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NAME

       mallopt - set memory allocation parameters

SYNOPSIS

       #include <malloc.h>

       int mallopt(int param, int value);

DESCRIPTION

       The  mallopt()  function  adjusts  parameters  that  control  the  behavior of the memory-
       allocation functions (see malloc(3)).  The param argument specifies the  parameter  to  be
       modified, and value specifies the new value for that parameter.

       The following values can be specified for param:

       M_ARENA_MAX
              If  this  parameter  has  a  nonzero  value, it defines a hard limit on the maximum
              number of arenas that can be created.  An arena represents a pool  of  memory  that
              can  be  used  by  malloc(3)  (and  similar)  calls to service allocation requests.
              Arenas are thread safe and therefore may have multiple concurrent memory  requests.
              The  trade-off is between the number of threads and the number of arenas.  The more
              arenas you have, the lower the per-thread contention, but  the  higher  the  memory
              usage.

              The  default  value of this parameter is 0, meaning that the limit on the number of
              arenas is determined according to the setting of M_ARENA_TEST.

              This    parameter    has    been     available     since     glibc     2.10     via
              --enable-experimental-malloc, and since glibc 2.15 by default.  In some versions of
              the allocator there was no limit on the number of created arenas (e.g.,  CentOS  5,
              RHEL 5).

              When  employing  newer  glibc versions, applications may in some cases exhibit high
              contention when accessing arenas.  In these cases, it may be beneficial to increase
              M_ARENA_MAX  to  match  the  number  of  threads.   This  is similar in behavior to
              strategies taken by tcmalloc and jemalloc (e.g., per-thread allocation pools).

       M_ARENA_TEST
              This parameter specifies a value, in number of arenas created, at which  point  the
              system  configuration  will  be examined to determine a hard limit on the number of
              created arenas.  (See M_ARENA_MAX for the definition of an arena.)

              The computation of the arena hard limit is implementation-defined  and  is  usually
              calculated  as  a multiple of the number of available CPUs.  Once the hard limit is
              computed, the result is final and constrains the total number of arenas.

              The default value for the M_ARENA_TEST parameter is 2 on systems where sizeof(long)
              is 4; otherwise the default value is 8.

              This     parameter     has     been     available     since    glibc    2.10    via
              --enable-experimental-malloc, and since glibc 2.15 by default.

              The value of M_ARENA_TEST is not used when M_ARENA_MAX has a nonzero value.

       M_CHECK_ACTION
              Setting  this  parameter  controls  how  glibc  responds  when  various  kinds   of
              programming  errors  are  detected  (e.g.,  freeing the same pointer twice).  The 3
              least significant bits (2, 1, and 0)  of  the  value  assigned  to  this  parameter
              determine the glibc behavior, as follows:

              Bit 0  If  this  bit  is set, then print a one-line message on stderr that provides
                     details about the error.  The message  starts  with  the  string  "*** glibc
                     detected ***",  followed  by  the  program  name,  the  name  of the memory-
                     allocation function in which the error was detected, a brief description  of
                     the error, and the memory address where the error was detected.

              Bit 1  If  this bit is set, then, after printing any error message specified by bit
                     0, the program is terminated by calling abort(3).  In glibc  versions  since
                     2.4,  if  bit  0  is  also set, then, between printing the error message and
                     aborting,  the  program  also  prints  a  stack  trace  in  the  manner   of
                     backtrace(3),  and  prints  the  process's  memory  mapping  in the style of
                     /proc/[pid]/maps (see proc(5)).

              Bit 2 (since glibc 2.4)
                     This bit has an effect only if bit 0 is also set.  If this bit is set,  then
                     the  one-line message describing the error is simplified to contain just the
                     name of the function where the error was detected and the brief  description
                     of the error.

              The remaining bits in value are ignored.

              Combining  the  above  details,  the  following  numeric  values are meaningful for
              M_CHECK_ACTION:

                   0  Ignore error conditions; continue execution (with undefined results).

                   1  Print a detailed error message and continue execution.

                   2  Abort the program.

                   3  Print detailed error message, stack trace, and memory mappings,  and  abort
                      the program.

                   5  Print a simple error message and continue execution.

                   7  Print simple error message, stack trace, and memory mappings, and abort the
                      program.

              Since glibc 2.3.4, the default value for the M_CHECK_ACTION  parameter  is  3.   In
              glibc version 2.3.3 and earlier, the default value is 1.

              Using  a  nonzero  M_CHECK_ACTION value can be useful because otherwise a crash may
              happen much later, and the true cause of the problem is then  very  hard  to  track
              down.

       M_MMAP_MAX
              This  parameter  specifies  the  maximum  number of allocation requests that may be
              simultaneously serviced using mmap(2).  This parameter exists because some  systems
              have  a limited number of internal tables for use by mmap(2), and using more than a
              few of them may degrade performance.

              The default value is 65,536, a value which has no special  significance  and  which
              serves  only  as  a  safeguard.   Setting  this  parameter to 0 disables the use of
              mmap(2) for servicing large allocation requests.

       M_MMAP_THRESHOLD
              For allocations greater than  or  equal  to  the  limit  specified  (in  bytes)  by
              M_MMAP_THRESHOLD  that can't be satisfied from the free list, the memory-allocation
              functions employ mmap(2) instead of increasing the program break using sbrk(2).

              Allocating memory using mmap(2) has the significant advantage  that  the  allocated
              memory  blocks  can  always  be  independently  released  back  to the system.  (By
              contrast, the heap can be trimmed only if memory is freed at the top end.)  On  the
              other  hand,  there are some disadvantages to the use of mmap(2): deallocated space
              is not placed on the free list for reuse by later allocations; memory may be wasted
              because  mmap(2)  allocations must be page-aligned; and the kernel must perform the
              expensive task of zeroing  out  memory  allocated  via  mmap(2).   Balancing  these
              factors leads to a default setting of 128*1024 for the M_MMAP_THRESHOLD parameter.

              The    lower   limit   for   this   parameter   is   0.    The   upper   limit   is
              DEFAULT_MMAP_THRESHOLD_MAX: 512*1024 on 32-bit systems or  4*1024*1024*sizeof(long)
              on 64-bit systems.

              Note:  Nowadays, glibc uses a dynamic mmap threshold by default.  The initial value
              of the threshold is 128*1024, but when blocks larger than the current threshold and
              less  than  or  equal  to  DEFAULT_MMAP_THRESHOLD_MAX  are  freed, the threshold is
              adjusted upward to the size of the freed block.  When dynamic mmap thresholding  is
              in  effect,  the threshold for trimming the heap is also dynamically adjusted to be
              twice the dynamic mmap threshold.  Dynamic adjustment  of  the  mmap  threshold  is
              disabled if any of the M_TRIM_THRESHOLD, M_TOP_PAD, M_MMAP_THRESHOLD, or M_MMAP_MAX
              parameters is set.

       M_MXFAST (since glibc 2.3)
              Set the upper limit  for  memory  allocation  requests  that  are  satisfied  using
              "fastbins".   (The  measurement  unit  for  this parameter is bytes.)  Fastbins are
              storage areas that hold deallocated blocks of  memory  of  the  same  size  without
              merging  adjacent  free blocks.  Subsequent reallocation of blocks of the same size
              can be handled very  quickly  by  allocating  from  the  fastbin,  although  memory
              fragmentation and the overall memory footprint of the program can increase.

              The  default  value  for  this parameter is 64*sizeof(size_t)/4 (i.e., 64 on 32-bit
              architectures).  The range for this parameter is 0 to 80*sizeof(size_t)/4.  Setting
              M_MXFAST to 0 disables the use of fastbins.

       M_PERTURB (since glibc 2.4)
              If  this parameter is set to a nonzero value, then bytes of allocated memory (other
              than allocations via calloc(3)) are initialized to the complement of the  value  in
              the  least  significant  byte of value, and when allocated memory is released using
              free(3), the freed bytes are set to the least significant byte of value.  This  can
              be  useful for detecting errors where programs incorrectly rely on allocated memory
              being initialized to zero, or reuse values in memory that has already been freed.

              The default value for this parameter is 0.

       M_TOP_PAD
              This parameter defines the amount of padding to  employ  when  calling  sbrk(2)  to
              modify  the  program  break.   (The  measurement unit for this parameter is bytes.)
              This parameter has an effect in the following circumstances:

              *  When the program break is increased, then  M_TOP_PAD  bytes  are  added  to  the
                 sbrk(2) request.

              *  When the heap is trimmed as a consequence of calling free(3) (see the discussion
                 of M_TRIM_THRESHOLD) this much free space is preserved at the top of the heap.

              In either case, the amount of padding is always rounded to a system page boundary.

              Modifying M_TOP_PAD is a trade-off between increasing the number  of  system  calls
              (when  the  parameter  is set low) and wasting unused memory at the top of the heap
              (when the parameter is set high).

              The default value for this parameter is 128*1024.

       M_TRIM_THRESHOLD
              When the amount of contiguous free memory at the top of the heap grows sufficiently
              large,  free(3)  employs  sbrk(2) to release this memory back to the system.  (This
              can be useful in programs that continue to execute for a long period after  freeing
              a  significant  amount  of  memory.)   The M_TRIM_THRESHOLD parameter specifies the
              minimum size (in bytes) that this block of memory must reach before sbrk(2) is used
              to trim the heap.

              The  default  value for this parameter is 128*1024.  Setting M_TRIM_THRESHOLD to -1
              disables trimming completely.

              Modifying M_TRIM_THRESHOLD is a trade-off between increasing the number  of  system
              calls  (when  the parameter is set low) and wasting unused memory at the top of the
              heap (when the parameter is set high).

   Environment variables
       A number of environment variables can be defined to modify some of the same parameters  as
       are controlled by mallopt().  Using these variables has the advantage that the source code
       of the program need not be changed.  To be effective,  these  variables  must  be  defined
       before  the  first  call  to  a  memory-allocation  function.  (If the same parameters are
       adjusted via mallopt(), then  the  mallopt()  settings  take  precedence.)   For  security
       reasons, these variables are ignored in set-user-ID and set-group-ID programs.

       The  environment  variables are as follows (note the trailing underscore at the end of the
       name of some variables):

       MALLOC_ARENA_MAX
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_ARENA_MAX.

       MALLOC_ARENA_TEST
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_ARENA_TEST.

       MALLOC_CHECK_
              This environment variable controls the same parameter as mallopt()  M_CHECK_ACTION.
              If  this  variable  is set to a nonzero value, then a special implementation of the
              memory-allocation  functions  is   used.    (This   is   accomplished   using   the
              malloc_hook(3)  feature.)   This implementation performs additional error checking,
              but is  slower  than  the  standard  set  of  memory-allocation  functions.   (This
              implementation does not detect all possible errors; memory leaks can still occur.)

              The  value  assigned  to  this environment variable should be a single digit, whose
              meaning is as described for M_CHECK_ACTION.   Any  characters  beyond  the  initial
              digit are ignored.

              For  security  reasons, the effect of MALLOC_CHECK_ is disabled by default for set-
              user-ID and set-group-ID programs.  However, if  the  file  /etc/suid-debug  exists
              (the  content of the file is irrelevant), then MALLOC_CHECK_ also has an effect for
              set-user-ID and set-group-ID programs.

       MALLOC_MMAP_MAX_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_MMAP_MAX.

       MALLOC_MMAP_THRESHOLD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_MMAP_THRESHOLD.

       MALLOC_PERTURB_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_PERTURB.

       MALLOC_TRIM_THRESHOLD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_TRIM_THRESHOLD.

       MALLOC_TOP_PAD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_TOP_PAD.

RETURN VALUE

       On success, mallopt() returns 1.  On error, it returns 0.

ERRORS

       On error, errno is not set.

CONFORMING TO

       This function is not specified by POSIX or the C standards.  A similar function exists  on
       many  System  V derivatives, but the range of values for param varies across systems.  The
       SVID defined options M_MXFAST, M_NLBLKS, M_GRAIN, and M_KEEP, but only the first of  these
       is implemented in glibc.

BUGS

       Specifying an invalid value for param does not generate an error.

       A calculation error within the glibc implementation means that a call of the form:

           mallopt(M_MXFAST, n)

       does not result in fastbins being employed for all allocations of size up to n.  To ensure
       desired results, n should be rounded up to the next multiple  greater  than  or  equal  to
       (2k+1)*sizeof(size_t), where k is an integer.

       If  mallopt()  is  used to set M_PERTURB, then, as expected, the bytes of allocated memory
       are initialized to the complement of the byte in value, and when that memory is freed, the
       bytes  of the region are initialized to the byte specified in value.  However, there is an
       off-by-sizeof(size_t) error in the implementation: instead of initializing  precisely  the
       block of memory being freed by the call free(p), the block starting at p+sizeof(size_t) is
       initialized.

EXAMPLE

       The program below demonstrates the use of M_CHECK_ACTION.  If the program is supplied with
       an  (integer)  command-line argument, then that argument is used to set the M_CHECK_ACTION
       parameter.  The program then allocates a block of memory, and frees it twice (an error).

       The following shell session shows what happens when we run this program under glibc,  with
       the default value for M_CHECK_ACTION:

           $ ./a.out
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: double free or corruption (top): 0x09d30008 ***
           ======= Backtrace: =========
           /lib/libc.so.6(+0x6c501)[0x523501]
           /lib/libc.so.6(+0x6dd70)[0x524d70]
           /lib/libc.so.6(cfree+0x6d)[0x527e5d]
           ./a.out[0x80485db]
           /lib/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xe7)[0x4cdce7]
           ./a.out[0x8048471]
           ======= Memory map: ========
           001e4000-001fe000 r-xp 00000000 08:06 1083555    /lib/libgcc_s.so.1
           001fe000-001ff000 r--p 00019000 08:06 1083555    /lib/libgcc_s.so.1
           [some lines omitted]
           b7814000-b7817000 rw-p 00000000 00:00 0
           bff53000-bff74000 rw-p 00000000 00:00 0          [stack]
           Aborted (core dumped)

       The following runs show the results when employing other values for M_CHECK_ACTION:

           $ ./a.out 1             # Diagnose error and continue
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: double free or corruption (top): 0x09cbe008 ***
           main(): returned from second free() call
           $ ./a.out 2             # Abort without error message
           main(): returned from first free() call
           Aborted (core dumped)
           $ ./a.out 0             # Ignore error and continue
           main(): returned from first free() call
           main(): returned from second free() call

       The  next  run  shows  how  to  set the same parameter using the MALLOC_CHECK_ environment
       variable:

           $ MALLOC_CHECK_=1 ./a.out
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: free(): invalid pointer: 0x092c2008 ***
           main(): returned from second free() call

   Program source

       #include <malloc.h>
       #include <stdio.h>
       #include <stdlib.h>

       int
       main(int argc, char *argv[])
       {
           char *p;

           if (argc > 1) {
               if (mallopt(M_CHECK_ACTION, atoi(argv[1])) != 1) {
                   fprintf(stderr, "mallopt() failed");
                   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }
           }

           p = malloc(1000);
           if (p == NULL) {
               fprintf(stderr, "malloc() failed");
               exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
           }

           free(p);
           printf("main(): returned from first free() call\n");

           free(p);
           printf("main(): returned from second free() call\n");

           exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
       }

SEE ALSO

       mmap(2), sbrk(2), mallinfo(3), malloc(3), malloc_hook(3), malloc_info(3), malloc_stats(3),
       malloc_trim(3), mcheck(3), mtrace(3), posix_memalign(3)

COLOPHON

       This page is part of release 5.05 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/.