CFREE(3)

NAME
cfree - free allocated memory

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, unsigned num, unsigned size);

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

DESCRIPTION
This function should never be used. Use free(3) instead.

  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() to free memory allocated with calloc(), or do I need cfree()?" Answer: use free().

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()) 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.

CONFORMING TO
The 3-argument version of cfree() as used by SCO conforms to the iBCSe2 standard: Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.