ALLOCA(3) | Linux Programmer's Manual | ALLOCA(3) |
NAME
alloca - allocate memory that is automatically freedSYNOPSIS
#include <alloca.h>DESCRIPTION
The alloca() function allocates size bytes of space in the stack frame of the caller. This temporary space is automatically freed when the function that called alloca() returns to its caller.RETURN VALUE
The alloca() function returns a pointer to the beginning of the allocated space. If the allocation causes stack overflow, program behavior is undefined.CONFORMING TO
This function is not in POSIX.1-2001.NOTES
The alloca() function is machine- and compiler-dependent. For certain applications, its use can improve efficiency compared to the use of malloc(3) plus free(3). In certain cases, it can also simplify memory deallocation in applications that use longjmp(3) or siglongjmp(3). Otherwise, its use is discouraged.Notes on the GNU version
Normally, gcc(1) translates calls to alloca() with inlined code. This is not done when either the -ansi, -std=c89, -std=c99, or the -std=c11 option is given and the header <alloca.h> is not included. Otherwise (without an -ansi or -std=c* option) the glibc version of <stdlib.h> includes <alloca.h> and that contains the lines:
#ifdef __GNUC__
#define alloca(size) __builtin_alloca (size)
#endif
with messy consequences if one has a private version of this function.
The fact that the code is inlined means that it is impossible to take the address of this function, or to change its behavior by linking with a different library.
The inlined code often consists of a single instruction adjusting the stack pointer, and does not check for stack overflow. Thus, there is no NULL error return.
BUGS
There is no error indication if the stack frame cannot be extended. (However, after a failed allocation, the program is likely to receive a SIGSEGV signal if it attempts to access the unallocated space.)SEE ALSO
brk(2), longjmp(3), malloc(3)COLOPHON
This page is part of release 3.53 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.2013-05-12 | GNU |