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<h4 class="subsection">3.2.2 Unconstrained Allocation</h4>

<p><a name="index-unconstrained-memory-allocation-254"></a><a name="index-g_t_0040code_007bmalloc_007d-function-255"></a><a name="index-heap_002c-dynamic-allocation-from-256"></a>
The most general dynamic allocation facility is <code>malloc</code>.  It
allows you to allocate blocks of memory of any size at any time, make
them bigger or smaller at any time, and free the blocks individually at
any time (or never).

<ul class="menu">
<li><a accesskey="1" href="Basic-Allocation.html#Basic-Allocation">Basic Allocation</a>:             Simple use of <code>malloc</code>. 
<li><a accesskey="2" href="Malloc-Examples.html#Malloc-Examples">Malloc Examples</a>:              Examples of <code>malloc</code>.  <code>xmalloc</code>. 
<li><a accesskey="3" href="Freeing-after-Malloc.html#Freeing-after-Malloc">Freeing after Malloc</a>:         Use <code>free</code> to free a block you
				 got with <code>malloc</code>. 
<li><a accesskey="4" href="Changing-Block-Size.html#Changing-Block-Size">Changing Block Size</a>:          Use <code>realloc</code> to make a block
				 bigger or smaller. 
<li><a accesskey="5" href="Allocating-Cleared-Space.html#Allocating-Cleared-Space">Allocating Cleared Space</a>:     Use <code>calloc</code> to allocate a
				 block and clear it. 
<li><a accesskey="6" href="Efficiency-and-Malloc.html#Efficiency-and-Malloc">Efficiency and Malloc</a>:        Efficiency considerations in use of
				 these functions. 
<li><a accesskey="7" href="Aligned-Memory-Blocks.html#Aligned-Memory-Blocks">Aligned Memory Blocks</a>:        Allocating specially aligned memory. 
<li><a accesskey="8" href="Malloc-Tunable-Parameters.html#Malloc-Tunable-Parameters">Malloc Tunable Parameters</a>:    Use <code>mallopt</code> to adjust allocation
                                 parameters. 
<li><a accesskey="9" href="Heap-Consistency-Checking.html#Heap-Consistency-Checking">Heap Consistency Checking</a>:    Automatic checking for errors. 
<li><a href="Hooks-for-Malloc.html#Hooks-for-Malloc">Hooks for Malloc</a>:             You can use these hooks for debugging
				 programs that use <code>malloc</code>. 
<li><a href="Statistics-of-Malloc.html#Statistics-of-Malloc">Statistics of Malloc</a>:         Getting information about how much
				 memory your program is using. 
<li><a href="Summary-of-Malloc.html#Summary-of-Malloc">Summary of Malloc</a>:            Summary of <code>malloc</code> and related functions. 
</ul>

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