memalloc

A custom implementation of memory allocation functions in C using the sbrk Unix kernel syscall. This project provides a robust and educational approach to understanding memory management by implementing malloc, free, realloc, and calloc from scratch. It also includes utilities for debugging and demonstrates usage in various data structures.

Features

• Custom Memory Allocation: Implements memory allocation using sbrk.
• Thread-Safe Operations: Ensures safe usage in multithreaded environments with pthread_mutex_t.
• Memory Management: Supports splitting and coalescing memory blocks to reduce fragmentation.
• Debugging Utilities: Provides functions to print memory statistics and layout.
• Standard Functions: Implements malloc, free, realloc, and calloc.

Future Enhancements

• Improved Fragmentation Handling: Reduce memory fragmentation for better performance.
• Optimized sbrk Usage: Enhance performance by minimizing system calls.
• Advanced Debugging Tools: Add visualization tools for memory layout and usage.

Prerequisites

• Make: Version 4.4.1 or higher.
• GCC: Version 14.1.1 or higher.
• Unix-based System: The project uses sbrk, which is not supported on Windows.

Build and Run

Compiling the Project

To compile the project, use the make command:

make

Running Examples

To run any of the examples, use the following command:

make <example_name>

For example:

make linked_list

Example Usage

Linked List Example

The linked_list.c file demonstrates how to use the custom allocator to manage memory for a linked list:

list push(list *root, int val) {
    list new_node = (list)malloc(sizeof(Node));
    new_node->val = val;
    new_node->next = *root;
    *root = new_node;
    return new_node;
}

Binary Tree Example

The binary_tree.c file shows how to use the custom allocator for a binary tree:

tree insert(tree *root, int val) {
    if (!(*root)) {
        *root = malloc(sizeof(Node));
        (*root)->val = val;
        (*root)->right = NULL;
        (*root)->left = NULL;
        return *root;
    }
    // ...existing code...
}

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the need to understand low-level memory management.
• Special thanks to the open-source community for providing valuable resources.