Garrayfreearr

Garrayfreearr is a term used in computer science to describe a dynamic array variant that emphasizes efficient memory reuse by maintaining a pool of free slots alongside the main data container. The name combines elements of general arrays and memory reuse concepts, and it appears in discussions of data structures designed to minimize data movement during deletions.

In a garrayfreearr, elements are stored in contiguous storage while a free-list or bitmap tracks indices that are currently unused. Insertion places new elements in the first available free slot if one exists; otherwise, the structure expands by allocating additional capacity. Deletions mark the removed slot as free rather than shifting subsequent elements, preserving the logical sequence of items and reducing relocation costs. To restore perfect contiguity, a separate compaction operation can be performed when desired.

Performance characteristics commonly attributed to garrayfreearr include constant-time amortized insertion and deletion, with random access remaining O(1). The presence of a free-list introduces some overhead and potential fragmentation of the free space, but avoids frequent data movement and allocations. Growth policies typically follow a doubling strategy to balance allocation costs with space efficiency.

Common use cases involve scenarios with frequent insertions and deletions and where moving large blocks of data is undesirable or expensive, such as real-time systems, memory-constrained environments, or performance-critical components. Variants may use bitmaps or separate memory pools to manage free slots, and related concepts include dynamic arrays, free-list allocators, and gap-buffer techniques.