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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
NAME
dbmalloc - debugging malloc library
SYNOPSIS
#include <malloc.h>
int malloc_chain_check(flag);
int flag;
void malloc_dump(fd);
int fd;
void malloc_list(fd,histid1,histid2);
int fd;
unsigned long histid1, histid2;
unsigned long malloc_inuse(histidptr);
unsigned long * histidptr;
void malloc_mark(ptr);
char * ptr;
int dbmallopt(cmd,val);
int cmd;
union dbmalloptarg val;
void malloc_abort();
void malloc_enter(func);
char * func;
void malloc_leave(func);
char * func;
DESCRIPTION
This malloc library is a replacement for the standard
library to be used during software development/debugging.
See the standard malloc(3) pages for more information on the
use of the following functions:
calloc(), cfree(), free(), malloc(), realloc()
This library differs from the standard malloc library in the
following ways:
1. Each malloc segment contains a magic number so that free
can verify that the pointer passed points to a valid malloc
segment.
2. Each malloc segment is filled with a non-zero pattern so
that code that depends upon malloc segments being null will
fail.
Page 1 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
3. The size of each segment will be at least 1 byte larger
than requested and the extra bytes will be filled with a
non-zero pattern. When free is called, it will verify that
you did not go beyond the number of bytes you asked for.
4. When a segment is freed, it will be filled with a
different non-zero pattern to ensure that the program
doesn't depend upon the use of already freed data.
5. Whenever any of the string or memory functions (str*, b*,
mem*) are called with a pointer that is within the malloc
arena, the operation is checked to verify that it does not
overrun the malloced segment. A failure of this check is
considered a "warning level error" (described later) and is
handled accordingly.
6. Run time checking can include verification of the malloc
chain at each and every call to one of the malloc functions
or manually by calling the malloc_chain_check function.
7. Extensive support for tracking memory leaks is provided.
When a problem is found, the following error message is
displayed:
MALLOC Warning from funcname() (called from filename.c line ###):
Warning message goes here
funcname is the name of the function that has found the
problem and will usually be an entry point into the library.
The information that identifies where the function is called
from will only be available if the source module was
compiled with the malloc.h file included.
If the error is caused by a problem in the malloc chain and
the offending chain element can be identified, the following
information is also displayed (NOTE: this is just a guess by
the software, it may not be the actual culprit):
This error is *probably* associated with the following allocation:
A call to malloc for 33 bytes in program.c on line 834.
This was the 172nd call to malloc.
Page 2 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
This example assumes that program.c included the debugging
library malloc.h file. If not, the identification
information will be as follows:
This error is *probably* associated with the following allocation:
A call to malloc for 33 bytes in an unknown file.
This was the 172nd call to malloc.
The identification of which call to malloc is associated
with the problem is helpful in that it gives you the
information necessary to set the breakpoint on the
allocation function for that particular invocation
(breakpoints usually can have counters associated with
them). The counters for the three primary allocation entry
points (malloc, calloc, and realloc) are managed separately.
NOTE 1: if you want to set a breakpoint to capture this
invocation of malloc, the actual function that is being
called is debug_malloc (or debug_realloc for realloc and
debug_calloc for calloc) and that is where the breakpoint
should be set.
NOTE 2: Since the software is guessing at the offending
malloc chain segment, it is possible that one of the nearby
segments is actually the culprit. If the environment
variable MALLOC_SHOW_LINKS is set, both the segment
preceding and the segment following the accused segment will
also be identified. The following is a sample output:
This error is *probably* associated with the following allocation:
A call to malloc for 33 bytes in an unknown file.
This was the 172nd call to malloc.
The malloc chain element prior to the suspect allocation is from:
A call to calloc for 512 bytes in main.c line 16.
This was the 4th call to calloc.
This block was freed on the 2nd call to free()
in main.c on line 51.
The malloc chain element following the suspect allocation is from:
A call to realloc for 4096 bytes in func.c line 376.
This was the 1st call to realloc.
Page 3 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
Once the error message has been displayed, the software will
then determine how to handle the error. This handling will
be based upon the type of error level (warning or fatal) and
the error handling in effect for that error level (as
specified by calls to mallopt or via environment variables).
The coding for the error handling is as follows:
0 continue operations
1 drop core and exit
2 just exit
3 drop core, but continue executing. Core files will be
placed into core.[PID].[counter] i.e: core.00123.001
128 dump malloc chain and continue
129 dump malloc chain, dump core, and exit
130 dump malloc chain, exit
131 dump malloc chain, dump core, continue processing
dbmallopt() is used to set the malloc debugging options. The
following options can be set:
MALLOC_WARN set the error handling for warning level
errors. val.i is an integer that can
contain any one of the following values:
M_HANDLE_IGNORE ignore error (just
display warning
message and continue
processing)
M_HANDLE_ABORT drop core and exit
M_HANDLE_EXIT just exit (no core
drop)
M_HANDLE_CORE drop core, but keep
on going
In addition, M_HANDLE_DUMP may be or'd
in to cause a dump of the current malloc
chain.
The default action for MALLOC_WARN is
M_HANDLE_IGNORE.
MALLOC_FATAL set the error handling for fatal level
errors. val.i is equivalent to val.i
for MALLOC_WARN.
The default action for MALLOC_FATAL is
M_HANDLE_ABORT.
MALLOC_ERRFILE set the destination for malloc error
messages. val.str is a pointer to a
character string containing the name of
the file to be used for error messages.
Page 4 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
Note that error messages are APPENDED to
this file, so existing error messages
will not be removed.
If MALLOC_ERRFILE is not set, all error
messages will be sent to stderr.
MALLOC_CKCHAIN set the malloc chain checking flag. If
val.i is non-zero, chain checking at
every call to malloc is turned on. The
default behavior is to not check the
chain at each call to malloc because of
performance issues (the library is
considerably slower when this function
is enabled).
MALLOC_FREEMARK sets the behavior of freeing of marked
areas. By default, a free of a marked
segment generates a warning. If val.i
is zero, warnings will not be generated.
MALLOC_FILLAREA set the malloc fill area flag. val.i
specifies the malloc filling mode to be
used. There are four modes: 0, 1, 2
and 3. Mode 0 disables all filling and
checking of filled areas (thereby
reducing the effectiveness of the
library). Mode 1 enables the filling of
boundary areas before and after the
allocation areas which are used to check
for writing before or after the pointer.
Mode 2 includes mode 1 and adds the
filling of malloced regions with a
specified fill pattern so that a program
does not depend upon malloced regions to
be filled with zeros. Mode 3 includes
all of mode 2 and adds the filling of
free'd regions so that an attempt to
used a freed data area will result in an
error.
As far as performance is concerned, mode
0 will be the fastest mode, while
(somewhat unexpectedly) mode 3 is the
next "fastest" mode with mode 1 bring up
the tail end.
The default behavior for MALLOC_FILLAREA
is mode 3.
MALLOC_LOWFRAG set the malloc allocation fragmentation
handling level. By default, malloc uses
Page 5 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
a first fit algorithm for new
allocations. Under certain allocation
scenarios, this can lead to significant
memory fragmentation because of the fact
that little allocations can break big
blocks up.
If val.i is non-zero, malloc uses a best
fit algorithm which will reduce
fragmentation. This mechanism, while
using less memory, is slower because the
entire free list is checked instead of
just checking until we find a segment
that is at least big enough. Normally
you will not need to set this variable.
MALLOC_CKDATA enable/disable the checking of pointers
passed to the memory (mem*,b*) and
string (str*) functions. This can be
used to startup the code with checking
disabled (when you know the startup code
is functioning correctly) and then turn
it on later when you get into the area
of the code that is in question.
if val.i is non-zero, pointer checking
is enabled (which is the default mode).
MALLOC_REUSE enable/disable the reuse of freed
segments. This option can be used to
help identify where a freed pointer is
being re-used, or where it is being
freed a second time, since the location
where it was freed is also kept.
It should be noted that the memory
requirements for a program will
typically increase significantly if this
option is used.
if val.i is zero, freed segments are not
reused for subsequent allocations. If
non-zero, freed segments can be reused.
If freed segments are not re-used, you
might want to disable filling of freed
segments (see the MALLOC_FILLAREA
discussions) so that you can see the
data in the segment - this would be fill
mode 2 or below.
Page 6 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
For example, to set up the session to generate a core file
for every malloc warning, to drop core and exit on a malloc
fatal, and to log all messages to the file "malloc_log" do
the following:
#include <malloc.h>
union dbmalloptarg m;
m.i = M_HANDLE_CORE | M_HANDLE_DUMP;
dbmallopt(MALLOC_WARN,m);
m.i = M_HANDLE_ABORT;
dbmallopt(MALLOC_FATAL,m);
m.str = "malloc_log";
dbmallopt(MALLOC_ERRFILE,m);
dbmallopt() can be used to set/alter the debugging options
at any time (i.e. you may want to turn on chain-checking
after the program startup if the program startup does a lot
of allocations which are known to be OK).
malloc_chain_check() will check the status of the malloc
arena. If flag is non-zero, an error found in the chain
will cause a fatal error. malloc_chain_check() returns zero
when there are no problems found in the malloc chain, non-
zero otherwise.
malloc_dump() will dump a list of all in-use malloc segments
and the first few bytes of each segment. If the environment
variable MALLOC_DETAIL is set to a non-zero integer, all
segments (including those that have been freed) are listed
and additional internal information is displayed. fd is the
file descriptor to write the data to.
malloc_list() will dump a list in the same format as
malloc_dump but only the items that are still in use and
which have been allocated within the malloc history id range
specified by histid1 and histid2, inclusive. The histids
are obtained from calls to malloc_inuse(). This is
especially useful in tracking down memory leaks. fd is the
file descriptor to write the data to.
malloc_inuse() returns the amount of malloc data that is
currently in use (in bytes). If histidptr is not NULL, it
is taken to be a pointer to a place to store the current
malloc history id which can be used later when malloc_list
is called to list items that are still in use.
Page 7 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
The following example shows the typical use of the
malloc_inuse and malloc_list functions in tracking down
memory leaks:
unsigned long histid1, histid2, orig_size, current_size;
orig_size = malloc_inuse(&histid1);
/* ..... go do lots of stuff ...... */
current_size = malloc_inuse(&histid2);
if( current_size != orig_size )
{
malloc_list(2,histid1,histid2);
}
malloc_mark() marks a segment as a non-leak. Segments that
are marked are not counted or listed when dealing with
memory leaks. This is designed to be used on pointers that
remain around forever and shouldn't be considered to be a
leak (in order to decrease the amount of entries in the leak
lists)
malloc_abort() causes the current program to drop core and
exit. This function simply calls abort() to do its dirty
work and is here solely for the purpose of allowing the
programmer to substitute thier own abort routine to handle
fatal errors. If a substitute routine is used, it must not
return to the caller or else the program will use the
abort() system call to cause the program to stop.
malloc_enter() and malloc_leave() provide a rudimentary
mechanism to track the calling stack that was in place when
the allocation was made. In order to use this feature, the
enter function should be called upon entry to a function,
while the leave function is called when you exit from the
function. In order to be accurate, the two functions must
be used in conjunction with each other and a missing call
will result in an error generated by the library (if it is
detected).
NOTE: the argument to either of these functions must be a
constant character string or a static data area. This is
because the stack mechanism does not maintain it's own copy
of these strings, it just records pointers to the strings
and if the strings are on the stack, they will go away.
Typically the functions would be used with "funcname" as the
argument and this will avoid any problems.
Page 8 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
The stack is listed on the dump and/or list reports and on
an error message for a segment that has already been freed.
If these functions have been used, error messages will
include the stack information when the identity of the error
is displayed. For example:
This error is *probably* associated with the following allocation:
A call to malloc for 1 bytes in teststack.c on line 75.
This was the 13th call to malloc.
Stack from where allocated:
-> sub3() in teststack.c(73)
-> sub2() in teststack.c(59)
-> main() in teststack.c(23)
USAGE
The library can be used in several modes, each increasingly
intrusive (i.e. requiring changes to be made to the build
process and/or source code). However, the extra cost of a
little intrusiveness is repaid in much better problem
identification. Each mode is built upon the previous modes
and therefore requires the changes and/or commands specified
in the lower modes.
MODE 1 - library substitution
The simplest use is to just link the object module with the
libdbmalloc.a. Be sure to have this library before the C
library (libc.a) on the link command (this is automatic if
you use cc to link and specify the debug library without
specifying the C library).
This mode links in all of the debug versions of the library
modules and will trap as many errors as it can (yes, there
are errors that the malloc library cannot catch).
Environment variables can be used to control the behavior of
the library.
Page 9 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
MODE 2 - malloc.h inclusion
This mode involves including the malloc.h file included with
the debugging library. The malloc.h file includes macros
that will identify the source line and file name for each
debugging function called. This is how the library is able
to tell you that it was the call to malloc on line 55 in
file junk.c.
Typically you should always include malloc.h in your source
files and just use the -I INCLUDEDIR directive for the
compiler to point the compiler to the debugging version of
the header file instead of the normal file. That way you
don't have to change the source files when you want to turn
off the debugging library.
NOTE: Once you compile code in this mode, you must recompile
the code without the debugging malloc.h include file in
order to get the software to use the non-debugging
functions.
MODE 3 - run-time specification of options
Environment variables can be used to control the behavior of
the debugging library to some extent. However, this control
is very coarse in that you only have one setting available
for the entire running of the program.
This can be a problem if you want to turn on malloc chain
checking, but know that the problem occurs between a
relatively narrow portion of the code and don't want to take
the hit of having chain checking on for the entire program
execution.
The solution to this problem is to include calls to
dbmallopt() with the debugging options which set the
appropriate modes when you want them set. Since you don't
want to have to change the code to remove and add these
functions every time you decide to include malloc debugging
or not, the malloc.h file defines the preprocessor symbol
_DEBUG_MALLOC_INC which can be used in your code as follows:
#ifdef _DEBUG_MALLOC_INC
dbmallopt(.... );
#endif
In addition to setting behavior options, you might want to
make use of the memory leak detection routines in this mode.
These calls should also be surrounded by #ifdefs for the
debug malloc symbol so that you can leave them in the code
and automatically get the increased functionality whenever
you compile with the debugging library.
Page 10 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
MODE 4 - deeper inclusion of malloc calls
This mode involves inserting calls to the special functions
supported by the malloc library (like the leak detection or
stack maintenance routines). The effects of the inclusions
depends upon the modules included and the amount to which
they are used.
It is strongly recommended that you setup your code with the
following lines in a header file that is included by all
modules, or just add the code to the beginning of the
modules themselves:
#ifndef _DEBUG_MALLOC_INC
#define malloc_enter(func)
#define malloc_leave(func)
#define malloc_chain_check()
#define malloc_dump(fd)
#define malloc_list(a,b,c)
#define malloc_inuse(hist) (*(hist) = 0, 0)
#endif
This will automatically disable the referenced functions
when the malloc library is not included (as should be the
case when you make a production build).
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Environment variables can be used to control error handling,
error logging and malloc chain checking at run time. Most
of these environment variables can be set via the
dbmallopt() routine and are well described in that portion
of the document. Look for further information there.
The following environment variables are used:
MALLOC_BOUNDSIZE This specifies the minimum number of
bytes that the allocation routines will
leave unused at the end of each segment.
This value may be any non-zero positive
integer (although you must remember that
the amount of memory used is directly
related to this buffer area.
It may be necessary to increase this
value if you think you have a module
that is writing far enough beyond its
malloc segment that it changes the next
segment (and therefore doesn't make a
change that this library would be able
to detect.
The default for this value is 1
Page 11 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
(although because of memory alignment
issues, you will usually have more than
one byte of filler at the end of most
segments).
MALLOC_CKCHAIN if 1, turns on malloc chain checking at
every call to any of the malloc
functions.
MALLOC_DETAIL if set to a non-zero integer,
malloc_dump shows some internal detail
for each entry in the chain. This info
is probably only of use if you are
debugging the malloc library itself.
MALLOC_ERRFILE specifies the error log file for error
messages. Error messages generated by
the library are APPENDED to this file,
so if you want a clean file, you will
have to remove or empty it yourself
between runs. If this option is used,
no indication of an error will be sent
to stdout or stderr (this is
purposefully done this way so that if
you are running a full screen program,
it doesn't mess up the screen).
MALLOC_FATAL specifies the error handling for fatal
errors
MALLOC_FILLAREA specifies the fill area flag setting.
If zero, malloc/free area filling and
checking is disabled (thereby increasing
performance, while decreasing
effectiveness of the library). See the
discussion of the dbmallopt() arguments
for more info on other settings.
MALLOC_FILLBYTE This specifies the integer value of the
character to use when filling allocated
areas. This value defaults to 1 and
must be within the range of 0 - 255.
This capability is useful if you believe
that you are having a problem with code
that is trashing its malloc region with
a data pattern that matches the default
fill pattern.
NOTE: if an attempt is made to use a
value outside the specified range, the
new value is silently ignored and the
default is used.
MALLOC_FREEBYTE This specifies the integer value of the
character to use when filling freed
areas. This value defaults to 1 and
must be within the range of 0 - 255. It
should also be different from
MALLOC_FILLBYTE, but that is not
Page 12 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
enforced.
NOTE: if an attempt is made to use a
value outside the specified range, the
new value is silently ignored and the
default is used.
MALLOC_LOWFRAG if 1, turns on best fit allocation
algorithm. Otherwise, first fit
algorithm is used for finding allocation
segments (which can cause memory
fragmentation).
MALLOC_CKDATA if 0, disables checking of pointers
passed to string/memory functions for
malloc region overwrites.
MALLOC_REUSE if 0, disables reuse of freed memory
segments and it does not fill free'd
segments with the fill pattern. If 1,
freed segments are filled and they can
be reused. If 2, freed segments can be
reused, but they are not filled when
freed.
MALLOC_SHOW_LINKS when an error is found, the suspected
allocation is displayed. However, since
it is possible that the next or previous
allocation in the malloc chain was the
actual culprit these links may be of
interest. If this variable is set to a
non-zero integer (i.e. 1) the links will
also be shown.
MALLOC_WARN specifies the error handling for warning
errors
As an example, to set up the session to generate a core file
for every malloc warning, to drop core and exit on a malloc
fatal, and to log all messages to the file "malloc_log" do
the following:
MALLOC_WARN=131
MALLOC_FATAL=1
MALLOC_ERRFILE=malloc_log
export MALLOC_WARN MALLOC_FATAL MALLOC_ERRFILE
Page 13 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
ERROR MESSAGES
The following error messages are reported by the library:
M_CODE_BAD_CONNECT Pointers between this segment
and adjoining segments are
invalid.
This error indicates that the
malloc chain has been
corrupted. This is most often
caused by an overwrite of the
malloc header by an access via
the previous malloc segment.
M_CODE_BAD_MAGIC Malloc region does not have a
valid magic number in header.
This error is caused by
several mechanisms including
free()ing the same pointer
twice or a pointer that was
not returned by malloc(), or
writing beyond the end of a
segment.
M_CODE_BAD_PTR Pointer is not within malloc
region.
The pointer passed to free
orrealloc is not pointer
returned by malloc. Another
cause is corruption of the
malloc chain by writing beyond
the end of a segment.
M_CODE_CHAIN_BROKE Malloc chain is corrupted,
pointers out of order.
Corruption has been detected
in the malloc chain that is
related to the relative
positions of the malloc chain
segments in memory. This is
an indication that someone has
overwritten beyond the amount
they allocated.
Page 14 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
M_CODE_FREELIST_BAD Malloc segment in free list is
in-use.
A segment that is in the
free-list is flagged as in-
use. This is usually caused
by overwriting from the
previous segment in the malloc
chain.
M_CODE_FREEMARK Free called to free a segment
that has been marked.
Marking a segment is done
because you believe that the
segment will not be free'd and
therefore don't want it to
appear in the list of possible
leaks. If you then go on to
free it, perhaps it shouldn't
have been marked.
This error message can be
disabled with the
MALLOC_FREEMARK option on the
dbmallopt() function.
M_CODE_NOBOUND Unable to determine doubleword
boundary
The code was unable to figure
out the boundary requirements
for a doubleword. This error
should never occur.
M_CODE_NOMORE_MEM Unable to get additional
memory from the system.
The system call sbrk failed to
obtain more memory for the
program.
M_CODE_NOT_INUSE Data is not in use (can't be
freed or reallocated).
A pointer to a malloc segment
has been passed to free() or
realloc(), but this segment
has already been freed.
Page 15 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
M_CODE_NO_END Malloc chain is corrupted, end
before end pointer.
Yet another overwrite problem.
This error means that we got
to what we believe is the end
of the chain, but it does not
match the recorded end of the
chain.
M_CODE_OUTOF_BOUNDS Pointer within malloc region,
but outside of malloc data
bounds.
This is caused by a call to
one of the string/memory
functions that attempt to
read/write bytes that are not
included in the allocation
associated with that memory.
This is the most typical error
that you will see from the
malloc library.
M_CODE_OVERRUN Data has overrun beyond
requested number of bytes.
This error is detected by
free() and indicates that the
current segment has written
data beyond the number of
bytes that it requested. This
only catches overwrites when
they are within the extra
space allocated with each
segment (this can range from
one to eight bytes). If the
overwrite occurs further along
it will usually cause some
corruption in the malloc
chain.
M_CODE_REUSE Data in free'd area has been
modified.
Data in a freed segment has
been modified. This usually
indicates that the program is
using a pointer after it
called free, but it may also
be caused by an overwrite from
a previous segment in the
Page 16 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
chain.
M_CODE_STK_BADFUNC Current function name doesn't
match name on stack.
malloc_leave() was called with
a function name that is not
the current function. This is
usually caused by a missing
call to malloc_enter() in the
same function, or a missing
call to malloc_leave() in a
sub-function.
M_CODE_STK_NOCUR No current function on stack,
probably missing call to
malloc_enter().
malloc_leave() was called with
a function name and there is
no current function (the stack
is empty). This is usually
caused by a missing call to
malloc_enter(), or an extra
call to malloc_leave() in the
same function.
M_CODE_UNDERRUN Data has written before
beginning of requested bytes.
This error is detected by
free() and indicates that the
current segment has written
data before the beginning of
the requested block. This
only catches overwrites when
they are within the extra
space allocated before each
segment (this is usually four
bytes). If the overwrite
occurs further back it will
usually cause some corruption
in the malloc chain.
M_CODE_ZERO_ALLOC An allocation routine was
called to allocate zero bytes.
While ANSI C requires that
allocations of zero bytes are
permissible and should be
supported, the behavior of
such an operation can be
Page 17 1.11
DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
undefined on non-ANSI systems.
This warning will alert you to
the locations where these
calls are made.
This error message can be
disabled with the MALLOC_ZERO
option on the dbmallopt()
function.
DUMP OUTPUT
Sample dump/list output:
************************** Dump of Malloc Chain ****************************
POINTER FILE WHERE LINE ALLOC DATA HEX DUMP
TO DATA ALLOCATED NUMBER FUNCT LENGTH OF BYTES 1-7
-------- -------------------- ------- -------------- ------- --------------
0x403DB4 teststack.c 75 malloc(1) 40 01010101010101
-> sub3() in teststack.c(73)
-> main() in teststack.c(23)
0x403E0C testerr.c 16 realloc(1) 20 01010101010101
The info in each column is as follows:
POINTER the pointer returned by the allocation
function (the pointer the the allocated
data area).
FILE the name of the file where the
allocation function was called. This
information is only available if the
source file includes the malloc.h file
from this library (as opposed to the
system include file). If the source
file did not include this file, the file
will be listed as unknown and the line
number will be blank. Note that any
malloc calls from system libraries will
probably not have been compiled with the
malloc.h file included and will
therefore appear as unknown.
LINE NUM The line number of the line that called
the allocation function. This field
will be left blank if the malloc.h from
this library was not included in the
source file when it was compiled.
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
ALLOC FUNC The allocation function called: malloc,
realloc, or calloc. The number in
parenthesis following the function name
is the call number for that particular
function. For example: malloc(1) means
that this allocation was the 1st call to
malloc.
DATA LEN The number of bytes allocated.
HEX DUMP A hexadecimal dump of the first seven
bytes in the allocated data. This
example shows the bytes filled with
0x01s which happen to be the fill
pattern used by the malloc library (to
make sure that one doesn't depend upon
the fact that some calls to malloc
result in NULL bytes). So the
allocations that are shown haven't
stored any data in the area yet.
The lines that begin with a "->" are stack dump lines which
show the calling environment that was present when the are
was allocated. The environment is managed via the use of
the malloc_enter() and malloc_leave() routines.
If the environment variable MALLOC_DETAIL is non-zero, the
following additional information will be included:
************************************************************** Du...
FREE FREE ACTUAL SIZE ...
PTR NEXT PREV NEXT PREV FLAGS INT HEX ...
-------- -------- -------- -------- -------- ---------- -------- --------- ...
0x403C94 0x403CEC 0x40326C 0x000000 0x000000 0x03156111 48(0x000030) ...
0x403CEC 0x403D2C 0x403C94 0x000000 0x000000 0x03156121 24(0x000018) ...
0x403D2C 0x403D6C 0x403CEC 0x000000 0x403D6C 0x03156120 24(0x000018) ...
0x403D6C 0x000000 0x403D2C 0x403D2C 0x000000 0x03156120 24(0x000018) ...
Malloc start: 0x40326C
Malloc end: 0x403D2C
Malloc data start: 0x403C94
Malloc data end: 0x405C94
Malloc free list: 0x403D6C
-> 0x403D2C
NOTE that I cut off the example at the point where the
normal output would begin (hence the ...).
The info in each column is as follows:
PTR The malloc chain pointer for the segment
(the address of the segment).
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
NEXT The pointer to the next segment in the
chain.
PREV The pointer to the previous segment in the
chain.
FREE NEXT The pointer to the next segment in the free
list.
FREE PREV The pointer to the previous segment in the
free list.
FLAGS The flags associated with this segment.
This is a long integer which contains the
following fields
0xFFFFFF00 the magic number. This should
be 0x03156100 (probably
someone's birthday).
0x00000070 the type of allocation function.
Malloc (x010), realloc (0x20),
or calloc (0x30) are the only
valid values for this field).
0x00000001 the in-use flag. if this value
is non-zero, the indicated
segment is currently in use (not
freed).
ACTUAL SIZE The actual size reserved for the allocation
in both decimal and hex. This will be at
least one byte more than the requested size,
and as much as 8, so that we can check to
see if the allocation has been overrun.
Malloc start and end are pointers to the first and last
malloc chain segment, respectively.
Malloc data start and data end are the lowest and highest
data bytes managed my the malloc sub-system. These are only
used as a quick check to see if a pointer is in the malloc
region before we go hunting down the chain trying to
identify the segment it belongs to.
Malloc free list is a chain of the elements in the free list
(so it is easier for the programmer to follow the free list
if they choose to). The address of each element in the list
follows below the list head.
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
X PROGRAM DEBUGGING
The malloc library includes a set of compatibility routines
for the Xt toolkit allocation routines: XtMalloc(),
XtCalloc(), XtRealloc(),and XtFree(). These routines
provide the same level of malloc area integrity checking
that is provided by the basic malloc functions while
maintaining complete compatibility with the X11R5 functions.
If you link an X package with the debug library and you make
a call to any of the Xt allocation routines, the debug
modules will automatically be included. If you don't call
them directly, but you still want to include them in order
to better debug their use, you can add a -u linker
specification for XtRealloc. For example:
cc -o xapp -u XtRealloc xapp.o -ldbmalloc -lXt -lX....
Note that you may have to add an underscore before the
XtRealloc if your compiler does this automatically.
A second potential problem with X is caused by a difference
between X11R4 and X11R5. If you only have one of theses
packages, then the malloc library will be automatically
configured to handle that package. If, however, you have
both of them installed and you need to be able to link with
either system, you may have to add a -u _XtHeapInit to the
link line on the X11R5 links. This is because X11R5 defines
both the heap management and malloc management routines in
the same module, while X11R4 defines them in different
modules.
The sign of this problem is a link error due to duplicate
references to the Xt allocation routines (XtMalloc, etc).
LINKING
The order in which you link your programs can have a
significant effect on the usefulness of the library and even
on the ability to link itself. The debug library should be
placed as the first system library that you are linking to
(assuming that you are calling at least one of the malloc,
string, or memory functions).
For example, if the following is your normal link command:
cc -o app app.o supp.o else.o applib.a -lmath -lcurses
You should add the malloc debug library in between applib.a
and -lmath, which would result in the following:
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
cc -o app app.o supp.o else.o applib.a -ldbmalloc -lmath -lcurses
This will ensure that the debug malloc library overrides all
of the allocation routines within the other libraries.
If you have other problems compiling or linking with the
library you should look at the PROBLEMS file in the source
directory. This file contains descriptions of common
problems and the recommended solutions to the problems.
PERFORMANCE
This malloc library and its associated string and memory
functions are much less efficient than the standard
functions due in part to the extra error checking. You do
not want to use this library when generating a production
(i.e. releasable) version of your software. It should only
be used during development and testing.
The following environment variable settings will give you
the best performance (at the expense of some additional
error checking):
MALLOC_CKCHAIN=0
MALLOC_CKDATA=0
MALLOC_FILLAREA=0
MALLOC_LOWFRAG=0
We recommend against setting MALLOC_FILLAREA to zero
because, while it will increase the performance, it takes
away the capability to uncover small malloc overruns which
don't overrite the pointers surrounding the malloc regions.
The same anti-recommendation applies to MALLOC_CKDATA.
Anyway, with these settings, the malloc library runs at
about 1/2 the speed (things only take twice as long) as the
standard library. If you program spends most of its time in
malloc, it will still be slow (but perhaps this is an
indication that you need to consider changing the way you
are using malloc).
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
WARNINGS
The include file for this library "malloc.h" should be
included after the includes for any system related
information. This is because "malloc.h" redefines several
system functions including string and memory routines and
this will usually cause compilation errors if malloc.h is
processed first (of course, the compile errors will talk
about errors in the other system include files like
string.h).
This goes hand in hand with the fact that if you have local
definitions of the return types of standard functions like
strcmp() or malloc(), these lines will cause compile errors
due to the #defines in the malloc.h header file. Therefore,
it is suggested that you remove all such definitions from
your code and rely on the system header files to define
these functions, or you surround the definitions with #ifdef
DEBUG_MALLOC_INC.
There is a possibility that the use of sbrk() by other
modules will cause this library to get confused and possibly
report some pointers as bad when the really aren't part of
the malloc chain itself. Therefore the direct use of sbrk()
is strongly discouraged.
This library attempts to trap errors and exit/handle them
gracefully. However, the nature of the problems may be such
that it causes the code in the library itself to crash.
There is no way to avoid this, but if it does occur, turn
on chain checking to narrow the place where it will occur.
The functions in this library will often conflict with
duplicate functions in shared library versions of libc.a.
This is usually due to the fact that some shared library
modules have explicit references to shared library versions
of the debug functions. The only way around this is to not
use the shared library when linking.
This malloc library, like most malloc libraries, is not re-
entrant and therefore should not be called from interrupt
handlers because of the potential for receiving an interrupt
in the middle of a call to malloc which would really mess
things up.
SEE ALSO
malloc(3), string(3), memory(3)
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DEBUG_MALLOC(3) (VTI) DEBUG_MALLOC(3)
COPYRIGHT
(c) Copyright 1990, 1991, 1992 Conor P. Cahill (cpcahil@virtech.vti.com)
This software may be distributed freely as long as the following conditions
are met:
* the distribution, or any derivative thereof, may not be
included as part of a commercial product
* full source code is provided including this copyright
* there is no charge for the software itself (there may be
a minimal charge for the copying or distribution effort)
* this copyright notice is not modified or removed from any
source file
AUTHOR
Conor P. Cahill
Virtual Technologies Incorporated
46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160
Sterling VA 22170
703-430-9247
cpcahil@virtech.vti.com
uunet!virtech!cpcahil
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