NAME

       erl_malloc - Memory allocation functions.

DESCRIPTION

       This module provides functions for allocating and deallocating memory.

EXPORTS

       ETERM *erl_alloc_eterm(etype)

              Types:

                 unsigned char etype;

              Allocates an (ETERM) structure.

              Specify etype as one of the following constants:

                * ERL_INTEGER

                * ERL_U_INTEGER (unsigned integer)

                * ERL_ATOM

                * ERL_PID (Erlang process identifier)

                * ERL_PORT

                * ERL_REF (Erlang reference)

                * ERL_LIST

                * ERL_EMPTY_LIST

                * ERL_TUPLE

                * ERL_BINARY

                * ERL_FLOAT

                * ERL_VARIABLE

                * ERL_SMALL_BIG (bignum)

                * ERL_U_SMALL_BIG (bignum)

              ERL_SMALL_BIG  and  ERL_U_SMALL_BIG  are  for  creating  Erlang  bignums, which can
              contain integers of any size.  The  size  of  an  integer  in  Erlang  is  machine-
              dependent, but any integer > 2^28 requires a bignum.

       void erl_eterm_release(void)

              Clears   the   freelist,  where  blocks  are  placed  when  they  are  released  by
              erl_free_term() and erl_free_compound().

       void erl_eterm_statistics(allocated, freed)

              Types:

                 long *allocated;
                 long *freed;

              Reports term allocation statistics.

              allocated and freed are initialized to contain information about the  fix-allocator
              used to allocate ETERM components.

                * allocated is the number of blocks currently allocated to ETERM objects.

                * freed  is  the  length  of  the freelist, where blocks are placed when they are
                  released by erl_free_term() and erl_free_compound().

       void erl_free(ptr)

              Types:

                 void *ptr;

              Calls the standard free() function.

       void erl_free_array(array, size)

              Types:

                 ETERM **array;
                 int size;

              Frees an array of Erlang terms.

                * array is an array of ETERM* objects.

                * size is the number of terms in the array.

       void erl_free_compound(t)

              Types:

                 ETERM *t;

              Normally it is the programmer's responsibility to free each Erlang  term  that  has
              been  returned  from  any  of  the Erl_Interface functions. However, as many of the
              functions that build new Erlang terms in fact share  objects  with  other  existing
              terms,  it  can  be  difficult  for the programmer to maintain pointers to all such
              terms to free them individually.

              erl_free_compound() recursively  frees  all  of  the  subterms  associated  with  a
              specified  Erlang  term, regardless of whether we are still holding pointers to the
              subterms.

              For an example, see section Building Terms and Patterns in the User's Guide.

       void erl_free_term(t)

              Types:

                 ETERM *t;

              Frees an Erlang term.

       void erl_malloc(size)

              Types:

                 long size;

              Calls the standard malloc() function.