Friday, May 8, 2020
Why You Need to Know Your CPU Type For Writing a Custom Memory Allocator
Why You Need to Know Your CPU Type For Writing a Custom Memory AllocatorThe first question most programmers ask when they write a custom memory allocator is what sort of system it will run on. They usually want to know if they can run it on their own CPU or not. But why do you need to know the kind of CPU you're using if you're not using one? In this article, we'll go over the reasons why you need to know your CPU type and why it's important to the process of programming memory allocators.First of all, if you're not using one for real-time applications, then you might want to reconsider whether or not you need to write one. Imagine for a moment that your application runs while your application is in the middle of processing an HTTP request from a user. This could cause some serious problems for the allocator. After the CPU has processed the request, it will move onto the next item in the queue. This means the current processor is going to be exhausted before it can process the next r equest.It is therefore not unusual for real-time applications to run on multicore CPUs that are not meant for them. Moreover, if you're using a single CPU for both of these scenarios, the chances of your application crashing are higher than if you were using two or more CPUs. And since you need the CPU to remain running even after all other programs have stopped, this can lead to crashes.So what is a multicore? In general, a multicore is a CPU that has two processors. However, this is not always the case. If a system doesn't support more than one processor at once, then the operating system will use the first processor that it can support to handle the task. This can be the CPU that process the first request and the other one to handle the request that is coming after it.Now that you know what a multicore is, let's take a look at how multiple processors can affect the process of programming a memory allocator. When you're designing your custom memory allocator, think about what task s it's going to handle. Are you running it to handle multiple requests at the same time, or is it going to work in a pool to handle many simultaneous requests? If the latter, then you want to make sure that the pool doesn't overload the first processor that it can process. Otherwise, you're going to be dealing with problems related to the contention of the tasks that the first processor is trying to handle.Another factor that you need to consider when programming a memory allocator is the fact that multiple cores can have conflicting instructions, which can cause some serious problems. These problems are usually because of multiple threads accessing the same data or resources at the same time. Most memory allocators can handle this situation, but if your application is dealing with anything related to a multi-threaded application, then it is highly recommended that you leave this as an option only.There are also instances where multiple applications can start up at the same time. A memory allocator that is made for multiple applications won't be able to handle the request immediately. It will keep the application busy until the request comes in, and then when it finally comes in, it will quickly return a response.Writing a custom memory allocator is one of the more complex tasks that programmers must deal with. It's important to remember that no matter how simple your design is, there will always be cases where it won't work properly. Be prepared for these situations, and be careful to make sure that you don't waste time on something that you will likely get frustrated with anyway.
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