Reallocates a block of memory from a heap. This function enables you to resize a memory block and change other memory block properties. The allocated memory is not movable.

Syntax

LPVOID WINAPI HeapReAlloc(
  __in  HANDLE hHeap,
  __in  DWORD dwFlags,
  __in  LPVOID lpMem,
  __in  SIZE_T dwBytes
);

Parameters

hHeap [in]

A handle to the heap from which the memory is to be reallocated. This handle is a returned by either the HeapCreate or GetProcessHeap function.

dwFlags [in]

The heap reallocation options. Specifying a value overrides the corresponding value specified in the flOptions parameter when the heap was created by using the HeapCreate function. This parameter can be one or more of the following values.

Value	Meaning
HEAP_GENERATE_EXCEPTIONS 0x00000004	The operating-system raises an exception to indicate a function failure, such as an out-of-memory condition, instead of returning NULL. To ensure that exceptions are generated for all calls to this function, specify HEAP_GENERATE_EXCEPTIONS in the call to HeapCreate. In this case, it is not necessary to additionally specify HEAP_GENERATE_EXCEPTIONS in this function call.
HEAP_NO_SERIALIZE 0x00000001	Serialized access will not be used. For more information, see Remarks. To ensure that serialized access is disabled for all calls to this function, specify HEAP_NO_SERIALIZE in the call to HeapCreate. In this case, it is not necessary to additionally specify HEAP_NO_SERIALIZE in this function call. This value should not be specified when accessing the process heap. The system may create additional threads within the application's process, such as a CTRL+C handler, that simultaneously access the process heap.
HEAP_REALLOC_IN_PLACE_ONLY 0x00000010	There can be no movement when reallocating a memory block. If this value is not specified, the function may move the block to a new location. If this value is specified and the block cannot be resized without moving, the function fails, leaving the original memory block unchanged.
HEAP_ZERO_MEMORY 0x00000008	If the reallocation request is for a larger size, the additional region of memory beyond the original size be initialized to zero. The contents of the memory block up to its original size are unaffected.

 

lpMem [in]

A pointer to the block of memory that the function reallocates. This pointer is returned by an earlier call to the HeapAlloc or HeapReAlloc function.

dwBytes [in]

The new size of the memory block, in bytes. A memory block's size can be increased or decreased by using this function.

If the heap specified by the hHeap parameter is a "non-growable" heap, dwBytes must be less than 0x7FFF8. You create a non-growable heap by calling the HeapCreate function with a nonzero value.

Return Value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a pointer to the reallocated memory block.

If the function fails and you have not specified HEAP_GENERATE_EXCEPTIONS, the return value is NULL.

If the function fails and you have specified HEAP_GENERATE_EXCEPTIONS, the function may generate the following exceptions.

If the function fails, it does not call SetLastError. An application cannot call GetLastError for extended error information.

Remarks

If HeapReAlloc succeeds, it allocates at least the amount of memory requested.

If HeapReAlloc fails, the original memory is not freed, and the original handle and pointer are still valid.

HeapReAlloc is guaranteed to preserve the content of the memory being reallocated, even if the new memory is allocated at a different location. The process of preserving the memory content involves a memory copy operation that is potentially very time-consuming.

To free a block of memory allocated by HeapReAlloc, use the HeapFree function.

Serialization ensures mutual exclusion when two or more threads attempt to simultaneously allocate or free blocks from the same heap. There is a small performance cost to serialization, but it must be used whenever multiple threads allocate and free memory from the same heap. Setting the HEAP_NO_SERIALIZE value eliminates mutual exclusion on the heap. Without serialization, two or more threads that use the same heap handle might attempt to allocate or free memory simultaneously, likely causing corruption in the heap. The HEAP_NO_SERIALIZE value can, therefore, be safely used only in the following situations:

• The process has only one thread.
• The process has multiple threads, but only one thread calls the heap functions for a specific heap.
• The process has multiple threads, and the application provides its own mechanism for mutual exclusion to a specific heap.

Requirements

See Also

Heap Functions

HeapAlloc

HeapFree

Memory Management Functions

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Build date: 7/2/2009