xref: /haiku/docs/user/support/BlockCache.dox (revision cbe0a0c436162d78cc3f92a305b64918c839d079)
1/*
2 * Copyright 2007-2014 Haiku, Inc. All rights reserved.
3 * Distributed under the terms of the MIT License.
4 *
5 * Authors:
6 *		Niels Sascha Reedijk, niels.reedijk@gmail.com
7 *		John Scipione, jscipione@gmail.com
8 *
9 * Proofreading:
10 *		David Weizades, ddewbofh@hotmail.com
11 *		Thom Holwerda, slakje@quicknet.nl
12 *
13 * Corresponds to:
14 *		headers/os/support/BlockCache.h  rev 19972
15 *		src/kits/support/BlockCache.cpp  rev 43545
16 */
17
18
19/*!
20	\file BlockCache.h
21	\ingroup support
22	\ingroup libbe
23	\brief Implements a mechanism to store and retrieve memory blocks.
24*/
25
26
27/*!
28	\var B_OBJECT_CACHE
29	\brief Used in the constructor of BBlockCache. Determines that objects will
30	       be created using \c new[] and \c delete[].
31
32	\since BeOS R3
33*/
34
35
36/*!
37	\var B_MALLOC_CACHE
38	\brief Used in the constructor of BBlockCache. Determines that objects will
39	       be created using \c malloc() and \c free().
40
41	\since BeOS R3
42*/
43
44
45/*!
46	\class BBlockCache
47	\ingroup support
48	\ingroup libbe
49	\brief A class that creates and maintains a pool of memory blocks.
50
51	In some performance critical code there might come a time where you require
52	a lot of little blocks of memory that you want to access and dispose of
53	continuously. Since allocating and freeing memory are 'expensive'
54	operations, it is better to have a pool of memory blocks at your disposal.
55	Luckily, the Haiku API provides a class that will act as the administrator
56	of your memory pool, so you will not have to reinvent the wheel every time.
57
58	The principle is easy. The constructor takes the number of blocks you
59	want to create beforehand, the size of the blocks, and the method of
60	allocation. This can either be #B_OBJECT_CACHE or #B_MALLOC_CACHE.
61	The first one uses C++ operators \c new[] and \c delete[], while the second
62	one uses \c malloc() and \c free(). Unless you have specific demands on
63	performance or you want to take care of freeing the objects yourself, either
64	way works fine.
65
66	As soon as you have the memory pool, you can Get() blocks. If the
67	pre-allocated memory blocks run out, BBlockCache will allocate new ones, so
68	you will not have to worry about availability. As soon as you are done you
69	can Save() the memory back into the pool. BBlockCache will make sure that no
70	more blocks will be saved than the initial number you requested when you
71	created the object, so be aware of that.
72
73	As soon as you got a pointer from the Get() method, you own that block of
74	memory; this means that you have the liberty to dispose of it yourself. It
75	also means that when you delete your BBlockCache instance, any blocks of
76	memory that are checked out will not be destroyed. In case you might want to
77	delete your objects yourself, make sure you free the memory the right way.
78	If you created the object as #B_OBJECT_CACHE, use \c delete[] to free your
79	object. If you created the object as #B_MALLOC_CACHE, use \c free(). Please
80	note that it defeats the purpose of this class if your are going to free all
81	the objects yourself since it basically means that when the pool runs out,
82	Get() will be allocating the objects by itself.
83
84	\note BBlockCache is thread-safe.
85
86	\since BeOS R3
87*/
88
89
90/*!
91	\fn BBlockCache::BBlockCache(uint32 blockCount, size_t blockSize, uint32
92		allocationType)
93	\brief Allocate a new memory pool.
94
95	\param blockCount The number of free memory blocks you want to allocate
96	       initially. This number is also used as the maximum number of free
97	       blocks that will be kept.
98	\param blockSize The size of the blocks.
99	\param allocationType Either #B_OBJECT_CACHE for using \c new[] and
100	       \c delete[] or #B_MALLOC_CACHE for \c malloc() and \c free().
101
102	\since BeOS R3
103*/
104
105
106/*!
107	\fn BBlockCache::~BBlockCache()
108	\brief Destroy the empty blocks in the free list.
109
110	Note that the blocks you checked out with Get() and not checked back in with
111	Save() will not be freed, since ownership belongs to you. Make sure you
112	clean up after yourself.
113
114	\since BeOS R3
115*/
116
117
118/*!
119	\fn void* BBlockCache::Get(size_t blockSize)
120	\brief Get a block from the pool of free blocks.
121
122	If the pool runs out of free blocks, a new one will be allocated. Please
123	note that if the size given in the \c blockSize parameter is different from
124	the size given in the constructor, a new block of memory will be created.
125	Only sizes that match the blocks in the memory pool will come from the pool.
126
127	\param blockSize The required size of the memory block.
128
129	\return Returns a pointer to a memory block, or \c NULL if locking the
130	        object failed.
131
132	\since BeOS R3
133*/
134
135
136/*!
137	\fn void BBlockCache::Save(void* pointer, size_t blockSize)
138	\brief Save a block of memory to the memory pool.
139
140	The block of memory will only be added to the pool if the \c blockSize is
141	equal to the size the object was created with and if the maximum number of
142	free blocks in the list will not be exceeded. If not, the memory will be
143	freed.
144
145	Note that it is perfectly valid to pass objects other than those you got
146	from Get(), but please note that the way it was created conforms to the way
147	memory is allocated and freed in this pool. Therefore, only feed blocks that
148	were created with \c new[] if the allocation type is #B_OBJECT_CACHE.
149	Likewise, you should only use objects allocated with \c malloc() when the
150	allocation type is #B_MALLOC_CACHE.
151
152	\since BeOS R3
153*/
154