Memory as a Programming Concept in C and C++

The overwhelming majority of bugs and crashes in computer programming stem from problems of memory access, allocation, or deallocation. Such memory related errors are also notoriously difficult to debug. Yet the role that memory plays in C and C++ programming is a subject often overlooked in courses and in books because it requires specialised knowledge of operating systems, compilers, computer architecture in addition to a familiarity with the languages themselves. Most professional programmers learn entirely through experience of the trouble it causes. This 2004 book provides students and professional programmers with a concise yet comprehensive view of the role memory plays in all aspects of programming and program behaviour. Assuming only a basic familiarity with C or C++, the author describes the techniques, methods, and tools available to deal with the problems related to memory and its effective use. Franek (McMaster U.) reminds us that programs are not executed in a vacuum but in a computer memory, a simple fact that changes the way must programmers and students must think about the semantics of the programming language. He begins by describing the transformation of a source file to an executable module, the work of variables as "data containers," the dynamic allocation and de-allocation of memory, functions and function calls, one-dimensional arrays and strings, multi-dimensional arrays, classes and objects, linked data structures, leaks and their debugging, and programs in execution expressed as processes and threads. He includes a glossary and a web site to obtain the lengthier examples of code.

Assuming readers have a basic familiarity with C or C++, Frantisek Franek describes the techniques, methods and tools available to develop effective memory usage. The overwhelming majority of "bugs" and crashes in computer programming stem from problems of memory access, allocation, or deallocation. Such memory related errors are notoriously difficult to resolve. Moreover, the role that memory plays in C and C++ programming is a subject often overlooked in courses and in books. Most professional programmers learn about it entirely through actual experience of the problems it causes.

This 2004 book provides students and professional programmers with a concise yet comprehensive view of the role memory plays in all aspects of programming and program behaviour. Describes the techniques and tools to deal with the problems related to memory and its effective use, assuming only a basic knowledge of C or C++. The motivation for this book came from years of observing computer science students at universities as well as professional programmers working in software development.