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To free an object allocated in an obstack, use the function
obstack_free
. Since the obstack is a stack of objects, freeing
one object automatically frees all other objects allocated more recently
in the same obstack.
If object is a null pointer, everything allocated in the obstack is freed. Otherwise, object must be the address of an object allocated in the obstack. Then object is freed, along with everything allocated in obstack since object.
Note that if object is a null pointer, the result is an
uninitialized obstack. To free all memory in an obstack but leave it
valid for further allocation, call obstack_free
with the address
of the first object allocated on the obstack:
obstack_free (obstack_ptr, first_object_allocated_ptr);
Recall that the objects in an obstack are grouped into chunks. When all the objects in a chunk become free, the obstack library automatically frees the chunk (see Preparing for Obstacks). Then other obstacks, or non-obstack allocation, can reuse the space of the chunk.