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-rw-r--r--src/lib/libc/stdlib/malloc.3419
1 files changed, 389 insertions, 30 deletions
diff --git a/src/lib/libc/stdlib/malloc.3 b/src/lib/libc/stdlib/malloc.3
index 3bbf2bf65e..75b8c69eb7 100644
--- a/src/lib/libc/stdlib/malloc.3
+++ b/src/lib/libc/stdlib/malloc.3
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
1.\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1991 Regents of the University of California. 1.\"
2.\" All rights reserved. 2.\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1991, 1993
3.\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
3.\" 4.\"
4.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by 5.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
5.\" the American National Standards Committee X3, on Information 6.\" the American National Standards Committee X3, on Information
@@ -13,11 +14,7 @@
13.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright 14.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
14.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the 15.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
15.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. 16.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
16.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software 17.\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
17.\" must display the following acknowledgement:
18.\" This product includes software developed by the University of
19.\" California, Berkeley and its contributors.
20.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
21.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software 18.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
22.\" without specific prior written permission. 19.\" without specific prior written permission.
23.\" 20.\"
@@ -33,19 +30,32 @@
33.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF 30.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
34.\" SUCH DAMAGE. 31.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
35.\" 32.\"
36.\" from: @(#)malloc.3 6.7 (Berkeley) 6/29/91 33.\" $OpenBSD: malloc.3,v 1.62 2009/02/13 23:36:17 jmc Exp $
37.\" $Id: malloc.3,v 1.1.1.1 1995/10/18 08:42:18 deraadt Exp $
38.\" 34.\"
39.Dd June 29, 1991 35.Dd $Mdocdate: February 13 2009 $
40.Dt MALLOC 3 36.Dt MALLOC 3
41.Os BSD 4 37.Os
42.Sh NAME 38.Sh NAME
43.Nm malloc 39.Nm malloc ,
44.Nd general memory allocation function 40.Nm calloc ,
41.Nm realloc ,
42.Nm free ,
43.Nm cfree
44.Nd memory allocation and deallocation
45.Sh SYNOPSIS 45.Sh SYNOPSIS
46.Fd #include <stdlib.h> 46.Fd #include <stdlib.h>
47.Ft void * 47.Ft void *
48.Fn malloc "size_t size" 48.Fn malloc "size_t size"
49.Ft void *
50.Fn calloc "size_t nmemb" "size_t size"
51.Ft void *
52.Fn realloc "void *ptr" "size_t size"
53.Ft void
54.Fn free "void *ptr"
55.Ft void
56.Fn cfree "void *ptr"
57.Ft char *
58.Va malloc_options ;
49.Sh DESCRIPTION 59.Sh DESCRIPTION
50The 60The
51.Fn malloc 61.Fn malloc
@@ -59,33 +69,382 @@ space from the appropriate list.
59.Pp 69.Pp
60The allocated space is 70The allocated space is
61suitably aligned (after possible pointer 71suitably aligned (after possible pointer
62coercion) for storage of any type of object. If the space is of 72coercion) for storage of any type of object.
73If the space is of
63.Em pagesize 74.Em pagesize
64or larger, the memory returned will be page-aligned. 75or larger, the memory returned will be page-aligned.
76.Pp
77Allocation of a zero size object returns a pointer to a zero size object.
78This zero size object is access protected, so any access to it will
79generate an exception (SIGSEGV).
80Many zero-sized objects can be placed consecutively in shared
81protected pages.
82The minimum size of the protection on each object is suitably aligned and
83sized as previously stated, but the protection may extend further depending
84on where in a protected zone the object lands.
85.Pp
86When using
87.Fn malloc
88be careful to avoid the following idiom:
89.Bd -literal -offset indent
90if ((p = malloc(num * size)) == NULL)
91 err(1, "malloc");
92.Ed
93.Pp
94The multiplication may lead to an integer overflow.
95To avoid this,
96.Fn calloc
97is recommended.
98.Pp
99If
100.Fn malloc
101must be used, be sure to test for overflow:
102.Bd -literal -offset indent
103if (size && num > SIZE_MAX / size) {
104 errno = ENOMEM;
105 err(1, "overflow");
106}
107.Ed
108.Pp
109The
110.Fn calloc
111function allocates space for an array of
112.Fa nmemb
113objects, each of whose size is
114.Fa size .
115The space is initialized to zero.
116The use of
117.Fn calloc
118is strongly encouraged when allocating multiple sized objects
119in order to avoid possible integer overflows.
120.Pp
121The
122.Fn free
123function causes the space pointed to by
124.Fa ptr
125to be either placed on a list of free pages to make it available for future
126allocation or, if required, to be returned to the kernel using
127.Xr munmap 2 .
128If
129.Fa ptr
130is a null pointer, no action occurs.
131.Pp
132A
133.Fn cfree
134function is also provided for compatibility with old systems and other
135.Nm malloc
136libraries; it is simply an alias for
137.Fn free .
138.Pp
139The
140.Fn realloc
141function changes the size of the object pointed to by
142.Fa ptr
143to
144.Fa size
145bytes and returns a pointer to the (possibly moved) object.
146The contents of the object are unchanged up to the lesser
147of the new and old sizes.
148If the new size is larger, the value of the newly allocated portion
149of the object is indeterminate and uninitialized.
150If
151.Fa ptr
152is a null pointer, the
153.Fn realloc
154function behaves like the
155.Fn malloc
156function for the specified size.
157If the space cannot be allocated, the object
158pointed to by
159.Fa ptr
160is unchanged.
161If
162.Fa size
163is zero and
164.Fa ptr
165is not a null pointer, the object it points to is freed and a new zero size
166object is returned.
167.Pp
168When using
169.Fn realloc
170be careful to avoid the following idiom:
171.Bd -literal -offset indent
172size += 50;
173if ((p = realloc(p, size)) == NULL)
174 return (NULL);
175.Ed
176.Pp
177Do not adjust the variable describing how much memory has been allocated
178until the allocation has been successful.
179This can cause aberrant program behavior if the incorrect size value is used.
180In most cases, the above sample will also result in a leak of memory.
181As stated earlier, a return value of
182.Dv NULL
183indicates that the old object still remains allocated.
184Better code looks like this:
185.Bd -literal -offset indent
186newsize = size + 50;
187if ((newp = realloc(p, newsize)) == NULL) {
188 free(p);
189 p = NULL;
190 size = 0;
191 return (NULL);
192}
193p = newp;
194size = newsize;
195.Ed
196.Pp
197As with
198.Fn malloc
199it is important to ensure the new size value will not overflow;
200i.e. avoid allocations like the following:
201.Bd -literal -offset indent
202if ((newp = realloc(p, num * size)) == NULL) {
203 ...
204.Ed
205.Pp
206Malloc will first look for a symbolic link called
207.Pa /etc/malloc.conf
208and next check the environment for a variable called
209.Ev MALLOC_OPTIONS
210and finally for the global variable
211.Va malloc_options
212and scan them for flags in that order.
213Flags are single letters, uppercase means on, lowercase means off.
214.Bl -tag -width indent
215.It Cm A
216.Dq Abort .
217.Fn malloc
218will coredump the process, rather than tolerate internal
219inconsistencies or incorrect usage.
220This is the default and a very handy debugging aid,
221since the core file represents the time of failure,
222rather than when the bogus pointer was used.
223.It Cm D
224.Dq Dump .
225.Fn malloc
226will dump statistics in a file called
227.Pa malloc.out
228at exit.
229This option requires the library to have been compiled with -DMALLOC_STATS in
230order to have any effect.
231.It Cm F
232.Dq Freeguard .
233Enable use after free protection.
234Unused pages on the freelist are read and write protected to
235cause a segmentation fault upon access.
236This will also switch off the delayed freeing of chunks,
237reducing random behaviour but detecting double
238.Fn free
239calls as early as possible.
240.It Cm G
241.Dq Guard .
242Enable guard pages.
243Each page size or larger allocation is followed by a guard page that will
244cause a segmentation fault upon any access.
245.It Cm H
246.Dq Hint .
247Pass a hint to the kernel about pages we don't use.
248If the machine is paging a lot this may help a bit.
249.It Cm J
250.Dq Junk .
251Fill some junk into the area allocated.
252Currently junk is bytes of 0xd0 when allocating; this is pronounced
253.Dq Duh .
254\&:-)
255Freed chunks are filled with 0xdf.
256.It Cm P
257.Dq Move allocations within a page.
258Allocations larger than half a page but smaller than a page
259are aligned to the end of a page to catch buffer overruns in more
260cases.
261This is the default.
262.It Cm R
263.Dq realloc .
264Always reallocate when
265.Fn realloc
266is called, even if the initial allocation was big enough.
267This can substantially aid in compacting memory.
268.\".Pp
269.\".It Cm U
270.\".Dq utrace .
271.\"Generate entries for
272.\".Xr ktrace 1
273.\"for all operations.
274.\"Consult the source for this one.
275.It Cm X
276.Dq xmalloc .
277Rather than return failure,
278.Xr abort 3
279the program with a diagnostic message on stderr.
280It is the intention that this option be set at compile time by
281including in the source:
282.Bd -literal -offset indent
283extern char *malloc_options;
284malloc_options = "X";
285.Ed
286.Pp
287Note that this will cause code that is supposed to handle
288out-of-memory conditions gracefully to abort instead.
289.It Cm Z
290.Dq Zero .
291Fill some junk into the area allocated (see
292.Cm J ) ,
293except for the exact length the user asked for, which is zeroed.
294.It Cm <
295.Dq Half the cache size .
296Decrease the size of the free page cache by a factor of two.
297.It Cm >
298.Dq Double the cache size .
299Increase the size of the free page cache by a factor of two.
300.El
301.Pp
302So to set a systemwide reduction of cache size and use guard pages:
303.Dl # ln -s 'G\*(Lt' /etc/malloc.conf
304.Pp
305The flags are mostly for testing and debugging.
306If a program changes behavior if any of these options (except
307.Cm X )
308are used,
309it is buggy.
310.Pp
311The default number of free pages cached is 64.
65.Sh RETURN VALUES 312.Sh RETURN VALUES
66The 313The
67.Fn malloc 314.Fn malloc
68function returns 315and
69a pointer to the allocated space if successful; otherwise 316.Fn calloc
70a null pointer is returned. 317functions return a pointer to the allocated space if successful; otherwise,
318a null pointer is returned and
319.Va errno
320is set to
321.Er ENOMEM .
322.Pp
323The
324.Fn free
325and
326.Fn cfree
327functions return no value.
328.Pp
329The
330.Fn realloc
331function returns a pointer to the (possibly moved) allocated space
332if successful; otherwise, a null pointer is returned and
333.Va errno
334is set to
335.Er ENOMEM .
336.Sh ENVIRONMENT
337.Bl -tag -width Ev
338.It Ev MALLOC_OPTIONS
339See above.
340.El
341.Sh FILES
342.Bl -tag -width "/etc/malloc.conf"
343.It Pa /etc/malloc.conf
344symbolic link to filename containing option flags
345.El
346.Sh DIAGNOSTICS
347If
348.Fn malloc ,
349.Fn calloc ,
350.Fn realloc ,
351or
352.Fn free
353detect an error condition,
354a message will be printed to file descriptor
3552 (not using stdio).
356Errors will result in the process being aborted,
357unless the
358.Cm a
359option has been specified.
360.Pp
361Here is a brief description of the error messages and what they mean:
362.Bl -tag -width Ds
363.It Dq out of memory
364If the
365.Cm X
366option is specified it is an error for
367.Fn malloc ,
368.Fn calloc ,
369or
370.Fn realloc
371to return
372.Dv NULL .
373.It Dq malloc init mmap failed
374This is a rather weird condition that is most likely to indicate a
375seriously overloaded system or a ulimit restriction.
376.It Dq bogus pointer (double free?)
377An attempt to
378.Fn free
379or
380.Fn realloc
381an unallocated pointer was made.
382.It Dq chunk is already free
383There was an attempt to free a chunk that had already been freed.
384.It Dq modified chunk-pointer
385The pointer passed to
386.Fn free
387or
388.Fn realloc
389has been modified.
390.It Dq recursive call
391An attempt was made to call recursively into these functions, i.e., from a
392signal handler.
393This behavior is not supported.
394In particular, signal handlers should
395.Em not
396use any of the
397.Fn malloc
398functions nor utilize any other functions which may call
399.Fn malloc
400(e.g.,
401.Xr stdio 3
402routines).
403.It Dq unknown char in MALLOC_OPTIONS
404We found something we didn't understand.
405.It Dq malloc cache overflow/underflow
406The internal malloc page cache has been corrupted.
407.It Dq malloc free slot lost
408The internal malloc page cache has been corrupted.
409.It Dq guard size
410An inconsistent guard size was detected.
411.It any other error
412.Fn malloc
413detected an internal error;
414consult sources and/or wizards.
415.El
71.Sh SEE ALSO 416.Sh SEE ALSO
72.Xr brk 2 , 417.Xr brk 2 ,
73.Xr getpagesize 2 , 418.Xr mmap 2 ,
74.Xr free 3 , 419.Xr munmap 2 ,
75.Xr calloc 3 ,
76.Xr alloca 3 , 420.Xr alloca 3 ,
77.Xr realloc 3 , 421.Xr getpagesize 3
78.Xr memory 3
79.Sh STANDARDS 422.Sh STANDARDS
80The 423The
81.Fn malloc 424.Fn malloc
82function conforms to 425function conforms to
83.St -ansiC . 426.St -ansiC .
84.Sh BUGS 427.Sh HISTORY
85The current implementation of 428The present implementation of
86.Xr malloc 429.Fn malloc
87does not always fail gracefully when system 430started out as a filesystem on a drum
88memory limits are approached. 431attached to a 20-bit binary challenged computer built with discrete germanium
89It may fail to allocate memory when larger free blocks could be broken 432transistors, and it has since graduated to handle primary storage rather than
90up, or when limits are exceeded because the size is rounded up. 433secondary.
91It is optimized for sizes that are powers of two. 434.Pp
435The main difference from other
436.Fn malloc
437implementations are believed to be that
438the free pages are not accessed until allocated.
439Most
440.Fn malloc
441implementations will store a data structure containing a,
442possibly double-, linked list in the free chunks of memory, used to tie
443all the free memory together.
444That is a quite suboptimal thing to do.
445Every time the free-list is traversed, all the otherwise unused, and very
446likely paged out, pages get faulted into primary memory, just to see what
447lies after them in the list.
448.Pp
449On systems which are paging, this can increase the page-faults
450of a process by a factor of five.