Thread: Free function not working

I'm trying to free a char pointer, and I see the below behaviour

Case 1:

Code:

int main()
{
char *oneLineTerm;
free(oneLineTerm);
printf("freed memory"); /* Not printed */
}

Case 2:

Code:

int main()
{
char *oneLineTerm;
if(*oneLineTerm != NULL)
    free(oneLineTerm);
printf("freed memory"); /* Printed */
}

What exactly happening in free() function here?

Originally Posted by aravindsreeram

I'm trying to free a char pointer, and I see the below behaviour

Case 1:

Code:

int main()
{
char *oneLineTerm;
free(oneLineTerm);
printf("freed memory"); /* Not printed */
}

Case 2:

Code:

int main()
{
char *oneLineTerm;
if(*oneLineTerm != NULL)
    free(oneLineTerm);
printf("freed memory"); /* Printed */
}

What exactly happening in free() function here?

free() is ONLY used if memory has been allocated using malloc(), calloc(), or realloc()! Or some other function that returns a pointer to memory it allocated. Always read the man pages for functions to understand the function completely!

From "man 3 free" on my Linux system:

The free() function frees the memory space pointed to by ptr, which must have been returned by a previous call to malloc(), calloc(), or realloc(). Otherwise, or if free(ptr) has already been called before, undefined behavior occurs. If ptr is NULL, no operation is performed.

Please study my version of your code for a proper use of free():

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

#define DIM 100

int main()
{
   char *oneLineTerm = NULL;  // ALL local variables MUST be initialized

   oneLineTerm = malloc(DIM);

   if(oneLineTerm == NULL)  // Unknown error allocating the memory
   {
      printf("ERROR: Memory not allocated, Nothing to see here, move along, move along!\n");
      return EXIT_FAILURE;
   }

   // Memory has been allocated
   // More code here using the pointer

   free(oneLineTerm);  // NOW, free the allocated memory
   oneLineTerm = NULL; // NULL the pointer in case some other code is inserted below before exiting!

   printf("freed memory\n");

   return 0;
}

You should also mention that the C compiler has plenty of flags that can set to detect many, many, many errors. Here's an example of some of the more common ones.

Code:

gcc -Wall -pedantic -Werror ...

Originally Posted by G4143

You should also mention that the C compiler has plenty of flags that can set to detect many, many, many errors. Here's an example of some of the more common ones.

Code:

gcc -Wall -pedantic -Werror ...

I could not make any assumption as to which O/S, compiler, and possible IDE the OP was using, but yes, no matter what compiler a programmer is using, warnings should be turned on and turned up high to trap all warnings and errors, for coding any program. That applies to any programmer, beginner, intermediate, or expert.

Originally Posted by rstanley

free() is ONLY used if memory has been allocated using malloc(), calloc(), or realloc()! Or some other function that returns a pointer to memory it allocated. Always read the man pages for functions to understand the function completely!

AND... free works (do nothing) if the pointer is NULL (ISO 9899 7.20.3.2 § 2)... But if the pointer isn't NULL and not allocated by the functions above, then the behavior is unspecified (probably a segmentation fault or access violation).

This is OK:

Code:

void *p = NULL;

free( p );  // ok, do nothing

But this:

Code:

int main( void )
{
  int *p;

  free( p ); // probably will crash
}

Because `p` isn't initialized and can have ANY (probably invalid) value.