Cairo
Allocating Memory

Allocating Memory

Cairo supports the creation and storage of objects in memory. Once stored, a pointer to the object is returned which can be used by other functions.

There are 3 different ways to allocate memory:

  1. Memory Segment Allocation
    • Via alloc
    • Creates an arbitrary length array
  2. Single Item Allocation
    • Via new operator
    • Initializes the item and returns a pointer to it
  3. Local Variables
    • Allocate a variable to retrieve its address

Example

from starkware.cairo.common.alloc import alloc

struct Point:
    member x : felt
    member y : felt
end

func main():
    # `alloc` can be used to allocate new memory segments dynamically.
    # Segments can store a single element...
    let (x : felt*) = alloc()

    # ...or an array.
    let (points_array : Point*) = alloc()
    assert points_array[0] = Point(x=1, y=2)
    assert points_array[1] = Point(x=3, y=4)

    # The `new` operator pushes an object onto the stack and returns a pointer to it.
    tempvar pointer : Point* = new Point(x=1, y=2)
    assert pointer.x = 1
    assert pointer.y = 2

    # `new` can also be used to allocate a fixed-size array using tuples.
    tempvar tuples : felt* = new (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
    assert tuples[2] = 3

    return ()
end
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Arrays