C-Memory-Allocators

A pair of memory allocators, stack & list, allowing for a more rapid and spacially conservant way of distributing memory within a program. This project was made with video games in mind, but can be leveraged for use in any program where the maximum memory need is pre-defined.

Stack Allocator

This allocator works by assigning memory via a stack-like structure. This implementation places the overhead data of each allocated chunk within the alignment padding.

void InitializeStack(stack *Stack, size_t Size);

void* AllocateSpaceOnStack_(stack *Stack, size_t Size, short Alignment);
#define AllocateSpaceOnStack(Stack, Type) \
        AllocateSpaceOnStack_(Stack, sizeof(Type), alignof(Type))

void DeallocateSpaceOnStack_(stack *Stack, size_t Size);
#define DeallocateSpaceOnStack(Stack, Type) \
        DeallocateSpaceOnStack_(Stack, sizeof(Type))

List Allocator

This allocator works by assigning memory via a list-like structure. This implementation stores the offset from the aligned header and the aligned data as a char right before the data itself. This saves space while ensuring all data is aligned.

void InitializeList(list *List, size_t Size);

void* AllocateSpaceOnList_(list *List, size_t Size, unsigned char Alignment);
#define AllocateSpaceOnList(List, Type) \
        AllocateSpaceOnList_(List, sizeof(Type), alignof(Type))
        
void DeallocateSpaceOnList(list *List, void* Address);

Notes

This repository includes a tester.
!Note that although the allocators themselves are platform agnostic, the tester is windows only.

Tester Build

A pre-built binary is available within the build folder.

./build/test.exe

To build a new set of binaries on a Windows environment, first run either the 64-bit or 32-bit vcvarsall.bat, then ./build.bat.

Tester Usage

Usage: ./build/test.exe [option <value>]

The available options are as follows:

-v          Print memory allocation information.
-a <#####>  Specify allocation size.
-t <#####>  Specify test count.

Motivation

I have to thank my good friend Mariano for encouraging and coercing me to explore game programming at a deeper level (seriously, check him out, he's super cool). I'm ever thankful of the time we spent scratching our heads and drawing advanced rectangles on white boards.