Overview

Introduction to Dynamic Memory Allocation

• Dynamic memory allocation allows programs to allocate and deallocate memory at runtime. This is particularly useful when the size of data structures is not known at compile time.

  int *dynamicArray = (int *)malloc(5 * sizeof(int));

This example dynamically allocates an array of integers with a size of 5.

Malloc and Free Functions

• The malloc function is used to allocate memory, and the free function is used to deallocate memory:

  int *dynamicArray = (int *)malloc(5 * sizeof(int)); // Use dynamicArray... free(dynamicArray);

It's crucial to release dynamically allocated memory using free to prevent memory leaks.

Calloc and Realloc Functions

• The calloc function initializes the allocated memory to zero, and realloc can be used to resize dynamically allocated memory:

  int *zeroedArray = (int *)calloc(5, sizeof(int)); int *resizedArray = (int *)realloc(zeroedArray, 10 * sizeof(int));

These functions provide additional flexibility in memory allocation and resizing.

Dynamic Memory Allocation for Structures

• Dynamic memory allocation is commonly used with structures to create dynamic structures:

  struct Person { char *name; int age; }; struct Person *personPtr = (struct Person *)malloc(sizeof(struct Person));

Here, personPtr dynamically allocates memory for a Person structure.

Proper Memory Deallocation

• Proper memory deallocation is crucial to avoid memory leaks. Always use free to release dynamically allocated memory when it is no longer needed.

  free(dynamicArray);

Failure to deallocate memory can lead to inefficient memory usage and, in the long run, program instability.

Understanding dynamic memory allocation is essential for building dynamic data structures and managing memory efficiently in C programming.

If you have specific questions or if there are additional topics you'd like to explore, feel free to ask!