Absolute Beginner’s Guide to C, 2nd Edition

26. Where’s More Memory?

Try the Heap

In This Chapter

Thinking of the Heap

279

But WHY Do I Need the Heap?

280

How Do I Allocate the Heap?

282

If There’s Not Enough Heap Memory

285

Absolute beginners to C aren’t the only ones who might, at first, find this chapter’s concepts confusing. Even advanced C programmers get mixed up when dealing with the heap. The heap is the collection of unused memory in your computer. The memory left over—after your program, your program’s variables, and your operating system’s workspace—comprises your computer’s available heap space, as Figure 26.1 shows.

Figure 26.1. The heap is unused memory.

There will be ...