C memory tracking library

The Debug Allocator Library (debug_alloc) is a lightweight C library for debugging memory allocation in C programs. It provides functions for tracking memory allocation and deallocation, as well as debugging information for easier identification of memory-related issues.

Features

Initialization and cleanup functions for setting up and cleaning up the debug allocator.
Memory allocation functions (malloc, calloc, realloc, free) with debugging support.
Optional message parameter for providing additional context during memory allocation.
Information retrieval functions for debugging purposes.

Usage

To use the Debug Allocator Library in your project, include the debug_alloc.h header file in your source files and link against the library during compilation. Here's an example of how to use the library:

#include "debug_alloc.h"

int main() {
    // Initialize the debug allocator
    dbg_init();

    // Allocate memory
    int* ptr = dbg_malloc(sizeof(int), "integer");

    // Free memory
    dbg_free(ptr, "integer");

    // Print out whole allocation history
    dbg_info();

    // Clean up the debug allocator
    dbg_clean();

    return 0;
}

Example

#include "debug_alloc.h"
#include <stdio.h>

typedef struct {
    void (*make_sound)(void*);
} Animal;

void bark(void* animal) {
    printf("BARK!!!\n");
}
void meow(void* animal) {
    printf("MEOW\n");
}

void animal_init(Animal* animal, void(*sound)(void*)) {
    animal->make_sound = sound;
}

int main(void) {
    
    dbg_init();

    Animal* dog = dbg_malloc(sizeof(Animal), "dog");
    Animal* cat = dbg_malloc(sizeof(Animal), "cat");

    animal_init(dog, bark);
    animal_init(cat, meow);

    dog->make_sound(dog);
    cat->make_sound(cat);

    dbg_free(cat, "cat");
    dbg_free(dog, "dog");

    dbg_info();

    dbg_clean();

    return 0;
}

output:

BARK!!!
MEOW
____________________________
|                           |
|         DEBUG LOG         |
|___________________________|
|                           |
| dog (freed)
| 	0: MALLOC(8B)	
| 	1: FREE	
|___________________________|
|                           |
| cat (freed)
| 	0: MALLOC(8B)	
| 	1: FREE	
|___________________________

Compilation

To compile your project with the Debug Allocator Library, ensure that the debug_alloc.c source file is included in your compilation command:

gcc -o my_program my_program.c debug_alloc.c

Configuration

The Debug Allocator Library can be configured by defining the DEBUG_ALLOC macro. When this macro is defined, library will work the way you expect it. If it is not defined, library acts as wrapper around malloc, calloc, realloc and free, that does nothing special, but calling coresponding fucntion. You can define this macro globally in your project or using compiler flags:

gcc -DDEBUG_ALLOC -o my_program my_program.c debug_alloc.c

Documentation

For detailed documentation on the usage and API of the Debug Allocator Library, please refer to the comments in the debug_alloc.h header file.

License

This project uses Apache License 2.0

davidSimek / debug_alloc