cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) (09/27/88)
Walter Dao asked if it was better to allocate memory in one
big chunk or a piece at a time as you needed it. The answer
is "It depends." and the tradeoffs are as follows :
If you allocate memory in exactly the sizes you need it, when you
need it you have a better chance of running on memory fragmented
machines. This is because the allocator has a chance to give you
those little fragments that are out there. On a large unfragmented
system, there is no benefit and the process is slower because it
takes time for each allocation. In this case it is often better
to get one big allocation and then use the pieces out of it that
you need. In all cases it is probably better to allocate chunks
in sizes of 512 bytes or more. But of course that is sometimes
not possible. If you are worried about it, try the large allocation
first, and if that fails try it one more time (someone may have
expunged themselves for you), and then go for the smaller pieces.
--Chuck McManis
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These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.