  Debugging memory allocation problems? 
 The Question is:
 
Is there a malloc bug in DEC C V5.2-003 C compiler? Or any other know problem
 that might cause strange crashes?
 
 
 
 The Answer is :
 
  The C malloc and free calls are very heavily used within OpenVMS code and
  within layered products and customer application code.  Accordingly, any
  problems that might be lurking within the run-time library (RTL) code that
  implements these calls would typically be expected to have very obvious and
  very widespread effects.
 
  The Compaq C RTL ships with OpenVMS and not the compiler, and OpenVMS ECO
  kits for the RTL are available.   That said, the OpenVMS Wizard would NOT
  assume that these ECOs will repair the (unspecified) behaviour reported
  here.  The OpenVMS Wizard WOULD assume that there is an application bug here.
 
  Your Compaq C compiler is also very old, and should be upgraded to a more
  recent version.  But paralleling the previous paragraph, the OpenVMS Wizard
  would again not assume that a compiler upgrade would resolve what is most
  often an application bug.
 
  Discussions in topics (1661), (2624), (2630), (3115), (3257), (4808),
  (5455), (5640), and likely a few others will be of interest when working
  with memory management, and particularly when debugging memory management
  problems.  The first of these topics includes a discussion of debugging
  various typical types of memory allocation problems, and topic (3257)
  provides a detailed description of a debugging a technique occasionally
  known as "fenceposts".
 
 
 Answer written or last revised on  27-MAR-2002 
