XMALLOC(3) C Programmer's Manual XMALLOC(3)NAME
xmalloc, xrealloc, xfree, xstrdup, xmemdup, memdup - memory allocation
functions for Publib
SYNOPSIS
#include <publib.h>
void *xmalloc(size_t bytes);
void *xrealloc(void *ptr, size_t bytes);
void xfree(void *ptr);
char *xstrdup(const char *string);
void *memdup(const void *mem, size_t bytes);
void *xmemdup(const void *mem, size_t bytes);
DESCRIPTION
These functions are utility functions for memory allocation from the
publib library. xmalloc, xrealloc, and xfree are error checking ver‐
sions of the standard library routines malloc, realloc, and free,
respectively. They are guaranteed to never return unless there was no
problem: if, for example, xmalloc is unable to allocate the requested
amount of memory, it prints an error message and terminates the pro‐
gram. Hence, the caller does not need to check for a NULL return
value, and the code that calls these functions is simpler due to the
lack of error checks.
Similarly, xstrdup is an error checking version of the common (though
not standard) strdup routine, which creates a duplicate of a string by
allocating memory for the copy with malloc. (For systems that lack
strdup, publib provides one in its portability module; it is always
declared in <publib.h>.)
memdup is similar to strdup, it creates a copy of an arbitrary memory
area (the arguments are a pointer to the beginning of the area, and its
size) by allocating memory for the copy with malloc. xmemdup is its
error checking version.
NOTE
xmalloc and xrealloc treat a request to allocate a block of 0 bytes as
an error. xrealloc will allow its first argument to be NULL.
SEE ALSOpublib(3), malloc(3), strdup(3)AUTHOR
Lars Wirzenius (lars.wirzenius@helsinki.fi)
Publib C Programmer's Manual XMALLOC(3)
