This comprehensive guide explains the inner workings of the C malloc function, covering memory layout, stack vs heap, glibc memory pools, system calls like brk/sbrk and mmap, allocation strategies, fragmentation, alignment, multithreading safety, and comparisons with calloc, realloc, and C++ new.
This article explains the fundamentals of malloc and free, covering their signatures, how they interact with the brk/sbrk system calls, the structure of memory control blocks, multiple allocation strategies such as explicit free lists, segregated lists, buddy systems and tcmalloc, along with code examples and their trade‑offs.
This article explains why dynamic memory allocation is essential, models the heap as a parking lot, outlines the core challenges of implementing malloc and free, describes block headers, explores First Fit, Next Fit, and Best Fit strategies, and details splitting, internal fragmentation, and efficient coalescing using footers.
