Section 7.
Memory Allocation
7.1: Why doesn't the code "char *answer; gets(answer);" work?
A: The pointer variable answer has not been set to point to any valid
storage. The simplest way to correct this fragment is to use a local array,
instead of a pointer.
7.2: I can't get strcat() to work. I tried "char *s3 = strcat(s1, s2);" but I
got strange results.
A: Again, the main problem here is that space for the concatenated result is
not properly allocated.
7.3: But the man page for strcat() says that it takes two char *'s as
arguments. How am I supposed to know to allocate things?
A: In general, when using pointers you *always* have to consider memory
allocation, if only to make sure that the compiler is doing it for you.
7.3b: I just tried the code "char *p; strcpy(p, "abc");" and it worked. Why
didn't it crash?
A: You got "lucky".
7.3c: How much memory does a pointer variable allocate?
A: Only enough memory to hold the pointer itself, not any memory for the
pointer to point to.
7.5a: I have a function that is supposed to return a string, but when it
returns to its caller, the returned string is garbage.
A: Make sure that the pointed-to memory is properly (i.e. not locally)
allocated.
7.5b: So what's the right way to return a string?
A: Return a pointer to a statically-allocated buffer, a buffer passed in by
the caller, or memory obtained with malloc().
7.6: Why am I getting "warning: assignment of pointer from integer lacks a
cast" for calls to malloc()?
A: Have you #included <stdlib.h>?
7.7: Why does some code carefully cast the values returned by malloc to the
pointer type being allocated?
A: Before ANSI/ISO C, these casts were required to silence certain warnings.
7.7c: In a call to malloc(), what does an error like "Cannot convert `void *'
to `int *'" mean?
A: It means you're using a C++ compiler.
7.8: Why does so much code leave out the multiplication by sizeof(char) when
allocating strings?
A: Because sizeof(char) is, by definition, exactly 1.
7.11: How can I dynamically allocate arrays?
A: See questions 6.14 and 6.16.
7.14: I've heard that some operating systems don't actually allocate
malloc'ed memory until the program tries to use it. Is this legal?
A: It's hard to say.
7.16: I'm allocating a large array for some numeric work, but malloc() is
acting strangely.
A: Make sure the number you're trying to pass to malloc() isn't bigger than a
size_t can hold.
7.17: I've got 8 meg of memory in my PC. Why can I only seem to malloc 640K
or so?
A: Under the segmented architecture of PC compatibles, it can be difficult to
use more than 640K with any degree of transparency. See also question 19.23.
7.19: My program is crashing, apparently somewhere down inside malloc.
A: Make sure you aren't using more memory than you malloc'ed, especially for
strings (which need strlen(str) + 1 bytes).
7.20: You can't use dynamically-allocated memory after you free it, can you?
A: No. Some early documentation implied otherwise, but the claim is no longer
valid.
7.21: Why isn't a pointer null after calling free()?
A: C's pass-by-value semantics mean that called functions can never
permanently change the values of their arguments.
7.22: When I call malloc() to allocate memory for a local pointer, do I have
to explicitly free() it?
A: Yes.
7.23: When I free a dynamically-allocated structure containing pointers, do I
also have to free each subsidiary pointer?
A: Yes.
7.24: Must I free allocated memory before the program exits?
A: You shouldn't have to.
7.25: Why doesn't my program's memory usage go down when I free memory?
A: Most implementations of malloc/free do not return freed memory to the
operating system.
7.26: How does free() know how many bytes to free?
A: The malloc/free implementation remembers the size of each block
as it is allocated.
7.27: So can I query the malloc package to find out how big an allocated
block is?
A: Not portably.
7.30: Is it legal to pass a null pointer as the first argument to realloc()?
A: ANSI C sanctions this usage, although several earlier implementations do
not support it.
7.31: What's the difference between calloc() and malloc()?
A: calloc() takes two arguments, and initializes the allocated memory to all-
bits-0.
7.32: What is alloca() and why is its use discouraged?
A: alloca() allocates memory which is automatically freed when the function
which called alloca() returns. alloca() cannot be written portably, is
difficult to implement on machines without a stack, and fails under certain
conditions if implemented simply.
Section 8. Characters and Strings
8.1: Why doesn't "strcat(string, '!');" work?
A: strcat() concatenates *strings*, not characters.
8.2: Why won't the test if(string == "value") correctly compare string
against the value?
A: It's comparing pointers. To compare two strings, use strcmp().
8.3: Why can't I assign strings to character arrays?
A: Strings are arrays, and you can't assign arrays directly. Use strcpy()
instead.
8.6: How can I get the numeric (character set) a character?
A: In C, if you have the character, you have 8.9: Why is sizeof('a') not 1?
A: Character constants in C are of type int.
