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MREMAP(2) Linux Programmer's Manual MREMAP(2)
NAME
mremap - remap a virtual memory address
SYNOPSIS
#define _GNU_SOURCE /* See feature_test_macros(7) */
#include <sys/mman.h>
void *mremap(void *old_address, size_t old_size,
size_t new_size, int flags, ... /* void *new_address */);
DESCRIPTION
mremap() expands (or shrinks) an existing memory mapping, potentially moving it at the
same time (controlled by the flags argument and the available virtual address space).
old_address is the old address of the virtual memory block that you want to expand (or
shrink). Note that old_address has to be page aligned. old_size is the old size of the
virtual memory block. new_size is the requested size of the virtual memory block after
the resize. An optional fifth argument, new_address, may be provided; see the description
of MREMAP_FIXED below.
In Linux the memory is divided into pages. A user process has (one or) several linear
virtual memory segments. Each virtual memory segment has one or more mappings to real
memory pages (in the page table). Each virtual memory segment has its own protection
(access rights), which may cause a segmentation violation if the memory is accessed incor‐
rectly (e.g., writing to a read-only segment). Accessing virtual memory outside of the
segments will also cause a segmentation violation.
mremap() uses the Linux page table scheme. mremap() changes the mapping between virtual
addresses and memory pages. This can be used to implement a very efficient realloc(3).
The flags bit-mask argument may be 0, or include the following flag:
MREMAP_MAYMOVE
By default, if there is not sufficient space to expand a mapping at its current
location, then mremap() fails. If this flag is specified, then the kernel is per‐
mitted to relocate the mapping to a new virtual address, if necessary. If the map‐
ping is relocated, then absolute pointers into the old mapping location become
invalid (offsets relative to the starting address of the mapping should be
employed).
MREMAP_FIXED (since Linux 2.3.31)
This flag serves a similar purpose to the MAP_FIXED flag of mmap(2). If this flag
is specified, then mremap() accepts a fifth argument, void *new_address, which
specifies a page-aligned address to which the mapping must be moved. Any previous
mapping at the address range specified by new_address and new_size is unmapped. If
MREMAP_FIXED is specified, then MREMAP_MAYMOVE must also be specified.
If the memory segment specified by old_address and old_size is locked (using mlock(2) or
similar), then this lock is maintained when the segment is resized and/or relocated. As a
consequence, the amount of memory locked by the process may change.
RETURN VALUE
On success mremap() returns a pointer to the new virtual memory area. On error, the value
MAP_FAILED (that is, (void *) -1) is returned, and errno is set appropriately.
ERRORS
EAGAIN The caller tried to expand a memory segment that is locked, but this was not possi‐
ble without exceeding the RLIMIT_MEMLOCK resource limit.
EFAULT "Segmentation fault." Some address in the range old_address to old_address+old_size
is an invalid virtual memory address for this process. You can also get EFAULT
even if there exist mappings that cover the whole address space requested, but
those mappings are of different types.
EINVAL An invalid argument was given. Possible causes are: old_address was not page
aligned; a value other than MREMAP_MAYMOVE or MREMAP_FIXED was specified in flags;
new_size was zero; new_size or new_address was invalid; or the new address range
specified by new_address and new_size overlapped the old address range specified by
old_address and old_size; or MREMAP_FIXED was specified without also specifying
MREMAP_MAYMOVE.
ENOMEM The memory area cannot be expanded at the current virtual address, and the
MREMAP_MAYMOVE flag is not set in flags. Or, there is not enough (virtual) memory
available.
CONFORMING TO
This call is Linux-specific, and should not be used in programs intended to be portable.
NOTES
Prior to version 2.4, glibc did not expose the definition of MREMAP_FIXED, and the proto‐
type for mremap() did not allow for the new_address argument.
SEE ALSO
brk(2), getpagesize(2), getrlimit(2), mlock(2), mmap(2), sbrk(2), malloc(3), realloc(3)
Your favorite text book on operating systems for more information on paged memory (e.g.,
Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Inside Linux by Randolf Bentson, The
Design of the UNIX Operating System by Maurice J. Bach)
COLOPHON
This page is part of release 3.74 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the
project, information about reporting bugs, and the latest version of this page, can be
found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
Linux 2010-06-10 MREMAP(2)
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