Thread: question about free()

  1. #1
    Run! Forrest Gump! TalosChen's Avatar
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    question about free()

    Can I free a pointer several times?
    Or, can I free a pointer if I don't know whether it has been freed?

  2. #2
    int x = *((int *) NULL); Cactus_Hugger's Avatar
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    No. You must only free a pointer once, and only free pointers returned by a call to malloc(). (Or if it's some other memory allocation funtion: read the reference!)

    For the C function free(), if you pass a pointer already free()'d or something not returned by malloc(), calloc(), or realloc(), you risk undefined behavior.
    See malloc().

    It is up to your program to keep track of what needs to be free()'d. An operating system should free any memory still allocated upon program termination. However, this doesn't mean you should just forget about freeing. Programs can eat memory quickly in a loop or after long runs. Personally, I try to free everything I allocate myself.
    Last edited by Cactus_Hugger; 05-18-2006 at 11:10 PM.
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    ATH0 quzah's Avatar
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    I concur. I always free everything I allocate myself. It is my opinion that if I ever am in the position where I cannot free something I've allocated, it's time to redesign, because I've really messed something up. If it's too hard to free what you've allocated, you're doing something wrong, IMO.


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  4. #4
    Run! Forrest Gump! TalosChen's Avatar
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    Thanks. I've always learned much here.

  5. #5
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    You can set a pointer to NULL to indicate it has been freed.
    dwk

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  6. #6
    ATH0 quzah's Avatar
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    But setting it to NULL is not the same as freeing, at least not in C. dwks wasn't implying that, but for your clarification, I thought I'd point it out.


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