MemoryChannel.AllocMem()

The AllocMem function is a versatile memory allocation utility designed to allocate memory with specific properties based on a variable number of parameters. It uses a structure called MemoryAllocationRequest to define the characteristics of the memory to be allocated, such as size, memory type, data type, dimensions, and additional flags for specialized use cases (e.g., GPU memory, Unicode naming, or parameter packing).

The function prototype is: void* AllocMem(uint64_t tSize, ...), where tSize specifies the total size of the memory to be allocated, and the variable arguments provide detailed configuration through the MemoryAllocationRequest structure or other parameters.

MemoryAllocationRequest Structure

Field	Type	Description
`ma_size`	`uint64_t`	Size of the memory block to allocate (in bytes).
`ma_ram_type`	`uint8_t`	Memory type (0-6): Heap, Stack, IPC, GPU, Cloud, Registry, Page.
`ma_data_type`	`uint8_t`	Data type (0-7): byte, short, char, int, long, float, double.
`ma_dimension_type`	`uint8_t`	Dimension type (0-7): 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D, 6D, 8D, CustomD.
`ma_flags`	`uint8_t`	Flags for GPU types, Unicode name toggle, and packing enable/disable (via DATA_PACK_PARAMETERS).
`padding`	`uint8_t[4]`	Padding to ensure 64-bit alignment of the next field.
`ma_name`	`void*`	Pointer to a name (can contain a URL).

Memory Type Definitions

Macro	Value	Description
`HEAP_MEMORY`	0	Standard heap memory.
`STACK_MEMORY`	1	Stack-based memory.
`IPC_MEMORY`	2	Inter-process communication memory.
`GPU_MEMORY`	3	GPU-accessible memory.
`CLOUD_MEMORY`	4	Cloud-based memory.
`REGISTRY_MEMORY`	5	Registry-based memory.
`PAGE_MEMORY`	6	Paged memory (mapped).
`RESERVED_MEMORY`	7	Reserved for future use.

Data Type Definitions

Macro	Value	Description
`DATA_PRIMITIVE`	0	Single primitive value: byte.
`DATA_ARRAY`	1	1D array: short.
`DATA_2D_ARRAY`	2	2D array: char.
`DATA_3D_ARRAY`	3	3D array: int.
`DATA_OBJECT`	6	Complex object: long, float, double.

Flag Definitions

Macro	Value (Hex)	Description
`MEMORY_STORE`	0x00000008	Memory is stored persistently.
`MEMORY_RESIDENT`	0x00000010	Memory saved on program exit.
`MEMORY_ALLOCATED`	0x00000020	Memory is allocated (mapped for PAGE_MEMORY).
`MEMORY_LOG_ACCESS`	0x00000040	Log memory access events.
`MEMORY_NAME_UNICODE`	0x00000080	Name is in Unicode format.
`MEMORY_GPU_GLOBAL`	0x00000100	GPU global memory (CPU-GPU accessible).
`MEMORY_GPU_SHARED`	0x00000200	GPU on-chip shared memory.
`MEMORY_GPU_TEXTURE`	0x00000400	GPU texture memory (array of rectangles).
`MEMORY_GPU_LOCAL`	0x00000800	GPU local thread memory.
`DATA_SIGNED`	0x40	Data is signed (not applicable to objects).
`DATA_PACK_PARAMETERS`	0x80	Enable/disable packing of parameters (SolidPod).

Decoding Example

The DECODE_CHANNEL_DATA macro extracts information from an encoded input value using bitwise operations. Here's an example of its usage:

#define DECODE_CHANNEL_DATA(input, memoryType, primitiveType, dimensionBits, packedParameters, isSigned) do { \
    memoryType = MEMORY_TYPE(input); \
    primitiveType = PRIMITIVE_TYPE(input); \
    dimensionBits = DIMENSION_TYPE(input); \
    packedParameters = IS_PACKED_PARAMETERS(input); \
    isSigned = IS_SIGNED(input) ? 1 : 0; \
} while (0)

This macro decodes the memory type, primitive type, dimension bits, packed parameters, and signed status from a single input value, making it easier to interpret the configuration of allocated memory. The DATA_PACK_PARAMETERS flag (0x80) serves as an enable/disable toggle for parameter packing, and the struct is 64-bit aligned with explicit padding.