Everything about C dynamic memory allocation

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: C dynamic memory allocationA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: A Novel Temporal Dynamic Wavelength Bandwidth Allocation Based on Long-Short-Term-Memory in NG-EPONInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: Modern Operating SystemsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: Dynamic allocation for scratch-pad memory using compile-time decisionsCited 173 times
5. Go sideways: Stack-based memory allocationA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: New and delete (C++)A closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• Dynamic allocation for scratch-pad memory using compile-time decisions

  Sumesh Udayakumaran, Angel Dominguez, Rajeev Barua · 2006 · ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems · 173 citations

• A dynamic processor allocation policy for multiprogrammed shared-memory multiprocessors

  Cathy McCann, Raj Vaswani, John Zahorjan · 1993 · ACM Transactions on Computer Systems · 167 citations

• A class of dynamic memory allocation algorithms

  Daniel S. Hirschberg · 1973 · Communications of the ACM · 40 citations

• Scalable lock-free dynamic memory allocation

  Maged M. Michael · 2004 · ACM SIGPLAN Notices · 39 citations

• Dynamic memory allocation in computer simulation

  Norman R. Nielsen · 1977 · Communications of the ACM · 20 citations

• Dynamic Memory Bandwidth Allocation for Real-Time GPU-Based SoC Platforms

  Homa Aghilinasab, Waqar Ali, Heechul Yun · 2020 · IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems · 19 citations

• Dynamic memory optimization using pool allocation and prefetching

  Qin Zhao, Rodric Rabbah, Weng-Fai Wong · 2005 · ACM SIGARCH Computer Architecture News · 18 citations

• Memory fragmentation in buddy methods for dynamic storage allocation

  Allan G. Bromley · 1980 · Acta Informatica · 18 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• A Novel Temporal Dynamic Wavelength Bandwidth Allocation Based on Long-Short-Term-Memory in NG-EPON

  Andrew Tanny Liem, I-Shyan Hwang, Elaiyasuriyan Ganesan · 2023 · IEEE Access · 12 citations

• A High-Performance Sketch With Dynamic Memory Allocation for Priority-Oriented Data Stream Processing

  Jinbin Hu, Houqiang Shen, Jiawei Huang · 2026 · IEEE Transactions on Computers · 5 citations

• Memory Allocation Strategy in Edge Programmable Logic Controllers Based on Dynamic Programming and Fixed-Size Allocation

  Guanghe Cheng, Zhong Wan, Wenkang Ding · 2023 · Applied Sciences · 4 citations

• T-CAT: Dynamic Cache Allocation for Tiered Memory Systems With Memory Interleaving

  Hwanjun Lee, Seunghak Lee, Yeji Jung · 2023 · IEEE Computer Architecture Letters · 3 citations

• Dynamic resource allocation in spatial working memory during full and partial report tasks

  Siobhan M. McAteer, Emma Ablott, Anthony McGregor · 2023 · Journal of Vision · 3 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• Modern Operating SystemsAndrew S. Tanenbaum, Herbert Bos · 1992
• Using MPIWilliam Gropp, Ewing Lusk · 1994
• The Conspirators HierarchyJohn Coleman · 1992
• The C# programming languageAnders Hejlsberg, Scott Wiltamuth · 2004
• System softwareLeland L. Beck · 1985
• Software EssentialsAdair Dingle · 2014
• Digital planetGeorge Beekman, Ben Beekman · 2011
• Why programs failAndreas Zeller · 2005

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics

• Stack-based memory allocation Stacks in computing architectures are regions of memory where data is added or removed in a last-in-first-out (LIFO) manner. In most modern computer systems…
• New and delete (C++) In the C++ programming language, new and delete are a pair of language constructs that perform dynamic memory allocation, object construction and object…
• Data segment In computing, a data segment (often denoted .data) is a portion of an object file or the corresponding address space of a program that contains initialized…
• Sbrk brk and sbrk are basic memory management system calls used in Unix and Unix-like operating systems to control the amount of memory allocated to the heap…
• C (programming language) C is a general-purpose programming language created in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie. By design, C gives programmers relatively direct access to the features…
• Sizeof sizeof is a unary operator in the C and C++ programming languages that evaluates to the storage size of an expression or a data type, measured in units…
• Pointer (computer programming) I do consider assignment statements and pointer variables to be among computer science's "most valuable treasures." — Donald Knuth, Structured Programming…
• Boehm garbage collector The Boehm–Demers–Weiser garbage collector, often simply known as the Boehm GC or Boehm collector, is a conservative garbage collector for C and C++ developed…