CCareaga/heap_allocator
Heap Allocator
This project is a C-based heap management library designed for systems programming environments that require manual control over memory lifecycles. It provides the fundamental utilities necessary to initialize a designated region of memory and perform dynamic allocation and deallocation of memory blocks.
The library utilizes a linked-list-based tracking system to manage memory segments, employing a first-fit strategy to locate available space within the heap. To maintain memory organization and minimize fragmentation, it implements boundary-tag coalescing, which automatically merges adjacent free blocks during the reclamation process.
These capabilities support low-level memory management in resource-constrained settings, such as bare-metal systems, embedded devices, and custom kernel development. The implementation relies on direct pointer arithmetic to calculate offsets and manage metadata headers within the heap structure.
Features
- Managed Memory Allocators - Provides a C-based library for dynamic memory allocation and deallocation in systems programming environments.
- Manual Deallocation Routines - Reclaims unused memory blocks and performs boundary-tag coalescing to maintain contiguous free space.
- System Memory Allocation - Reserves specific memory amounts from the managed heap and returns pointers for application use.
- Heap Chunk Identification - Implements a heap management library that tracks memory blocks and merges free chunks to reduce fragmentation.
- Memory Allocation Managers - Manages memory segments by maintaining a chain of metadata headers that track the size and availability of each heap region.
- Free Block Search Strategies - Uses a first-fit search strategy to efficiently locate available memory segments within the heap.
- Bare-Metal Runtimes - Provides structured heap management for bare-metal environments lacking an operating system.
- Embedded Memory Management - Optimizes memory management for resource-constrained embedded systems where standard library allocators are unavailable.
- Segregated Heap Allocators - Initializes designated memory regions into structured heaps to enable efficient resource management.
- Low-Level Systems Programming - Enables low-level systems programming by providing manual control over memory layout and allocation performance.
- Manual Memory Management Utilities - Offers a compact utility for manual memory lifecycle management and direct heap control.
- Operating System Development - Supports low-level memory management requirements for custom kernel and operating system development.
- Heap Initialization Routines - Configures a pre-allocated memory region into a managed heap structure by initializing the starting header.
- Boundary Tag Coalescers - Implements boundary-tag coalescing to merge adjacent free memory blocks and minimize heap fragmentation.
- Pointer Arithmetic - Performs direct byte-level pointer arithmetic to calculate offsets and manage metadata headers within the heap.
Star history
How this analysis was created: This summary and feature list are AI-generated from collected project material and can contain mistakes. Stars, license and language are imported from GitHub. Inclusion does not mean that we have tested or audited this project. Check the source documentation for any feature you depend on. Learn more on our About page.
