Xref: news2.mv.net comp.os.msdos.djgpp:1706
From: Goldtree <goldtree AT communique DOT net>
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Running out of memory
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 19:42:48 -0600
Organization: Communique Inc., New Orleans
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Message-ID: <313E3F18.712F@communique.net>
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Hello,

    I have a program that uses malloc, realloc, and free many times 
per second.  I am constantly printing out the available physical memory 
and at first it just goes down with free not raising physical memory, 
and then reaches a plateau where neither malloc nor free seem to affect 
physical memory.  Now according to the FAQ this is normal (DJGPP returns 
the memory to its internal pool of available pages so there is no change 
in physical mem left over).

    The problem is that occasionally I malloc a lot of memory (a few 
hundred Kbytes) and then the available memory will go down again...with
free still not seeming to give it back.  Even though I never use more 
than 5 or so megs at a time eventually the memory (on an 8 meg machine) 
will go below zero and try to start swapping.  I have a bunch of 
interrupts installed and haven't figured out how to lock them yet and so 
my program crashes.  I am pretty sure that I am freeing everything and 
am not leaving any dangling pointers.  So why am I running out of 
memory?

Thanks!

John R. McCawley III
Cap'n Hardgeus
Hotwarez LLC