ALLOC(9.3) ALLOC(9.3)
NAME
alloc, free, balloc, bfree, gcalloc, gcfree - allocate
memory
SYNOPSIS
#include <jerq.h>
char *alloc(nbytes) unsigned nbytes;
void free(s) char *s;
Bitmap *balloc(r) Rectangle r;
void bfree(b) Bitmap *b;
char *gcalloc(nbytes, where) unsigned long nbytes; char
**where;
void gcfree(s) char *s;
DESCRIPTION
Alloc corresponds to the standard C function malloc. It
returns a pointer to a block of nbytes contiguous bytes of
storage, or 0 if unavailable. The storage is aligned on 4-
byte boundaries. Unlike malloc, alloc clears the storage to
zeros. Free frees storage allocated by alloc.
Balloc returns a pointer to a Bitmap large enough to contain
the Rectangle r, or 0 for failure. The coordinate system
inside the Bitmap is set by r: the origin and corner of the
Bitmap are those of r. Bfree frees the storage associated
with a Bitmap allocated by balloc.
Gcalloc provides a simple garbage-compacting allocator. It
returns a pointer to a block of nbytes contiguous bytes of
storage, or 0 if unavailable. The storage is initialized to
zeros. Where is a pointer to the user's data where the
location of the block is to be saved. The return value of
gcalloc is stored in *where and will be updated after each
compaction. Therefore, a program using gcalloc should never
store the location of gcallocated memory anywhere other than
the location handed to the allocator. Typically, this loca-
tion is contained in a structure, such as a Bitmap (balloc
uses gcalloc). Gcfree frees the storage block at p. Gcalloc
is not for novices.
SEE ALSO
types(9.5)