Memory Management

Functions for low-level memory operations. More...

Files
file	ft_memory.c
	Low-level memory manipulation utilities.
file	ft_memory.h
	Low-level memory manipulation functions.

Functions
void	ft_bzero (void *s, size_t n)
	Sets a block of memory to zero.
void *	ft_calloc (size_t nmemb, size_t size)
	Allocates and zeroes memory for an array.
void *	ft_memchr (const void *s, int c, size_t n)
	Scans memory for a specific byte.
int	ft_memcmp (const void *s1, const void *s2, size_t n)
	Compares two memory blocks.
void *	ft_memcpy (void *dest, const void *src, size_t n)
	Copies memory from source to destination.
void *	ft_memmove (void *dest, const void *src, size_t n)
	Copies memory safely, handling overlapping regions.
void *	ft_memset (void *s, int c, size_t n)
	Fills memory with a constant byte.
void *	ft_realloc (void *ptr, size_t old_size, size_t new_size)
	Resizes a memory block.

Detailed Description

Functions for low-level memory operations.

This group contains functions that replicate or extend common C standard library memory operations, including:

• Allocation (ft_calloc, ft_realloc)
• Initialization (ft_bzero, ft_memset)
• Copying and moving (ft_memcpy, ft_memmove)
• Comparison and search (ft_memcmp, ft_memchr)

These utilities provide safer or more convenient alternatives to their standard counterparts and are useful throughout custom C projects.

This group includes:

• ft_calloc
• ft_realloc
• ft_bzero
• ft_memchr
• ft_memcmp
• ft_memcpy
• ft_memmove
• ft_memset

Function Documentation

ft_bzero()

void ft_bzero	(	void *	s,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Sets a block of memory to zero.

Sets the first n bytes of the memory area pointed to by s to zero ('\0' bytes). Useful for initializing buffers or memory blocks.

Parameters

s	Pointer to the memory area to zero out.
n	Number of bytes to set to zero.

Returns

Nothing.

Note

Behaves similarly to the standard bzero function. Often used with malloc, calloc, or custom memory allocators.

See also

ft_memset

ft_calloc()

void * ft_calloc	(	size_t	nmemb,
		size_t	size
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Allocates and zeroes memory for an array.

Allocates memory for nmemb elements of size bytes each and initializes all memory to zero. Includes overflow protection.

Parameters

nmemb	Number of elements.
size	Size of each element in bytes.

Returns

Pointer to the allocated memory, or NULL on failure.

Note

Equivalent to malloc(nmemb * size) followed by ft_memset(ptr, 0, ...).

See also

ft_memset

ft_memchr()

void * ft_memchr	(	const void *	s,
		int	c,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Scans memory for a specific byte.

Searches the first n bytes of the memory area pointed to by s for the first occurrence of the byte c.

Parameters

s	Pointer to the memory block to scan.
c	Byte to search for.
n	Number of bytes to scan.

Returns

A pointer to the matching byte, or NULL if not found.

ft_memcmp()

int ft_memcmp	(	const void *	s1,
		const void *	s2,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Compares two memory blocks.

Compares the first n bytes of memory areas s1 and s2. Comparison is done byte by byte using unsigned characters.

Parameters

s1	Pointer to the first memory block.
s2	Pointer to the second memory block.
n	Number of bytes to compare.

Returns

Difference between first differing bytes, or 0 if equal.

ft_memcpy()

void * ft_memcpy	(	void *	dest,
		const void *	src,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Copies memory from source to destination.

Copies n bytes from src to dest. Performs fast 8-byte chunks when possible. Does not support overlapping memory regions.

Parameters

dest	Pointer to destination memory.
src	Pointer to source memory.
n	Number of bytes to copy.

Returns

A pointer to dest, or NULL if either pointer is NULL.

Warning

Use ft_memmove instead when memory regions overlap.

ft_memmove()

void * ft_memmove	(	void *	dest,
		const void *	src,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Copies memory safely, handling overlapping regions.

Copies n bytes from src to dest. Chooses forward or backward copy direction based on pointer alignment to avoid corruption.

Parameters

dest	Pointer to destination memory.
src	Pointer to source memory.
n	Number of bytes to copy.

Returns

A pointer to dest.

Note

This function is safe for overlapping memory regions.

See also

ft_memcpy

ft_memset()

void * ft_memset	(	void *	s,
		int	c,
		size_t	n
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Fills memory with a constant byte.

Sets the first n bytes of the memory area pointed to by s to the byte value c, converted to unsigned char.

Parameters

s	Pointer to the memory area to fill.
c	Byte value to write into memory.
n	Number of bytes to write.

Returns

A pointer to the memory area s.

ft_realloc()

void * ft_realloc	(	void *	ptr,
		size_t	old_size,
		size_t	new_size
	)

#include <include/ft_memory.h>

Resizes a memory block.

Allocates new memory of size new_size, copies up to old_size bytes from ptr into the new block, and frees the old memory.

Parameters

ptr	Pointer to previously allocated memory.
old_size	Size of the old block.
new_size	Desired new size.

Returns

Pointer to new memory block, or NULL on failure.

Note

If ptr is NULL, behaves like malloc(new_size). If new_size is 0, frees memory and returns NULL.

See also

ft_memmove