1erl_malloc(3)                 C Library Functions                erl_malloc(3)
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NAME

6       erl_malloc - Memory allocation functions.
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DESCRIPTION

9       This module provides functions for allocating and deallocating memory.
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EXPORTS

12       ETERM *erl_alloc_eterm(etype)
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14              Types:
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16                 unsigned char etype;
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18              Allocates an (ETERM) structure.
19
20              Specify etype as one of the following constants:
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22                * ERL_INTEGER
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24                * ERL_U_INTEGER (unsigned integer)
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26                * ERL_ATOM
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28                * ERL_PID (Erlang process identifier)
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30                * ERL_PORT
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32                * ERL_REF (Erlang reference)
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34                * ERL_LIST
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36                * ERL_EMPTY_LIST
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38                * ERL_TUPLE
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40                * ERL_BINARY
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42                * ERL_FLOAT
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44                * ERL_VARIABLE
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46                * ERL_SMALL_BIG (bignum)
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48                * ERL_U_SMALL_BIG (bignum)
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50              ERL_SMALL_BIG   and  ERL_U_SMALL_BIG  are  for  creating  Erlang
51              bignums, which can contain integers of any size. The size of  an
52              integer  in  Erlang is machine-dependent, but any integer > 2^28
53              requires a bignum.
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55       void erl_eterm_release(void)
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57              Clears the freelist, where  blocks  are  placed  when  they  are
58              released by erl_free_term() and erl_free_compound().
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60       void erl_eterm_statistics(allocated, freed)
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62              Types:
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64                 long *allocated;
65                 long *freed;
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67              Reports term allocation statistics.
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69              allocated and freed are initialized to contain information about
70              the fix-allocator used to allocate ETERM components.
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72                * allocated is the number of  blocks  currently  allocated  to
73                  ETERM objects.
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75                * freed is the length of the freelist, where blocks are placed
76                  when they are released by erl_free_term() and  erl_free_com‐
77                  pound().
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79       void erl_free(ptr)
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81              Types:
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83                 void *ptr;
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85              Calls the standard free() function.
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87       void erl_free_array(array, size)
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89              Types:
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91                 ETERM **array;
92                 int size;
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94              Frees an array of Erlang terms.
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96                * array is an array of ETERM* objects.
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98                * size is the number of terms in the array.
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100       void erl_free_compound(t)
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102              Types:
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104                 ETERM *t;
105
106              Normally  it  is  the  programmer's  responsibility to free each
107              Erlang term that has been returned from any of the Erl_Interface
108              functions.  However,  as  many  of  the functions that build new
109              Erlang terms in fact share objects with other existing terms, it
110              can  be difficult for the programmer to maintain pointers to all
111              such terms to free them individually.
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113              erl_free_compound() recursively frees all of the subterms  asso‐
114              ciated  with  a  specified Erlang term, regardless of whether we
115              are still holding pointers to the subterms.
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117              For an example, see section Building Terms and Patterns  in  the
118              User's Guide.
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120       void erl_free_term(t)
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122              Types:
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124                 ETERM *t;
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126              Frees an Erlang term.
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128       void erl_malloc(size)
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130              Types:
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132                 long size;
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134              Calls the standard malloc() function.
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138Ericsson AB                 erl_interface 3.10.2.2               erl_malloc(3)