Heap terminology

Use a few more words: The allocated block is aligned on an 8-byte boundary, or similar. If you want something short for a constant name, perhaps BLOCK_ALIGNMENT, with a suitable comment.

I was looking for a term that would be suitable for use in the code (e.g., a variable's name) as well as the commentary (short and sweet :> )

In another conversation (off list), the term "granularity" was offered. In a sense, this actually defines how the quantity is applied so I think I like it!

I.e., pools/partitions deal with fixed size buffers. The heap differs in that it allows "fine grained" allocations. However, alignment issues effectively limit the caller's choices resulting in a certain "granularity" to the heap itself.

Capisc?

The term actually has three components:

qualifier: e.g. smallest, minimum noun: e.g. unit, chunk, block attribute: e.g. size, length, width

That might result in variable names like 'minChunkSize' but 'minChunk' might be sufficiently unambiguous depending on the context.

-- Chris Burrows CFB Software Armaide: ARM Oberon-07 Development System

But these are misleading. Note that you can (conceivably) request less memory than this "granularity" (e.g., you can request *one* byte even though the processor might require 8 byte alignments).

And, the size of the chunk (fragment) that is allocated may be quite different than the request *and* the "granularity". E.g., if there are 8 bytes of (hidden) "overhead" tacked onto each request, the user requests 2 bytes and the processor imposes a 4-byte alignment (i.e., he ends up with a >= 10 byte fragment). minChunk would suggest a minimum fragment size dictated by the overhead (e.g., a request of 0 costs the heap

I think granularity probably comes closest to the concept at issue, here. It describes how finely you can "slice" the heap without involving other issues (like overhead).

El 26/02/2010 22:10, D Yuniskis escribió:

offset quantum