malloc_hook(3) — Linux manual page

__malloc_hook(3)        Library Functions Manual        __malloc_hook(3)

NAME

       __malloc_hook, __malloc_initialize_hook, __memalign_hook,
       __free_hook, __realloc_hook, __after_morecore_hook - malloc
       debugging variables (DEPRECATED)

LIBRARY

       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <malloc.h>

       void *(*volatile __malloc_hook)(size_t size, const void *caller);

       void *(*volatile __realloc_hook)(void *ptr, size_t size,
                                const void *caller);

       void *(*volatile __memalign_hook)(size_t alignment, size_t size,
                                const void *caller);

       void (*volatile __free_hook)(void *ptr, const void *caller);

       void (*__malloc_initialize_hook)(void);

       void (*volatile __after_morecore_hook)(void);

DESCRIPTION

       The GNU C library lets you modify the behavior of malloc(3),
       realloc(3), and free(3) by specifying appropriate hook functions.
       You can use these hooks to help you debug programs that use
       dynamic memory allocation, for example.

       The variable __malloc_initialize_hook points at a function that
       is called once when the malloc implementation is initialized.
       This is a weak variable, so it can be overridden in the
       application with a definition like the following:

           void (*__malloc_initialize_hook)(void) = my_init_hook;

       Now the function my_init_hook() can do the initialization of all
       hooks.

       The four functions pointed to by __malloc_hook, __realloc_hook,
       __memalign_hook, __free_hook have a prototype like the functions
       malloc(3), realloc(3), memalign(3), free(3), respectively, except
       that they have a final argument caller that gives the address of
       the caller of malloc(3), etc.

       The variable __after_morecore_hook points at a function that is
       called each time after sbrk(2) was asked for more memory.

STANDARDS

       GNU.

NOTES

       The use of these hook functions is not safe in multithreaded
       programs, and they are now deprecated.  From glibc 2.24 onwards,
       the __malloc_initialize_hook variable has been removed from the
       API, and from glibc 2.34 onwards, all the hook variables have
       been removed from the API.  Programmers should instead preempt
       calls to the relevant functions by defining and exporting
       malloc(), free(), realloc(), and calloc().

EXAMPLES

       Here is a short example of how to use these variables.

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

       /* Prototypes for our hooks */
       static void my_init_hook(void);
       static void *my_malloc_hook(size_t, const void *);

       /* Variables to save original hooks */
       static void *(*old_malloc_hook)(size_t, const void *);

       /* Override initializing hook from the C library */
       void (*__malloc_initialize_hook)(void) = my_init_hook;

       static void
       my_init_hook(void)
       {
           old_malloc_hook = __malloc_hook;
           __malloc_hook = my_malloc_hook;
       }

       static void *
       my_malloc_hook(size_t size, const void *caller)
       {
           void *result;

           /* Restore all old hooks */
           __malloc_hook = old_malloc_hook;

           /* Call recursively */
           result = malloc(size);

           /* Save underlying hooks */
           old_malloc_hook = __malloc_hook;

           /* printf() might call malloc(), so protect it too */
           printf("malloc(%zu) called from %p returns %p\n",
                   size, caller, result);

           /* Restore our own hooks */
           __malloc_hook = my_malloc_hook;

           return result;
       }

SEE ALSO

       mallinfo(3), malloc(3), mcheck(3), mtrace(3)

COLOPHON

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Linux man-pages 6.9.1          2024-06-15               __malloc_hook(3)

Pages that refer to this page: malloc_get_state(3), mallopt(3), mtrace(3)

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