https://github.com/amrdb/babymalloc

A dynamic memory allocator library in C
https://github.com/amrdb/babymalloc

Last synced: 11 months ago
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A dynamic memory allocator library in C

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/amrdb/babymalloc
• Owner: amrdb
• License: mit
• Created: 2024-08-16T13:37:33.000Z (almost 2 years ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2024-11-18T10:49:40.000Z (over 1 year ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-04-21T09:52:12.941Z (about 1 year ago)
• Language: C
• Homepage:
• Size: 38.1 KB
• Stars: 13
• Watchers: 1
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

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README

          
# babymalloc

A dynamic memory allocator in C, inspired by the [CS:APP malloc lab](http://csapp.cs.cmu.edu/3e/labs.html) from the CMU course [Intro to Computer Systems](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/15213-f15/www/schedule.html).

### Description

This is a dynamic memory allocator that utilizes simple techniques:

- First-fit placement policy:

  - The allocator searches for the first free block that is large enough to fit the requested size.

- Boundary tags:

  - Each block contains a header and footer that store the size of the block and whether the block is allocated or free.

  - This allows the allocator to traverse the heap in both directions.

- Implicit free list:

  - The allocator uses a simple implicit free list to keep track of free blocks.

  - The allocator traverses the free list using the size of the blocks.

- Immediate coalescing:

  - When a block is freed, the allocator checks if the adjacent blocks (in both sides) are free and coalesces them.

- Splitting:

  - When a free block is selected for an allocation, the allocator checks if the block is large enough to be split into two blocks.

- sbrk:

  - The allocator uses the sbrk system call to request more memory from the kernel when the heap is full.

- Alignment:

  - The allocator aligns the blocks to the word size of the CPU.

- Platform Compatibility:

  - The allocator works on 64-bit, 32-bit and smaller CPUs on UNIX-like systems.