alloca(3) - NetBSD Manual Pages

ALLOCA(3)                 NetBSD Programmer's Manual                 ALLOCA(3)


NAME

     alloca - memory allocator


LIBRARY

     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)


SYNOPSIS

     #include <stdlib.h>

     void *
     alloca(size_t size);


DESCRIPTION

     The alloca() function allocates size bytes of space in the stack frame of
     the caller.  This temporary space is automatically freed on return.


RETURN VALUES

     The alloca() function returns a pointer to the beginning of the allocated
     space.  If the allocation failed, a NULL pointer is returned.


SEE ALSO

     brk(2), calloc(3), getpagesize(3), malloc(3), realloc(3)


BUGS

     The alloca() function is machine dependent; its use is discouraged.

NetBSD 1.4                       June 4, 1993                                1