free()

"free()" is also a: user

created by splidge

(idea) by splidge (7 y) (print) ? (I like it!) Sat Nov 13 1999 at 9:02:53

C function which frees a block of memory previously allocated by malloc.

Unfortunately it is rarely called as often as it ought to be leading to memory leaks.

(idea) by illusionist (8.1 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) Fri Oct 27 2000 at 8:36:41

Free() is the C equivalent of the C++ operator delete. It returns memory to the system (see writeup above). It often fills in memory with a special value, such as "f7f7f7f7", "deadbeef", "badf00d" or (whatever the implementation is), so that you can detect in a memory manager / debugger whether or not you have free'd something already. Yet another really good reason to initialize memory before you use it.

Microsoft does your mom	memory leak	Essential C Functions	The most elusive type of problem in a C program
I'm no fucking Buddhist, but this is Enlightenment.	alloca()	Richard M. Stallman	DEADBEEF
g_malloc	warez, porn, and clipart	MALLOC_CHECK_	delete
XFree	calloc()	Watch the K Foundation Burn a Million Quid	Memory management
new	RMS	realloc	Linux is free only if your time has no value
stdlib.h	malloc	malloc abuse	free

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