gptrarraysizednew

gptrarraysizednew is a function in the GLib library that creates a new GPtrArray with pre-allocated space for a specified number of pointers. A GPtrArray is a dynamic array that stores elements of type gpointer (generic pointers). The function returns a GPtrArray* with length initialized to zero and capacity at least equal to the provided reserved_size.

The purpose of g_ptr_array_sized_new is to optimize allocations when you anticipate adding a known number of elements. By reserving space in advance, you can reduce the number of reallocations as the array grows. If reserved_size is zero, the function behaves similarly to creating a standard, unreserved GPtrArray.

Usage involves creating the array with g_ptr_array_sized_new, then populating it with operations such as g_ptr_array_add or g_ptr_array_insert. The array automatically expands beyond the initial reserved capacity as needed. When finished, the array can be freed with g_ptr_array_free, optionally freeing the internal data storage; note that freeing the elements themselves is your responsibility if they were dynamically allocated.

Prototype: GPtrArray* g_ptr_array_sized_new ( guint reserved_size );

In practice, developers use g_ptr_array_sized_new when the expected number of elements is known in advance to improve performance, especially in hot paths that construct large lists of pointers. It is part of GLib’s general purpose dynamic array facilities and integrates with other GPtrArray operations for managing pointer collections. See also g_ptr_array_new, g_ptr_array_free, and related GPtrArray functions.