Man Linux: Main Page and Category List

NAME

       cfree - free allocated memory

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       /* In SunOS 4 */
       int cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In glibc or FreeBSD libcompat */
       void cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In SCO OpenServer */
       void cfree(char *ptr, unsigned num, unsigned size);

       /* In Solaris watchmalloc.so.1 */
       void cfree(void *ptr, size_t nelem, size_t elsize);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

       cfree(): _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION

       This function should never be used.  Use free(3) instead.

   1-arg cfree
       In  glibc,  the  function  cfree() is a synonym for free(3), "added for
       compatibility with SunOS".

       Other systems have other functions with this name.  The declaration  is
       sometimes in <stdlib.h> and sometimes in <malloc.h>.

   3-arg cfree
       Some  SCO  and Solaris versions have malloc libraries with a 3-argument
       cfree(), apparently as an analog to calloc(3).

       If you need it while porting something, add

           #define cfree(p, n, s) free((p))

       to your file.

       A frequently asked question is  "Can  I  use  free(3)  to  free  memory
       allocated  with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?"  Answer: use free(3).

       An SCO manual writes: "The cfree routine is provided for compliance  to
       the  iBCSe2 standard and simply calls free.  The num and size arguments
       to cfree are not used."

RETURN VALUE

       The SunOS version of cfree() (which is a synonym for free(3)) returns 1
       on success and 0 on failure.  In case of error, errno is set to EINVAL:
       the value of ptr was not a pointer to a block previously  allocated  by
       one of the routines in the malloc(3) family.

CONFORMING TO

       The 3-argument version of cfree() as used by SCO conforms to the iBCSe2
       standard: Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.

SEE ALSO

       malloc(3)

COLOPHON

       This page is part of release 3.24 of the Linux  man-pages  project.   A
       description  of  the project, and information about reporting bugs, can
       be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.

                                  2007-07-26