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Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty?

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On 3/10/2014 12:28 AM, partremmaps@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, March 9, 2014 5:39:28 AM UTC-7, Ben Bacarisse wrote:
>> partremmaps@gmail.com writes:
>>> On Saturday, March 8, 2014 10:55:27 PM UTC-8, Kaz Kylheku wrote:
>>>> On 2014-03-09, partremmaps@gmail.com <partremmaps@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]
>>> Thus, it looks to me like, since the lifetime must end at
>>> deallocation, and free() is to deallocate, then free cannot be "void
>>> free(void *ptr) { }."

>> Strictly speaking, I think the lifetime issue is a red herring.  The
>> lifetime of an object is a guarantee of when it is usable, not a
>> guarantee that it is unavailable subsequently.  For example, a C
>> implementation that used static allocation for automatic variables where
>> that is possible (basically in functions that can't be called while they
>> are active) would be conforming.  Also, in code like this:

>>     void f(void)
>>     {
>>        ....
>>        if (...) {
>>            int i;
>>            ...
>>        }
>>        /* Must i really be "gone" here? */
>>        ...
>>     }

> Of course, the question was about space pointed to by a pointer and freed by free(), which i isn't in this case.

Yes, but it does show a hole in the argument that starts with "since 
lifetime must end be deallocation, ...". Lifetime has little to do with 
your question.

>> no one would claim that an implementation that did not actually make the
>> object referred by 'i' invalid after the 'if' is non-conforming.  You
>> can't ever tell when an object's lifetime ends, so if the standard
>> merely said that free ends the lifetime of the allocated space, there
>> would be nothing to debate.

> Except perhaps the standard does spell out that free is to deallocate. In your example above, I agree, the space used by i could live outside its scope for some length of time.
> But since the standard does say that free deallocates, and since it does not have any comment that the action is allowed later, it causes me to question the correctness of assuming a "May be done later" clause when such a clause is no where to be seen (at least that I've found,) especially considering C's strong sequence point rules.
> There is a very strong wording for free that it is to free the space for further allocation. That can't be ignored.

But is the wording strong enough to require that a subsequent malloc(1), 
or similar, actually succeed? If it's not, then the "as-if" rule would 
apply, and you can have free() do nothing.

[snip]

Martin Shobe

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Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-08 22:08 -0800
  Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2014-03-09 06:55 +0000
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2014-03-10 00:47 +0100
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-09 22:37 -0700
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2014-03-10 10:20 +0100
          Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2014-03-10 08:52 -0700
          Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-10 20:51 -0700
            Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-11 01:08 -0500
            Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2014-03-11 12:52 +0100
              Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-12 00:09 -0700
                Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2014-03-12 12:59 +0100
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2014-03-10 09:01 +0000
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Nick Bowler <nbowler@draconx.ca> - 2014-03-10 15:56 +0000
  Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-09 01:11 -0800
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2014-03-09 12:39 +0000
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2014-03-09 13:05 +0000
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-09 22:28 -0700
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-10 07:27 -0500
          Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-10 20:55 -0700
            Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-11 08:19 -0500
              Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-11 23:22 -0700
                Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-12 08:09 -0500
                Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2014-03-12 11:29 -0400
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-10 07:29 -0500
  Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-09 09:14 +0000
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-10 15:33 -0500
  Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-09 23:05 -0700
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-10 07:43 -0500
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? gordonb.3qcze@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2014-03-10 12:05 -0500
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-10 20:16 -0700
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-29 16:27 -0700
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-10 21:48 -0700
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-11 05:52 +0000
  Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? partremmaps@gmail.com - 2014-03-20 19:14 -0700
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2014-03-21 03:25 +0000
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2014-03-21 20:58 -0400
        Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-29 16:11 -0700
          Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2014-03-29 22:27 -0400
            Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-30 13:18 -0700
              Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2014-03-30 20:49 -0400
                Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2014-04-17 10:52 -0700
            Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2014-03-31 11:18 -0400
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-21 03:31 +0000
    Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-29 15:39 -0700
      Re: Does ANSI C allow free() to always be empty? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2014-03-30 04:22 +0000

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