a.out too big

nibbler · 05-25-2004, 04:15 AM

Hi!

This code

Code:

int array[4000000]={0};

int main()
{
	return 0;
}

compiled with 'g++ temp.cpp' produces a.out file 15Mb big, which is the amount of memory to be allocated.

Code:

#include <stdlib.h>

int main()
{
	int *array=(int*)malloc(sizeof(int)*4000000);
	return 0;
}

a.out is now 11K.

Anyone knows why this is so?

I'm using Red Hat 9, gcc version 3.2.2 20030222 (Red Hat Linux 3.2.2-5).

Thanks in advance

jlliagre · 05-25-2004, 05:04 AM

Your example illustrates the difference between statically and dynamically allocated memory.
In the first example, the int array is already in the binary while in the second one, the array is created at runtime.