[ros-users] [Discourse.ros.org] [Next Generation ROS] Heap Allocator in ROS

[William Woodall]

[quote="sagniknitr, post:1, topic:2630"]
What is the default heap allocator in ROS ?
[/quote]

In ROS 1 and ROS 2 the default allocators (new/delete, which are based on malloc and free) are not overridden by default.

In ROS 1 you can provide your own C++ style allocator for messages, but that's about it.

In ROS 2 you can provide your own C++ style allocator for messages, publishers, subscribers, and the executor (the thing that does `spin()`). You can also provide a custom allocator when using the C api's in ROS 2, using an allocator struct, but the default again uses malloc and free.

[quote="sagniknitr, post:1, topic:2630"]
How is it different in case of nodelets/components used in ros 2 ?
[/quote]

There are no nodelets in ROS 2, but you can compose multiple nodes into a single process in ROS 2, like you could with nodelets in ROS 1.

Composition of nodes, whether by nodelets in ROS 1 or with normal Nodes in ROS 2, has no bearing on the use of the default or custom allocators. The decision is orthogonal as far as I can see.





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