Memory allocation is like fitting puzzle pieces together in the world of computer programming. Every time a programmer uses commands like malloc or calloc, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. It’s more than just asking for memory; it’s about making sure everything fits just right and works efficiently with the computer’s hardware.
Consider the challenge of fragmentation, an age-old specter haunting memory management. Fragmentation, essentially, is the phenomenon where memory, though available in bits and pieces, isn’t contiguous enough for allocation requests. Picture a jigsaw puzzle with all its pieces scattered. Each piece represents a block of memory. Now, even if these individual blocks combined can form a large enough space for a new piece (or a memory request), their scattered nature makes it impossible to fit the new piece seamlessly.
This article describes on what exactly a memory allocator should do and a bit about fragmentation.
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Article Written By: Yashwanth Naidu Tikkisetty
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