Dynamic-Memory-Allocation-In-C

This repository demonstrates the concepts and practical implementation of dynamic memory allocation in C. Dynamic memory allocation is a key aspect of C programming, enabling developers to allocate and manage memory during runtime efficiently.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Prerequisites
• Usage
• Code Overview
• Examples
• Contributing

Introduction

Dynamic memory allocation allows programs to request memory during runtime and release it when it is no longer needed. This is particularly useful for:

• Handling variable-sized data structures like arrays or linked lists.
• Optimizing memory usage by freeing unused memory.
• Managing memory in applications with unpredictable resource requirements.

This project provides code examples that illustrate the use of dynamic memory allocation functions such as:

• malloc()
• calloc()
• realloc()
• free()

Features

• Simple and clear code examples.
• Demonstrates memory allocation for arrays and linked lists.
• Includes examples of resizing memory blocks with realloc().
• Shows proper usage of free() to avoid memory leaks.

Prerequisites

To run the code in this repository, you need:

• A C compiler (e.g., GCC, Clang).
• Basic understanding of C programming.

Usage

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/BiTech5/Dynamic-Memory-Allocation-In-C.git
   cd Dynamic-Memory-Allocation-In-C

2. Compile the code:

   gcc -o dynamic_memory_example dynamic_memory_example.c

3. Run the executable:

   ./dynamic_memory_example

4. Observe the outputs and modify the code as needed for further experimentation.

Code Overview

Key Files

• dynamic_memory_example.c: Contains examples demonstrating various dynamic memory allocation techniques.

Functions Explained

• malloc(): Allocates a specified number of bytes and returns a pointer to the allocated memory.
• calloc(): Allocates memory for an array of elements, initializes them to zero, and returns a pointer to the memory.
• realloc(): Changes the size of previously allocated memory.
• free(): Deallocates memory previously allocated by malloc(), calloc(), or realloc().

Examples

Below are some practical examples included in the repository:

1. Array Allocation

   • Allocates memory for an array and demonstrates reading and writing elements.

2. Linked List

   • Dynamically allocates memory for linked list nodes and shows traversal.

3. Resizing Memory

   • Uses realloc() to dynamically resize arrays based on runtime requirements.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have improvements or additional examples to share, feel free to:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Commit your changes and push to your branch.
4. Open a pull request.

Thank you for exploring dynamic memory allocation in C through this repository! If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to open an issue or contribute directly.