Allocated storage duration
Allocated storage duration is the C storage duration of dynamically allocated storage, ending when it is deallocated, reallocated, or the program terminates.
Modern C
Allocated storage is a region of C storage obtained dynamically for use in representing objects during execution.
- How it is used
- Explains how execution-time storage supports data whose size or shape cannot be fixed conveniently in advance.
- How deep it goes
- Defines allocated duration, allocation functions, lifetime, and initialization, but defers broader declaration and linkage details to comparison material.
- Examples
- Uses a dynamically allocated rational number, a vector of doubles, and allocation helpers for initialized rational arrays.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via malloc-family functions, explicit initialization, and free while reasoning about object lifetime.
Modern C, Third Edition
Allocated storage duration is the duration of an object created by a dynamic allocation function and ended by deallocation, reallocation, or program termination.
- How it is used
- Explains how dynamically created objects begin, persist, and end during C program execution.
- How deep it goes
- Defines lifetime boundaries and initialization obligations, without developing allocator internals.
- Examples
- Uses malloc with rat_init and recommends calloc or type-specific initialization functions for allocated data.
- What you can do after
- Operate dynamically allocated objects by selecting an allocation function, initializing storage, and ending its duration correctly.
Read how Modern C, Third Edition explains allocated storage duration →
Related concepts
- mallocproduced by · malloc is a C standard-library function that allocates a specified number of bytes of uninitialized storage and returns a pointer to it or a null pointer if allocation fails.
- lifetimeuses · A lifetime is the interval during which a program entity exists and remains valid or accessible under the applicable language rules.
- storage durationkind of · Storage duration is the C property that determines how long an object exists during program execution and how its storage is managed.
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