Automatic garbage collection in C++ memory management

Automatic garbage collection in C requires the use of third-party tools or libraries. You can use smart pointers or garbage collector libraries. Smart pointers automatically release the underlying objects, and the garbage collector library uses algorithms to keep track of data structures that are no longer used. Case: Use smart pointer std::shared_ptr; use libgc library GC_MALLOC and GC_FREE.

Automatic garbage collection in C

Implementing automatic garbage collection in C requires the use of third-party tools or libraries. Although there is no built-in garbage collector in the C standard library, there are several options for achieving similar behavior.

Library options:

• Smart pointers: This is the most common C garbage collection method. A smart pointer is a special type of pointer that is responsible for automatically releasing the underlying object at the end of its lifetime.
• Garbage collector library: There is a library that can provide automatic garbage collection for C programs. These libraries typically use reference counting or mark-and-sweep algorithms to keep track of data structures that are no longer in use.

Practical case:

Use smart pointers:

#include <memory>

std::shared_ptr<int> ptr = std::make_shared<int>(10);

std::shared_ptr is a smart pointer that keeps track of the number of references to its underlying object. The object is automatically released when it is no longer referenced by any pointers.

Use third-party garbage collection library:

libgc: This is a widely used garbage collection library in C. It uses a mark-and-sweep algorithm to identify data structures that are no longer used.

#include "gc/gc.h"

int* ptr = (int*)GC_MALLOC(sizeof(int));
*ptr = 10;
GC_FREE(ptr);

When GC_FREE is called, the memory pointed to by ptr will be marked as no longer used and will be recycled in the next garbage collection cycle.

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