C/C++ Memory Management API

An introduction to memory management functions that you can use with in-process and out-of-process operations.

void* C8Malloc(C8SizeType count); – Purpose: Allocates an area of memory count bytes in size and returns a pointer to this memory area. Note that the input parameter is an unsigned value (type C8UInt). The memory returned by C8Malloc() will contain random data (in other words, the bytes are not initialized to a value such as 0). Except where this documentation explicitly states otherwise, memory allocated by C8Malloc()must be de-allocated by C8Free() or a memory leak will occur. See the warnings in Notes about Allocating and Deallocating Memory in In-process Code.
Parameters:
- count: The number of bytes to allocate.
Returns: A pointer to the allocated memory.
void* C8Realloc(void *old_mem_ptr, C8SizeType new_size); – Purpose: Assumes old_mem_ptr has been allocated by C8Malloc() and provides for a new memory area of size new_size. The data in the old memory is copied to the new memory. The C8Realloc() function follows the same rules as realloc() . See the warnings in Notes about Allocating and Deallocating Memory in In-process Code.
Parameters:
- old_mem_ptr: A pointer to the old memory.
- new_size: The size of the new block of memory to be reallocated.
Returns: Nothing.
void C8Free(void *mem_ptr); – Purpose: The memory pointed to by mem_ptr is released. mem_ptr should have been acquired via C8Malloc(), C8Realloc(), or another SDK function that explicitly states that its returned value may be C8Free'd. See the warnings in Notes about Allocating and Deallocating Memory in In-process Code.
Parameters:
- mem_ptr: A pointer to the memory to be freed.
Returns: Nothing.

Although the memory management API is the same for in-process and out-of-process operations, some special cautions apply when these are used with in-process operations. These cautions are explained in the following section.