heap.h File Reference

heap memory manager More...

#include <stdint.h>

Go to the source code of this file.

Data Structures
struct	heap_stats

Typedefs
typedef struct heap_stats	heap_stats_t

Functions
int32_t	Heap_Init (void)
	Initializes/resets the heap to a clean state where no memory is allocated. More...
void *	Heap_Malloc (int32_t desiredBytes)
	Allocate memory. More...
void *	Heap_Calloc (int32_t desiredBytes)
	Zero-allocate memory. More...
void *	Heap_Realloc (void *oldBlock, int32_t desiredBytes)
	Grow/shrink memory. More...
int32_t	Heap_Free (void *pointer)
	Free memory. More...
int32_t	Heap_Stats (heap_stats_t *stats)
	Get heap usage. More...

Detailed Description

heap memory manager

Dynamic memory management on a heap

Version

V1.0

Author

Valvano (originally by Jacob Egner)

Copyright

Copyright 2026 by Jonathan W. Valvano, valva.nosp@m.no@m.nosp@m.ail.u.nosp@m.texa.nosp@m.s.edu,

Warning

AS-IS

Note

For more information see http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/

Date

Jan 10, 2026

Function Documentation

Heap_Calloc()

void* Heap_Calloc

(

int32_t

desiredBytes

)

Zero-allocate memory.

Allocate memory, allocated memory is initialized to 0 (zeroed out)

Parameters

desiredBytes

desired number of bytes to allocate

Returns

void* pointing to the allocated memory block or will return NULL if there isn't sufficient space to satisfy allocation request

Heap_Free()

int32_t Heap_Free

(

void *

pointer

)

Free memory.

Return a block to the heap

Parameters

pointer

to memory to unallocate

Returns

0 if everything is ok, non-zero in case of error (e.g. invalid pointer or trying to unallocate memory that has already been unallocated)

Heap_Init()

int32_t Heap_Init

(

void

)

Initializes/resets the heap to a clean state where no memory is allocated.

Initialize the Heap

Parameters

none

Returns

always 0 (success)

Heap_Malloc()

void* Heap_Malloc

(

int32_t

desiredBytes

)

Allocate memory.

Allocate memory, data not initialized

Parameters

desiredBytes

desired number of bytes to allocate

Returns

void* pointing to the allocated memory or will return NULL if there isn't sufficient space to satisfy allocation request

Heap_Realloc()

void* Heap_Realloc	(	void *	oldBlock,
		int32_t	desiredBytes
	)

Grow/shrink memory.

Reallocate buffer to a new size. The given block may be unallocated and its contents copied to a new block

Parameters

oldBlock	pointer to a block
desiredBytes	a desired number of bytes for a new block

Returns

void* pointing to the new block or will return NULL if there is any reason the reallocation can't be completed

Heap_Stats()

int32_t Heap_Stats

(

heap_stats_t *

stats

)

Get heap usage.

Return the current usage status of the heap

Parameters

reference

to a heap_stats_t that returns the current usage of the heap

Returns

0 in case of success, non-zeror in case of error (e.g. corrupted heap)