Malloc and calloc function, Operating System

Assignment Help:

Note that the parameter for scanf doesn't need the address operators & because name is an address. However the variable name has no defined space. This can cause problems within C and we really should define the space .Within C we can allocate space by means of character array or system functions namely malloc, free and calloc.If we declare a character array, it also reserves the space required for that string (After all a string is a collection i.e. array of characters). Therefore the program becomes

    #include stdio.h
    void main()
    {
    char prompt;
    /*Author : Mr James Mc Carren  
    Company: Staffordshire University  
     Date: 26th August 2012  
    Version 1.0  
    Function : String storing using static storage       
     Modifications:   none*/
    char name[20];
    scanf("%s",name);
    printf("your name is %s \n\r",name);  
    printf("Press and key to exit \n\r");
    scanf("\n%c",&prompt);
    }
This allocates 20 spaces to the string name, however if we wish to input a 50 character  string , we would need to re-compile the program , an alternative is to use Malloc/Free .Malloc checks during run time whether there is enough  space left and if there is it allocated it while Free  releases the space allocated to a variable .The syntax for malloc/Free is  
 
     variable = ( char *)malloc(char size);
     free(variable);
 
Therefore the program becomes
 
    #include stdio.h
    #include stdlib.h
    void main()
    {
    char prompt;
   
     Date: 26th August 2012 
    Version 1.0 
    Function : String storing using dynamic allocation       
     Modifications:   none*/
      char *name;
      name = (char *)malloc(20);
      if (name == NULL) 
      {
      printf("Cannot allocate memory\n\r");
      exit(1);
      }
      scanf("%s",name);
      printf("your name is %s \n\r",name); 

      free(name);  
    printf("Press and key to exit \n\r");
    scanf("\n%c",&prompt);
    }

  Because Malloc allocates memory dynamically, we must place a trap routine to detect when the microprocessor cannot allocate memory (i.e. memory full), in this case malloc returns a NULL character back as the address of the variable i.e. This routine would detect the NULL character and exit the program .Note that malloced space is similar to a variable in that its life span is automatically terminated when a free command is used or the function where it was allocated ends no matter what you make read - this is not the case in C++  
 
      if (name == NULL) 
      {
      printf("Cannot allocate memory\n\r");
      exit(1);
      }
 
Therefore we could allocate a scratch pad of memory using malloc and we can poke around in that
area e.g.
 
  #include
    #include
    void main()
    { 
    char prompt;  
  
     Date: 26th August 2012
    Version 1.0 
Function : Dynamic allocation  of windows pointr area i.e segmented memory     
     Modifications:   none*/
 
      char *name;
      unsigned long int address;
      unsigned char *add;
      unsigned char data;
      name = (char *)malloc(0x4000);
      if (name == NULL) 
      {
      printf("Cannot allocate memory\n\r");
      exit(1);
      }
printf("Your segment area is %08lx to %08lx\n\r",name,name+(unsigned long int)0x4000);
printf("Please enter in the address  you want to read in the segment area\n\r");
scanf("%lx",&address);
add = (unsigned char *)address;
data = *add;
printf("The data at the address %08lx is %02x\n\r",address,data); 
printf("Press and key to exit \n\r");
scanf("\n%c",&prompt);
}


Related Discussions:- Malloc and calloc function

Define the tlsfree(tlsindex) function, Define the TlsFree(TLSIndex) Functio...

Define the TlsFree(TLSIndex) Function This function should be called to free a TLSindex allocated by TlsAlloc. It would be executed when there are no more threads in a process

Networking tidbits, There is a very small amount of networking background r...

There is a very small amount of networking background required for Project 2. In Project 2, we want our computer (or our "host") to request information over the Internet from a rem

Explain threads for executing concurrent application code, Explain Threads ...

Explain Threads for Executing Concurrent Application Code The thread has been introduced in many operating systems as an efficient mechanism for executing concurrent applicatio

Unix, UNIX Shell and History feature. 1.Creating a child process. 2.Creatin...

UNIX Shell and History feature. 1.Creating a child process. 2.Creating a history feature. Its exactly "programming project 1 - Unix Shell and History Feature (p.157-159)" in the Si

Memory management, diffenciet between least recently used and not recently ...

diffenciet between least recently used and not recently used

What are the use of job queue, What are the use of job queues, ready queues...

What are the use of job queues, ready queues and device queues? As a process enters a system they are put in to a job queue. These queues having of all jobs in the system. The

Explain kernel activity for ults, KERNEL ACTIVITY FOR ULTS: The kernel...

KERNEL ACTIVITY FOR ULTS: The kernel isn't aware of thread activity but it is still managing process activity. When a thread compose a system call the whole process will be bl

Producer-consumer, The general idea of a producer-consumer architecture is ...

The general idea of a producer-consumer architecture is related to building a pipeline of threads, similar to the web spider from Project 2. Each step of the processing will now be

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd