Memory Management - Part I

Difficulty: 3 / 10
This GotW covers basics about C++'s main distinct memory stores. The following
problem attacks some deeper memory-management questions in more detail.

Problem
C++ has several distinct memory areas where objects and non-object values may be
stored, and each area has different characteristics.
Name as many of the distinct memory areas as you can. For each, summarize its
performance characteristics and describe the lifetime of objects stored there.
Example: The stack stores automatic variables, including both builtins and objects of
class type.

Solution
The following summarizes a C++ program's major distinct memory areas. Note that
some of the names (e.g., "heap") do not appear as such in the draft [standard].
Memory Area
--------------

Characteristics and Object Lifetimes

------------------------------------------------

Const Data

The const data area stores string literals and

other data whose values are known at compile
time. No objects of class type can exist in
this area. All data in this area is available
during the entire lifetime of the program.
Further, all of this data is read-only, and the
results of trying to modify it are undefined.
This is in part because even the underlying
storage format is subject to arbitrary
optimization by the implementation. For
example, a particular compiler may store string
literals in overlapping objects if it wants to.

Stack

The stack stores automatic variables. Typically

allocation is much faster than for dynamic
storage (heap or free store) because a memory
allocation involves only pointer increment
rather than more complex management. Objects

are constructed immediately after memory is

allocated and destroyed immediately before
memory is deallocated, so there is no
opportunity for programmers to directly
manipulate allocated but uninitialized stack
space (barring willful tampering using explicit
dtors and placement new).
Free Store

The free store is one of the two dynamic memory

areas, allocated/freed by new/delete. Object
lifetime can be less than the time the storage
is allocated; that is, free store objects can
have memory allocated without being immediately
initialized, and can be destroyed without the
memory being immediately deallocated. During
the period when the storage is allocated but
outside the object's lifetime, the storage may
be accessed and manipulated through a void* but
none of the proto-object's nonstatic members or
member functions may be accessed, have their
addresses taken, or be otherwise manipulated.

Heap

The heap is the other dynamic memory area,

allocated/freed by malloc/free and their
variants. Note that while the default global
new and delete might be implemented in terms of
malloc and free by a particular compiler, the
heap is not the same as free store and memory
allocated in one area cannot be safely
deallocated in the other. Memory allocated from
the heap can be used for objects of class type
by placement-new construction and explicit
destruction. If so used, the notes about free
store object lifetime apply similarly here.

Global/Static

Global or static variables and objects have

their storage allocated at program startup, but
may not be initialized until after the program
has begun executing. For instance, a static
variable in a function is initialized only the
first time program execution passes through its
definition. The order of initialization of
global variables across translation units is not
defined, and special care is needed to manage
dependencies between global objects (including
class statics). As always, uninitialized protoobjects' storage may be accessed and manipulated
through a void* but no nonstatic members or
member functions may be used or referenced
outside the object's actual lifetime.

Note about Heap vs. Free Store: We distinguish between "heap" and "free store"
because the draft deliberately leaves unspecified the question of whether these two

areas are related. For example, when memory is deallocated via operator delete,
18.4.1.1 states:
It is unspecified under what conditions part or all of such reclaimed storage is allocated
by a subsequent call to operator new or any of calloc, malloc, or realloc, declared in
<cstdlib>.
Similarly, it is unspecified whether new/delete is implemented in terms of malloc/free or
vice versa in a given implementation. Effectively, the two areas behave differently and
are accessed differently -- so be sure to use them differently!
Trong lao ng ngi ta phn thnh lao ng chn tay v lao ng tr c . Th trong C++ cng
vy, ngi ta c th dng cch C++ s dng memory phn loi memory , nhng ci cng
loi th c xp vo cng vng d qun l .
Ni mt cch k thut (technical), C++ chia memory thnh nhiu vng (area), mi vng c
nhng c im ring ca n . Cc vng nh sau :

1. Vng Const Data : cha string literal nh "hello" v cc gi tr data m gi tr ca n

c bit ti compiler-time . y l vng read-only v compiler c th s dng thng tin
ny tin hnh "ti u" khi to ra code ...

2. Vng Stack : cha cc bin automatic (bin local) hoc cha cc i s khi gi
function . Cp pht trong vng Stack th nhanh hn cp pht "ng" (xem Free Store v
Heap di)

3. Vng Free Store : dng cp pht memory "ng" thng qua new/delete

4. Vng Heap : dng cp pht memory "ng" thng malloc/free

5. Vng Global/Staic : dng cha cc bin static, global .... "c tnh ton v cp
pht 1 ln, ngay khi khi ng chng trnh, v gi nguyn trong sut thi gian chng
trnh chy, nh vy c nhc im l nu kch thc ln qu s chim dng nhiu b nh
h thng => bn khng ch ng b bt i c nu khng cn n na, n ch b xa b
khi chng trnh kt thc, v th chng trnh ca bn nn c b nh tnh cng nh cng
tt, ch khai bo trong b nh tnh nhng ci cn thit." ( nh et cp trong bi vit
pha di)

Ghi ch : i vi nhiu ngi "vng memory dng cp pht ng" u c gi l heap,

ngha l vng "Free Store" + "Heap" u c gi chung l heap . iu cng chp nhn c.
Cn y chng ta tch bit "Free Store" v Heap ch r mt vng dng new/delete cn
vng kia dng malloc/free .

Vi 2 vng "Free Store" + "Heap", "bn cp pht n khi chng trnh ang chy, c th loi b
n khi cn, cho php bn ch ng qun l b nh, nhng c nhc im l nu bn "qun"
khng loi b n s c nguy c r r b nh v thm ch nh hng n ton b h thng." (et)

Bn c th xem chi tit hn cch phn loi memory ti http://www.gotw.ca/gotw/009.htm

Bi tr li ca et v "heap"
http://www.vninformatic...sg=1023412280#1023412280