allocated memory which is no longer needed?

free()


What is malloc vs calloc?

malloc allocate a memory section whereas memset manipulate the content of the memory section, (for example fill a memory section pointed by pointer ptr with 0, we use memset(ptr,0,sizeof(ptr_data_type)) A memory section must be allocated(using either 'malloc' or 'new' in C++) before memset can be used on it.


Static and dynamic memory allocation in c plus plus?

dynamic memory allocation is that type of memory which create to allocate the memory on running time or at compile time by the function of malloc , calloc , realloc and free. dynamic memory allocation is give the best utilization of memory which gives the sufficient use of memory.


How is memory management achieved by pointers in c plus plus?

Memory management in C++ is achieved using the new and delete operators. These operators are synonymous with the malloc() and free() functions found in C, and which you can also use in C++ but then your code would not strictly be C++. However, the new and delete operators are implemented behind the scenes with malloc() and free(), so the distinction at this level is somewhat moot.Although the new operator and malloc() function effectively do the same job, the new operator greatly simplifies the process. Whereas malloc() requires that you specify the exact amount of memory required, the newoperator can determine the amount at compile time, based upon the type of memory required. Moreover, the new operator returns a pointer to the required type whereas the pointer returned by malloc() must be cast to the appropriate type.There's very little difference between the deleteoperator and the free() function, however they are not interchangeable. If memory was allocated with the newoperator, then it must be released with the delete operator, not the free() function.Apart from these differences, memory management in C++ is much the same as it was with C. Whether memory is allocated with the new operator or the malloc() function, you must maintain a pointer variable to hold the reference that is returned (or a NULL value if the allocation failed). When the memory is no longer required, it must be released back to the system by deleting or freeing the original pointer or a copy of the original pointer. At that point, all pointers to that memory are deemed invalid, and should be zeroed to ensure they no longer refer to invalid memory.Note that the malloc() function also has two variants: calloc() and realloc(). calloc() works much the same as malloc() but is used to allocate a count of contiguous memory blocks, like an array, while realloc() is used to release an existing allocation and allocate another to the same pointer. There is no equivalent operator for realloc()in C++.


Why should you follow proper procedure when existing an office xp programs?

You may keep memory allocated if you do not and that may cause applications to write to forbidden areas of memory causing a crash.


How can you increase the size of a statically allocated array?

/* Allocate space for an array with ten elements of type int. */int *ptr = malloc(10 * sizeof (int));if (ptr == NULL) { /* Memory could not be allocated, the program should handle the error here as appropriate. */ realloc It is often useful to be able to grow or shrink a block of memory. This can be done using realloc which returns a pointer to a memory region of the specified size, which contains the same data as the old region pointed to by ptr (truncated to the minimum of the old and new sizes). If realloc is unable to resize the memory region in-place, it allocates new storage, copies the required data, and frees the old pointer. If this allocation fails, realloc maintains the original pointer unaltered, and returns the null pointer value. The newly allocated region of memory is uninitialized (its contents are not predictable). The function prototype is void *realloc(void *pointer, size_t size);


What do you mean by garbage collection in data structure?

all classes and variables created in a program are put on something called the Heap, which is stored in main memory (RAM). The Garbage collector gets rid of any class or variable that becomes impossible to reference ever again in the program. For example, say you have a main method and from there you call another method, any local variables created in that other method will be put on the heap while they are in use, ie that function is running. As soon as the method ends, the Garbage collector will come and "release" the memory where those variables were for use in other parts, because you can never access them again when the method finishes.


Factory overhead should be allocated on the basis of?

factory overhead should be allocated on basis of their apportiomen


What extra features should I look for when choosing a calculator?

Make sure it has a memory function.


What is the use of realloc in c language?

Realloc is a function in C. It is used to change the size of a block of memory by expanding it. There are various ways realloc can change the memory size, depending on if there is enough space in the block of memory.