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():
           Since glibc 2.19:
               _DEFAULT_SOURCE
           Glibc 2.19 and earlier:
               _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION

       This  function should never be used.  Use free(3) instead.  Starting with version 2.26, it
       has been removed from glibc.

   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.

VERSIONS

       The cfree() function was removed from glibc in version 2.26.

ATTRIBUTES

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).

       ┌──────────┬───────────────┬────────────────────────┐
       │Interface │ Attribute     │ Value                  │
       ├──────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────┤
       │cfree()   │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe /* In glibc */ │
       └──────────┴───────────────┴────────────────────────┘

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 4.15 of the Linux man-pages project.  A  description  of  the
       project,  information  about  reporting  bugs, and the latest version of this page, can be
       found at https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.

                                            2017-09-15                                   CFREE(3)