Deallocating User Memory

The database server does not perform any automatic reclamation of user memory in a client LIBMI application. Therefore, the client LIBMI application must use mi_free to explicitly free all allocations that mi_alloc( ) makes.

User memory remains valid until whichever of the following events occurs first:

• The mi_free( ) function frees the memory.
• The mi_close( ) function closes the current connection.
• The client LIBMI application ends.

To conserve resources, use the mi_free( ) function to explicitly deallocate the user memory once your DataBlade API module no longer needs it. The mi_free( ) function is the destructor function for user memory.

Keep the following restrictions in mind about memory deallocation:

• Do not free user memory that you allocate for the return value of a UDR.
• Do not free memory until you are finished accessing the memory.
• Do not use mi_free( ) to deallocate memory that you have not explicitly allocated.
• Do not use mi_free( ) for data type structures that other DataBlade API constructor functions allocate.
• Do not attempt to free user memory after its memory duration expires.
• Reuse memory whenever possible. Do not repeat calls to allocation functions if you can reuse the memory for another task.