kalloc.h File Reference

Kernel heap allocator for variable-sized dynamic memory. More...

#include <stddef.h>

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Functions
void *	kmalloc (size_t size)
	Allocates a block of memory from the kernel heap.
void	kfree (void *ptr)
	Frees a block of memory previously returned by kmalloc().

Detailed Description

Kernel heap allocator for variable-sized dynamic memory.

This module provides the kernel-side dynamic memory API. It hands out variable-sized allocations from the kernel heap and returns them for reuse, layering on top of the physical page allocator.

Author

Abhin Parekadan Jose

Date

2026-07-05

Function Documentation

kfree()

void kfree

(

void *

ptr

)

Frees a block of memory previously returned by kmalloc().

Returns the block starting at ptr to the kernel heap so it can be reused. Passing NULL is a no-op.

Parameters

ptr	Pointer to the block to free, as returned by kmalloc().

kmalloc()

void * kmalloc

(

size_t

size

)

Allocates a block of memory from the kernel heap.

Reserves at least size bytes of contiguous memory for the caller.

Parameters

size	The number of bytes to allocate.

Returns

void* Pointer to the allocated block, or NULL if the request could not be satisfied.