SHMALLOC(3)

NAME
shmalloc(3), shfree(3), shmemalign(3), shrealloc(3) - Symmetric heap memory management functions.

SYNOPSIS
C or C++:
#include <mpp/shmem.h>
void *shmalloc(size_t size);
void shfree(void *ptr);
void *shrealloc(void *ptr, size_t size);
void *shmemalign(size_t alignment, size_t size);
extern long malloc_error;

DESCRIPTION
The shmalloc function returns a pointer to a block of at least size bytes suitably aligned for any use. This space is allocated from the symmetric heap (in contrast to malloc(3C), which allocates from the private heap).

The shmemalign function allocates a block in the symmetric heap that has a byte alignment specified by the alignment argument.

The shfree function causes the block to which ptr points to, to be deallocated, that is, made available for further allocation. If ptr is a null pointer, no action occurs; otherwise, if the argument does not match a pointer earlier returned by a symmetric heap function, or if the space has already been deallocated, malloc_error is set to indicate the error, and shfree returns.

The shrealloc function changes the size of the block to which ptr points to, to the size (in bytes) specified by size.

The contents of the block are unchanged up to the lesser of the new and old sizes. If the new size is larger, the value of the newly allocated portion of the block is indeterminate. If ptr is a null pointer, the shrealloc function behaves like the shmalloc function for the specified size. If size is 0 and ptr is not a null pointer, the block to which it points to is freed. Otherwise, if ptr does not match a pointer earlier returned by a symmetric heap function, or if the space has already been deallocated, the malloc_error variable is set to indicate the error, and shrealloc returns a null pointer. If the space cannot be allocated, the block to which ptr points to is unchanged.

The shmalloc, shfree, and shrealloc functions are provided so that multiple PEs in an application can allocate symmetric, remotely accessible memory blocks. These memory blocks can then be used with (shmem) communication routines. Each of these functions call the shmem_barrier_all(3) function before returning; this ensures that all PEs participate in the memory allocation, and that the memory on other PEs can be used as soon as the local PE returns.

The user is responsible for calling these functions with identical argument(s) on all PEs; if differing size arguments are used, subsequent calls may not return the same symmetric heap address on all PEs.

NOTES
The total size of the symmetric heap is determined at job startup. One can adjust the size of the heap using the SHMEM_SYMMETRIC_HEAP_SIZE environment variable. See the intro_shmem(3) man page for futher details. The shmalloc, shfree, and shrealloc functions differ from the private heap allocation functions in that all PEs in an application must call them (a barrier is used to ensure this).

RETURN VALUES
The shmalloc function returns a pointer to the allocated space (which should be identical on all PEs); otherwise, it returns a null pointer (with malloc_error set). The shfree function returns no value. The shrealloc function returns a pointer to the allocated space (which may have moved); otherwise, it returns a null pointer (with malloc_error set).

SEE ALSO
intro_shmem(3), my_pe(3I), start_pes(3)