Task Explanation & Project Overview
Welcome to the Contiguous Memory Allocator—an interactive simulation that brings memory management to life! Whether you're a student, developer, or simply curious, this tool shows how operating systems allocate, release, and compact memory.
Key Features Timeline
Memory Initialization
Specify a memory size (in KB) to create a single free block dynamically.
Allocation Strategies
Choose between First Fit, Next Fit, Best Fit, or Worst Fit for allocating memory blocks.
Dynamic Management
Release, compact, and edit allocated blocks in real time, merging free blocks automatically.
Interactive Reporting
Check memory usage and fragmentation metrics, with live status updates.
Dark & Responsive UI
Enjoy a sleek dark theme that adapts beautifully on mobile, with smooth animations on scroll.
Educational Insights
Contiguous memory allocation loads each process into a single block. While straightforward, it can cause:
- External Fragmentation: Free memory is broken into small chunks.
- Internal Fragmentation: Allocated blocks may be larger than needed.
- Initialize memory by specifying total size (in KB).
- Select an allocation strategy (First Fit, Next Fit, Best Fit, or Worst Fit).
- Release and compact memory to reduce fragmentation.
- Edit allocated blocks via a popup modal for on-the-fly adjustments.
- View live reports of memory usage and fragmentation metrics.
Additional Extensions
- In-depth fragmentation analysis with graphical visualizations.
- Advanced algorithms like Buddy System or hybrid paging/segmentation.
- Performance overhead simulations (e.g., compaction delays).
- Historical event logs with exportable data.
- Interactive tutorials and more advanced tooltips.
README Content Overview
- Purpose: Provide an interactive tool for exploring contiguous memory allocation and its challenges.
- Design: Multiple allocation strategies, dynamic splitting/merging, editing, and a robust reporting system.
- Usage: Initialize memory, allocate/release blocks, compact them, and track memory usage in real time.
- Future Work: Introduce advanced methods, performance simulations, and event logging.