cfree(3)                   Library Functions Manual                   cfree(3)

NAME
       cfree - free allocated memory

LIBRARY
       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       /* In SunOS 4 */
       int cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In glibc or FreeBSD libcompat */
       void cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In SCO OpenServer */
       void cfree(char ptr[.size * .num], unsigned int num, unsigned int size);

       /* In Solaris watchmalloc.so.1 */
       void cfree(void ptr[.elsize * .nelem], size_t nelem, size_t elsize);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

       cfree():
           Since glibc 2.19:
               _DEFAULT_SOURCE
           glibc 2.19 and earlier:
               _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION
       This function should never be used.  Use free(3) instead.  Starting
       with glibc 2.26, it has been removed from glibc.

   1-arg cfree
       In glibc, the function cfree() is a synonym for free(3), "added for
       compatibility with SunOS".

       Other systems have other functions with this name.  The declaration is
       sometimes in <stdlib.h> and sometimes in <malloc.h>.

   3-arg cfree
       Some SCO and Solaris versions have malloc libraries with a 3-argument
       cfree(), apparently as an analog to calloc(3).

       If you need it while porting something, add

           #define cfree(p, n, s) free((p))

       to your file.

       A frequently asked question is "Can I use free(3) to free memory
       allocated with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?" Answer: use free(3).

       An SCO manual writes: "The cfree routine is provided for compliance to
       the iBCSe2 standard and simply calls free.  The num and size arguments
       to cfree are not used."

RETURN VALUE
       The SunOS version of cfree() (which is a synonym for free(3)) returns 1
       on success and 0 on failure.  In case of error, errno is set to EINVAL:
       the value of ptr was not a pointer to a block previously allocated by
       one of the routines in the malloc(3) family.

ATTRIBUTES
       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
       attributes(7).

       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
       |Interface                    | Attribute     | Value                  |
       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
       |cfree ()                     | Thread safety | MT-Safe /* In glibc */ |
       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
VERSIONS
       The 3-argument version of cfree() as used by SCO conforms to the iBCSe2
       standard: Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.

STANDARDS
       None.

HISTORY
       Removed in glibc 2.26.

SEE ALSO
       malloc(3)

Linux man-pages 6.7               2023-10-31                          cfree(3)