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

Explain the different multithreading models, Question 1: a) Briefly exp...

Question 1: a) Briefly explain each of the following terms: (i) Distributed systems. (ii) Real time systems. (iii) Multiprocessor. b) What is the impo

Evicting pages from physical memory, When do we write a page from physical ...

When do we write a page from physical memory back to the disk? In general, caches have two broad types of writing policies. One approach is a write-through cache. In this case,

What is the lower bound on the numeral of page faults, Q. Presume that you...

Q. Presume that you have a page-reference string for a process with m frames (initially all empty). The page-reference string has length p along with n distinct page numbers

Single-level page tables, As mentioned above, page tables, are lookup table...

As mentioned above, page tables, are lookup tables mapping a process' virtual pages to physical pages in RAM. How would one implement these page tables? The most straightforward

Explain types of file allocation-contiguous allocation, Contiguous allocati...

Contiguous allocation: Every file will be allocated contiguous space in the memory. Allow the block size be 1K If a 50K files desires to be allocated space after t

Conversion of binary to hex, Take the binary number and divide it into grou...

Take the binary number and divide it into groups of 4 bits starting from the right hand side , if no group of 4 exists fill out leading 0's, then convert each group of 4 to a hex n

Explain rehashing to handle collision, Explain Rehashing to Handle Collisio...

Explain Rehashing to Handle Collision Rehashing:  Re-hashing schemes make use of a second hashing operation while there is a collision. If there is an additional collision, we

Os installation, Question: OS Installation / File system a) Why is NTFS...

Question: OS Installation / File system a) Why is NTFS portioning preferred over FAT16 or FAT32 when security is of primary concern? b) State a situation or an application w

What disadvantages are there to this two-level directory, What disadvantage...

What disadvantages are there to this two-level directory? Without other provisions, two users who require cooperating with each other are hampered in reaching every other's fi

Perform alpha-beta pruning on the following tree, Perform alpha-beta prunin...

Perform alpha-beta pruning on the following tree. Put an "X" over each node that is pruned. Put the final value next to all other nodes. Indicate which action MAX should take: to B

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