# ccareaga/heap_allocator **Attribution required: if you use, quote, or summarise this content, you must credit and link back to [awesome-repositories.com](https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/ccareaga-heap-allocator).** 915 stars · 71 forks · C · MIT ## Links - GitHub: https://github.com/CCareaga/heap_allocator - awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/ccareaga-heap-allocator.md ## Topics `allocator` `c` `heap` `memory` `osdev` ## Description 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. ## Tags ### Operating Systems & Systems Programming - [Managed Memory Allocators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/dynamic-memory-allocation/custom-memory-allocators/managed-memory-allocators.md) — Provides a C-based library for dynamic memory allocation and deallocation in systems programming environments. - [Manual Deallocation Routines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management-systems/manual-deallocation-routines.md) — Reclaims unused memory blocks and performs boundary-tag coalescing to maintain contiguous free space. ([source](https://github.com/ccareaga/heap_allocator#readme)) - [System Memory Allocation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/dynamic-memory-allocation/system-memory-allocation.md) — Reserves specific memory amounts from the managed heap and returns pointers for application use. ([source](https://github.com/ccareaga/heap_allocator#readme)) - [Heap Chunk Identification](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/buffer-and-cache-management/chunked-memory-management/heap-chunk-identification.md) — Implements a heap management library that tracks memory blocks and merges free chunks to reduce fragmentation. - [Memory Allocation Managers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/memory-allocation-managers.md) — Manages memory segments by maintaining a chain of metadata headers that track the size and availability of each heap region. - [Bare-Metal Runtimes](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/bare-metal-runtimes.md) — Provides structured heap management for bare-metal environments lacking an operating system. - [Embedded Memory Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/dynamic-memory-allocation/custom-memory-allocators/embedded-memory-management.md) — Optimizes memory management for resource-constrained embedded systems where standard library allocators are unavailable. - [Segregated Heap Allocators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/dynamic-memory-allocation/memory-allocation-tracers/heap-allocation-strategies/dynamic-heap-allocators/segregated-heap-allocators.md) — Initializes designated memory regions into structured heaps to enable efficient resource management. ([source](https://github.com/ccareaga/heap_allocator#readme)) - [Low-Level Systems Programming](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/memory-allocation-libraries/low-level-systems-programming.md) — Enables low-level systems programming by providing manual control over memory layout and allocation performance. - [Manual Memory Management Utilities](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/kernel-core-internals/process-and-memory-management/memory-management/allocation-strategies/memory-allocation-libraries/manual-memory-management-utilities.md) — Offers a compact utility for manual memory lifecycle management and direct heap control. - [Operating System Development](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/operating-system-development.md) — Supports low-level memory management requirements for custom kernel and operating system development. ### Part of an Awesome List - [Free Block Search Strategies](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/memory-allocators/memory-allocation-strategies/free-list-allocators/free-block-search-strategies.md) — Uses a first-fit search strategy to efficiently locate available memory segments within the heap. ### Programming Languages & Runtimes - [Heap Initialization Routines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/programming-languages-runtimes/static-memory-allocations/static-initialization/heap-initialization-routines.md) — Configures a pre-allocated memory region into a managed heap structure by initializing the starting header. ### Software Engineering & Architecture - [Boundary Tag Coalescers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/block-based-data-models/data-block-memory-management/contiguous-memory-buffers/manual-pointer-management/pointer-memory-management/manual-pointer-deallocations/boundary-tag-coalescers.md) — Implements boundary-tag coalescing to merge adjacent free memory blocks and minimize heap fragmentation. - [Pointer Arithmetic](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/integer-arithmetic/pointer-arithmetic.md) — Performs direct byte-level pointer arithmetic to calculate offsets and manage metadata headers within the heap.