stale pointer bug
<programming> (Or "aliasing bug") A class of subtle programming errors
that can arise in code that does dynamic allocation, especially via malloc or
equivalent.
If several pointers address (are "aliases for") a given hunk of storage, it may
happen that the storage is freed or reallocated (and thus moved) through one
alias and then referenced through another, which may lead to subtle (and
possibly intermittent) lossage depending on the state and the allocation history
of the malloc arena. This bug can be avoided by never creating aliases for
allocated memory, or by use of a higher-level language, such as Lisp, which
employs a garbage collector.
The term "aliasing bug" is nowadays associated with C programming, it was
already in use in a very similar sense in the ALGOL 60 and Fortran communities
in the 1960s.
See also smash the stack, fandango on core, memory leak, memory smash, spam.
[Jargon File]
(1995-05-09)
Nearby terms:
staircase « staircasing « @stake « stale pointer
bug
» Stallman, Richard M. » stand-alone » standard
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