MALLOC(9) BSD Kernel Developer's Manual MALLOC(9)NAME
malloc, MALLOC, realloc, free, FREE, malloc_roundup, malloc_type_attach,
malloc_type_detach, malloc_type_setlimit, MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT,
MALLOC_DEFINE, MALLOC_DECLARE — general-purpose kernel memory allocator
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/malloc.h>
void *
malloc(unsigned long size, struct malloc_type *type, int flags);
void *
realloc(void *addr, unsigned long newsize, struct malloc_type *type,
int flags);
void
free(void *addr, struct malloc_type *type);
unsigned long
malloc_roundup(unsigned long size);
void
malloc_type_attach(struct malloc_type *type);
void
malloc_type_detach(struct malloc_type *type);
void
malloc_type_setlimit(struct malloc_type *type, unsigned long limit);
#include <sys/mallocvar.h>
MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT(type, shortdesc, longdesc, limit);
MALLOC_JUSTDEFINE_LIMIT(type, shortdesc, longdesc, limit);
MALLOC_DEFINE(type, shortdesc, longdesc);
MALLOC_JUSTDEFINE(type, shortdesc, longdesc);
MALLOC_DECLARE(type);
DESCRIPTION
These interfaces are being obsoleted and their new use is discouraged.
For new code, use kmem(9) or pool_cache(9) instead.
The malloc() function allocates uninitialized memory in kernel address
space for an object whose size is specified by size. malloc_roundup()
returns the actual size of the allocation unit for the given value.
free() releases memory at address addr that was previously allocated by
malloc() for re-use. Unlike free(3), free() does not accept an addr
argument that is NULL.
The realloc() function changes the size of the previously allocated mem‐
ory referenced by addr to size and returns a pointer to the (possibly
moved) object. The memory contents are unchanged up to the lesser of the
new and old sizes. If the new size is larger, the newly allocated memory
is uninitialized. If the requested memory cannot be allocated, NULL is
returned and the memory referenced by addr is unchanged. If addr is
NULL, then realloc() behaves exactly as malloc(). If the new size is 0,
then realloc() behaves exactly as free().
Unlike its standard C library counterpart (malloc(3)), the kernel version
takes two more arguments.
The flags argument further qualifies malloc() operational characteristics
as follows:
M_NOWAIT Causes malloc() to return NULL if the request cannot be
immediately fulfilled due to resource shortage. If this
flag is not set (see M_WAITOK), malloc() will never
return NULL.
M_WAITOK By default, malloc() may call cv_wait(9) to wait for
resources to be released by other processes, and this
flag represents this behaviour. Note that M_WAITOK is
conveniently defined to be 0, and hence may be or'ed
into the flags argument to indicate that it's ok to wait
for resources.
M_ZERO Causes the allocated memory to be set to all zeros.
M_CANFAIL Changes behaviour for M_WAITOK case - if the requested
memory size is bigger than malloc() can ever allocate,
return failure, rather than calling panic(9). This is
different to M_NOWAIT, since the call can still wait for
resources.
Rather than depending on M_CANFAIL, kernel code should
do proper bound checking itself. This flag should only
be used in cases where this is not feasible. Since it
can hide real kernel bugs, its usage is strongly
discouraged.
The type argument describes the subsystem and/or use within a subsystem
for which the allocated memory was needed, and is commonly used to main‐
tain statistics about kernel memory usage and, optionally, enforce limits
on this usage for certain memory types.
In addition to some built-in generic types defined by the kernel memory
allocator, subsystems may define their own types.
The MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT() macro defines a malloc type named type with the
short description shortdesc, which must be a constant string; this
description will be used for kernel memory statistics reporting. The
longdesc argument, also a constant string, is intended as way to place a
comment in the actual type definition, and is not currently stored in the
type structure. The limit argument specifies the maximum amount of mem‐
ory, in bytes, that this malloc type can consume.
The MALLOC_DEFINE() macro is equivalent to the MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT()
macro with a limit argument of 0. If kernel memory statistics are being
gathered, the system will choose a reasonable default limit for the mal‐
loc type.
The MALLOC_DECLARE() macro is intended for use in header files which are
included by code which needs to use the malloc type, providing the neces‐
sary extern declaration.
Code which includes <sys/malloc.h> does not need to include <sys/malloc‐
var.h> to get these macro definitions. The <sys/mallocvar.h> header file
is intended for other header files which need to use the MALLOC_DECLARE()
macro.
The malloc_type_attach() function attaches the malloc type type to the
kernel memory allocator.
The malloc_type_detach() function detaches the malloc type type previ‐
ously attached with malloc_type_attach().
The malloc_type_setlimit() function sets the memory limit of the malloc
type type to limit bytes. The type must already be registered with the
kernel memory allocator.
The following generic malloc types are currently defined:
M_DEVBUF Device driver memory.
M_DMAMAP bus_dma(9) structures.
M_FREE Should be on free list.
M_PCB Protocol control block.
M_SOFTINTR Softinterrupt structures.
M_TEMP Misc temporary data buffers.
Other malloc types are defined by the corresponding subsystem; see the
documentation for that subsystem for information its available malloc
types.
Statistics based on the type argument are maintained only if the kernel
option KMEMSTATS is used when compiling the kernel (the default in
current NetBSD kernels) and can be examined by using ‘vmstat -m’.
RETURN VALUESmalloc() returns a kernel virtual address that is suitably aligned for
storage of any type of object.
DIAGNOSTICS
A kernel compiled with the DIAGNOSTIC configuration option attempts to
detect memory corruption caused by such things as writing outside the
allocated area and imbalanced calls to the malloc() and free() functions.
Failing consistency checks will cause a panic or a system console mes‐
sage:
· panic: “malloc - bogus type”
· panic: “malloc: out of space in kmem_map”
· panic: “malloc: allocation too large”
· panic: “malloc: wrong bucket”
· panic: “malloc: lost data”
· panic: “free: unaligned addr”
· panic: “free: duplicated free”
· panic: “free: multiple frees”
· panic: “init: minbucket too small/struct freelist too big”
· “multiply freed item ⟨addr⟩”
· “Data modified on freelist: ⟨data object description⟩”
SEE ALSOvmstat(1), memoryallocators(9)BSD December 29, 2008 BSD
