Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:10:00 -0500 From: John Baldwin <jhb@freebsd.org> To: freebsd-arch@freebsd.org Cc: John-Mark Gurney <gurney_j@resnet.uoregon.edu>, Robert Watson <rwatson@freebsd.org>, Jason Evans <jasone@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Proposed addition of malloc_size_np() Message-ID: <200603271110.02917.jhb@freebsd.org> In-Reply-To: <4426D7A0.4040007@FreeBSD.org> References: <44247DF1.8000002@FreeBSD.org> <20060326110929.V35431@fledge.watson.org> <4426D7A0.4040007@FreeBSD.org>
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On Sunday 26 March 2006 13:04, Jason Evans wrote: > Robert Watson wrote: > > I wonder if the intuitive objection people are raising is actually with > > the name. Since malloc_size() is defined on at least one platform to > > return the requested size, maybe a name like malloc_allocated_size() (or > > something a bit more compact) would help avoid that confusion, and make > > it clear that the consumer is getting back a commitment and not a hint > > for future realloc(), etc. > > Maybe you're right. We could just call it malloc_usable_size() and be > compatible with Linux. It would help to know why such a function would be useful. :) Do you have a specific use-case? If the purpose is for a program to see that it really as Y >= X bytes when it did malloc(X) so that the program can use Y bytes, that would seem to only be a source of bugs and complexity. If the program wants Y bytes, it should malloc(Y). Many folks in the thread seem to think that this function would be used for a poor-man's realloc() wrapper or something, and I think such uses would be short-sighted at best. If there are other uses such as for having a debug malloc wrap the real one, then that might justify the API, but it is unclear what a useful use of this API would be. -- John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org> <>< http://www.FreeBSD.org/~jhb/ "Power Users Use the Power to Serve" = http://www.FreeBSD.org
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