What are some effective tools for memory management in C?

What are some effective tools for memory management in C?

There are several tools for memory management in C, including Valgrind, AddressSanitizer, and Electric Fence. Valgrind is great for detecting memory leaks, while AddressSanitizer helps find memory corruption issues.

Can you explain how Valgrind works?

Valgrind works by running your program in a virtual environment, monitoring memory usage, and checking for errors like leaks and invalid accesses. It provides detailed reports to help you debug.

Are there any built-in functions in C for memory management?

Yes, C provides several built-in functions for memory management, such as malloc(), calloc(), realloc(), and free(). These functions allow you to allocate and deallocate memory dynamically.

How can I prevent memory leaks in my C programs?

To prevent memory leaks, always ensure that every allocation with malloc or similar functions has a corresponding free call. Additionally, using tools like Valgrind can help identify leaks during development.