Heap Metadata Inspector
Implement a function to inspect and print the metadata of the heap, like block sizes and free/used status.
(e.g.: I/P: Allocate 5, Free 2; O/P: Block 1: Used, Block 2: Free)
How to Do?
- Create a simulated heap with an array and metadata structures for each block.
- Upon allocation or freeing, update the block's metadata.
- Create a function to loop through the metadata structures and print out their status.
Example:
Your metadata might contain fields like isFree and blockSize. When you allocate 5 and then
free 2, your function could print out: Block 1: Used, size 5; Block 2: Free, size 2.
How would you tackle this problem? What actions, end cases, data types, algorithms would you be using while solving this?
Do Type out your Pseudo Solution.
1 Reply
Pseudo Solution
Initialization:
Create a function initializeHeap() to set up the metadata for the simulated heap.
Allocation:
Create a function allocateMemory(size_t size) to allocate memory.
Loop through the metadata array to find a free block that can accommodate the requested size.
Update the metadata to mark the block as used and perform allocation (simulated here with a print statement).
Deallocation:
Create a function freeMemory(size_t blockIndex) to free memory.
Check if the block index is valid and if the block is not already free.
Mark the block as free in the metadata and perform deallocation (simulated here with a print statement).
Print Metadata:
Create a function printHeapMetadata() to loop through the metadata array and print the status of each block (free or used) along with its size.
These functions simulate the allocation, deallocation, and inspection of a simulated heap with metadata for each block. Actual memory allocation and deallocation mechanisms are not implemented here but can be integrated based on your specific requirements and memory management algorithms.