Re: cvs commit: src/usr.bin/mkfifo mkfifo.c

[Chris Pressey <cpressey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 2 Mar 2005 11:07:06 -0800 (PST)
Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> 
> :
> :liamfoy     2005/03/02 09:32:06 PST
> :
> :DragonFly src repository
> :
> :  Modified files:
> :    usr.bin/mkfifo       mkfifo.c 
> :  Log:
> :  - Make sure we free() 'modep' after setmode()
> :  - Add stdlib.h for both free() and exit()
> :  
> :  Revision  Changes    Path
> :  1.5       +3 -1      src/usr.bin/mkfifo/mkfifo.c
> :
> :
> :http://www.dragonflybsd.org/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/mkfifo/mkfifo.c.diff?
> r1=1.4&r2=1.5&f=u
> 
>     It's about to exit, there's no reason to free(modep), it just
>     wastes cycles unnecessarily.

There's one reason: setting a good example.  If someone, say, copies
this code into an unbounded loop in their own program, they'll leak
memory if they don't free modep.  Not that programmers should blindly
copy example code without reading the appropriate manual pages, every
little bit helps.

And considering it's only one structure being freed (and not, say, a
complicated cyclic graph-like structure), the waste of cycles involved
in freeing it is pretty minor.

Just my 2c.

-Chris