Thread: Will free() clean up this allocated memory?

  1. #1
    Registered User simguy's Avatar
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    Will free() clean up this allocated memory?

    I have some legacy code that I have a question about. A pointer to allocated memory is passed as a parameter to a function. In the function, there is a declaration statement that creates a new pointer and assigns it the value of the allocated pointer. Will the free() statement actually free the allocated memory?

    Thanks.

    Code:
    void test(int *intptr)
    {
         int* newptr = intptr;
    
          .
          .
          .
          .
          free(newptr);
    }

  2. #2
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Yes. free() only cares about the value passed to it. It cannot possibly know which variable was holding the value, because it is passed the value.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  3. #3
    Registered User simguy's Avatar
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    Thanks --- that was my interpretation also, but wanted a second opinion (or even a 3rd and 4th)

  4. #4
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    At the risk of stating the obvious, the caller of your function should not use the argument it passes again, except to reassign it. For example;
    Code:
    void test(int *pointer)
    {
        int *newpointer = pointer;
       free(newpointer);
    
    }
    
    int main()
    {
         int *data = malloc(5*sizeof(int));
         test(data);
        data[2] = 42;     /* undefined behaviour as test() has effectively performed free(data) */
    }
    Creating a copy of a pointer (pointerA = pointerB) means that both pointers point at the same data. So freeing one, frees both.

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