NAME

       free - free allocated memory

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       void free(void *ptr);

DESCRIPTION

       The  free()  function  shall cause the space pointed to by ptr to be deallocated; that is, made available
       for further allocation. If ptr is a null pointer, no action shall occur.  Otherwise, if the argument does
       not match a pointer  earlier  returned  by  the  calloc(),  malloc(),  posix_memalign(),   realloc(),  or
       strdup()   function,  or if the space has been deallocated by a call to free() or realloc(), the behavior
       is undefined.

       Any use of a pointer that refers to freed space results in undefined behavior.

RETURN VALUE

       The free() function shall not return a value.

ERRORS

       No errors are defined.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       There is now no requirement for the implementation to support the inclusion of <malloc.h>.

RATIONALE

       None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       calloc() , malloc() , realloc() , the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition,
       Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open  Group  Base
       Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
       Inc  and  The  Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
       The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group  Standard  is  the  referee  document.  The
       original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2003                                               FREE(P)