| cfree(3) | Library Functions Manual | cfree(3) |
cfree - free allocated memory
Standard C library (libc, -lc)
#include <stdlib.h>
/* In SunOS 4 */ int cfree(void *ptr);
/* In glibc or FreeBSD libcompat */ void cfree(void *ptr);
/* In SCO OpenServer */ void cfree(char ptr[.size * .num], unsigned int num, unsigned int size);
/* In Solaris watchmalloc.so.1 */ void cfree(void ptr[.elsize * .nelem], size_t nelem, size_t elsize);
cfree():
Since glibc 2.19:
_DEFAULT_SOURCE
glibc 2.19 and earlier:
_BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE
This function should never be used. Use free(3) instead. Starting with glibc 2.26, it has been removed from glibc.
In glibc, the function cfree() is a synonym for free(3), "added for compatibility with SunOS".
Other systems have other functions with this name. The declaration is sometimes in <stdlib.h> and sometimes in <malloc.h>.
Some SCO and Solaris versions have malloc libraries with a 3-argument cfree(), apparently as an analog to calloc(3).
If you need it while porting something, add
#define cfree(p, n, s) free((p))
to your file.
A frequently asked question is "Can I use free(3) to free memory allocated with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?" Answer: use free(3).
An SCO manual writes: "The cfree routine is provided for compliance to the iBCSe2 standard and simply calls free. The num and size arguments to cfree are not used."
The SunOS version of cfree() (which is a synonym for free(3)) returns 1 on success and 0 on failure. In case of error, errno is set to EINVAL: the value of ptr was not a pointer to a block previously allocated by one of the routines in the malloc(3) family.
The cfree() function was removed in glibc 2.26.
For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7).
| Interface | Attribute | Value |
| cfree () | Thread safety | MT-Safe /* In glibc */ |
The 3-argument version of cfree() as used by SCO conforms to the iBCSe2 standard: Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.
| 2023-02-05 | Linux man-pages 6.03 |