C Reference function malloc()

The function malloc() will allocate a block of memory that is size bytes large. If the requested memory can be allocated a pointer is returned to the beginning of the memory block.

Note: the content of the received block of memory is not initialized.

Usage of malloc():

void * malloc ( size_t size );

Parameters:

Size of the memory block in bytes.

Return value:

If the request is successful then a pointer to the memory block is returned.
If the function failed to allocate the requested block of memory, a null pointer is returned.

Source code example of malloc():

	#include<stdio.h>
	#include<stdlib.h>

	int main ()
	{
		int * buffer;

		buffer = (int*) malloc (10*sizeof(int));
		if (buffer==NULL)
		{
			printf("Error allocating memory!");
			exit (1);
		}

		free (buffer);
		return 0;
	}