DbMalloc

What is it?

DbMalloc is a drop in replacement for malloc, calloc, realloc, strdup and free functions in C. Replacement of these functions with equivalents that contain extra processing allow debugging of memory leaks to be found quickly. The DbMalloc functions are small and this library could easily be used a basis to write a more comprehensive library.

Another great feature of this library is that it can support multi-threaded applications. The library is wrapped in POSIX mutexes if it is compiled with the _REENTRANT macro defined. In such a case, the whole application will also need to be linked with the POSIX thread library (lpthread or equivalent).

I have used the library under the Linux, Solaris and Windows operating systems. Because the library is so simple it will probably compile on most systems, and if it doesn't, it won't take you long to make it compile (It really is so simple).

What does it need to work?

You need a C compiler and an operating system.

How do I use it?

• Compile the sources using the supplied makefile.
• Include the file "DbMalloc.h" in the files that you wish to monitor memory usage in.
• At an appropriate place in your code (perhaps say, the start or end of a loop) make a call to the DbListUsed() function to see what blocks of memory have been allocated.
• Re-compile your code and link with the DbMalloc.o file you created (gcc xxxx DbMalloc.o).
• Run your code.

Are there more options?

More configuration settings can be set by changing the commented settings in the file DbMallocOpts.h. You should note that changes to these settings require you to re-compile the DbMalloc sources.

Does it cost anything?

Not a penny. But you can send me an email if you have any questions or anything....