calloc

Allocates an array in memory with elements initialized to 0.

void*calloc(size_tnum**,size_tsize);**

Routine Required Header Compatibility
calloc <stdlib.h> and <malloc.h> ANSI, Win 95, Win NT

For additional compatibility information, see Compatibility in the Introduction.

Libraries

LIBC.LIB Single thread static library, retail version
LIBCMT.LIB Multithread static library, retail version
MSVCRT.LIB Import library for MSVCRT.DLL, retail version

Return Value

calloc returns a pointer to the allocated space. The storage space pointed to by the return value is guaranteed to be suitably aligned for storage of any type of object. To get a pointer to a type other than void, use a type cast on the return value.

Parameters

num

Number of elements

size

Length in bytes of each element

Remarks

The calloc function allocates storage space for an array of num elements, each of length size bytes. Each element is initialized to 0.

calloc calls malloc in order to use the C++ _set_new_mode function to set the new handler mode. The new handler mode indicates whether, on failure, malloc is to call the new handler routine as set by _set_new_handler. By default, malloc does not call the new handler routine on failure to allocate memory. You can override this default behavior so that, when calloc fails to allocate memory, malloc calls the new handler routine in the same way that the new operator does when it fails for the same reason. To override the default, call

_set_new_mode(1)

early in your program, or link with NEWMODE.OBJ.

When the application is linked with a debug version of the C run-time libraries, calloc resolves to _calloc_dbg. For more information about how the heap is managed during the debugging process, see Using C Run-Time Library Debugging Support.

Example

/* CALLOC.C: This program uses calloc to allocate space for
 * 40 long integers. It initializes each element to zero.
 */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <malloc.h>

void main( void )
{
   long *buffer;

   buffer = (long *)calloc( 40, sizeof( long ) );
   if( buffer != NULL )
      printf( "Allocated 40 long integers\n" );
   else
      printf( "Can't allocate memory\n" );
   free( buffer );
}

Output
Allocated 40 long integers

Memory Allocation Routines

See Also   free, malloc, realloc