Memory Pooling
Memory pooling is a memory management technique where a pre-allocated block of memory (the pool) is divided into fixed-size chunks that are reused for dynamic memory allocation. It reduces fragmentation and overhead by avoiding frequent calls to the operating system's memory allocator, such as malloc and free in C/C++. This approach is commonly used in performance-critical applications like game engines, embedded systems, and high-frequency trading platforms.
Developers should learn and use memory pooling when building applications that require high performance, low latency, or predictable memory usage, such as real-time systems, video games, or embedded devices. It is particularly beneficial in scenarios with frequent small allocations and deallocations, as it minimizes fragmentation and reduces allocation time compared to standard dynamic memory management.