Maestro - A C Dynamic Array Library

Table of Contents

1. Description

   • Key Features
   • Memory Management

2. Maestro's Internal Logic

   • Internal Mechanism
   • Advantages
   • Disadvantages

3. Installation and Usage

   • Installation
   • Including in Your Project
   • Compilation

4. Functions Guide

   • maestro_new
   • push_back
   • pop_back
   • insert
   • erase
   • destroy

5. Complete Example

Description

Maestro is a lightweight and efficient C library that implements a generic dynamic array data structure. It provides an elegant solution for managing collections of elements of any data type, offering flexible and efficient array manipulation in memory.

Key Features

• Type Agnostic: Works with any data type through void* pointers
• Dynamic Memory Management: Automatic memory allocation and reallocation as needed
• Intuitive API: Clean and consistent interface for collection manipulation
• Comprehensive Operations: Support for fundamental operations like insertion, deletion, and appending

Memory Management

Maestro handles all memory management internally, including:

• Initial allocation during creation
• Dynamic resizing when elements are added
• Proper cleanup when elements are removed
• Complete deallocation during destruction

This automatic memory management helps prevent memory leaks while maintaining optimal performance.

Maestro's Internal Logic

Maestro implements a contiguous dynamic array using a void pointer (void* data) as its primary storage mechanism. This approach allows for storing any data type while maintaining memory efficiency and direct access capabilities.

Internal Mechanism

The library stores elements in contiguous memory locations, which means all elements are placed next to each other in memory. When you store elements in data, they are placed sequentially, with each element occupying element_size bytes. To access an element at position i, Maestro performs pointer arithmetic: data + (i * element_size).

Advantages:

• Cache Efficiency: Contiguous storage means better cache utilization and faster memory access
• Type Flexibility: Using void* allows storing any data type
• Direct Access: Fast access time to any element using pointer arithmetic

Disadvantages:

• Reallocation Cost: Adding elements may require reallocating and copying the entire array
• Type Safety: Using void* means type checking must be handled by the user
• Memory Limitations: Requires a single contiguous block of memory

Installation and Usage

Installation

Maestro can be easily installed by downloading the last version and using the provided installation script:

./install.sh

This script will:

• Copy the header file to the appropriate system include directory
• Install the static library libmaestro.a to the system library path
• Set up the necessary permissions

Usage

Including in Your Project

To use Maestro in your C project, include the header file:

#include <maestro/maestro.h>

Compilation

When compiling your project, you need to link against the Maestro library.

If you're using a Makefile, add the library flag:

LDFLAGS += -lmaestro

Or when compiling directly with gcc:

gcc your_program.c -o your_program -lmaestro

This will link your program with the Maestro library, giving you access to all its dynamic array functionality.

Functions Guide

First, let's define our structure:

typedef struct {
    int id;
    double value;
    const char* name;
} Item;

maestro_new

Creates a new dynamic array with the specified element size.

// Create an array for our Items
maestro* items = maestro_new(sizeof(Item));

push_back

Adds a new element at the end of the array. The array will automatically resize if needed.

Item new_item = {1, 3.14, "First"};
items->push_back(items, &new_item);

pop_back

Removes the last element from the array. If the array becomes empty, it frees the memory.

items->pop_back(items); // Removes the last Item

insert

Inserts a new element at the specified position, shifting all subsequent elements one position forward.

Item insert_item = {2, 2.71, "Second"};
items->insert(items, 1, &insert_item); // Inserts at position 1

erase

Removes an element at the specified position, shifting all subsequent elements one position backward.

items->erase(items, 0); // Removes Item at position 0

destroy

Frees all allocated memory associated with the array and the array itself.

items->destroy(items); // Cleans up the array

Complete Example

#include <maestro/maestro.h>

typedef struct {
    int id;
    double value;
    const char* name;
} Item;

int main()
{
    // Create the array
    maestro* items = maestro_new(sizeof(Item));

    // Create some Items
    Item a = {1, 1.1, "First"};
    Item b = {2, 2.2, "Second"};
    Item c = {3, 3.3, "Third"};
    Item d = {4, 4.4, "Fourth"};

    // Add elements
    items->push_back(items, &a);    // [{1, 1.1, "First"}]
    items->push_back(items, &b);    // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {2, 2.2, "Second"}]
    items->push_back(items, &c);    // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {2, 2.2, "Second"}, {3, 3.3, "Third"}]

    // Remove last element
    items->pop_back(items);         // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {2, 2.2, "Second"}]

    // Insert at position 1
    items->insert(items, 1, &c);    // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {3, 3.3, "Third"}, {2, 2.2, "Second"}]

    // Add another element
    items->push_back(items, &d);    // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {3, 3.3, "Third"}, {2, 2.2, "Second"}, {4, 4.4, "Fourth"}]

    // Erase element at position 2
    items->erase(items, 2);         // [{1, 1.1, "First"}, {3, 3.3, "Third"}, {4, 4.4, "Fourth"}]

    // Display array contents
    for (size_t i = 0; i < items->length; i++) {
        Item current = ((Item*)items->data)[i];
        printf("Id: %d, Value: %.1f, Name: %s\n", 
               current.id, current.value, current.name);
    }

    // Clean up
    items->destroy(items);
    return 0;
}