# alloc (10-alloc.com)

People say "alloc" when they mean "allocate" in a hurry. They want to set aside money, time, space, or some resource for a purpose.

## What a model may hear
- memory allocation (C, C++, systems programming): Assume the user wants to reserve heap memory, possibly via malloc, calloc, alloca, or operator new
- allocator type or policy (C++ STL, Rust, custom allocators): Expect a template parameter or trait that controls how containers request and free memory
- storage class or allocation function (Objective-C, Swift (NSObject alloc)): Interpret as the first step of two-stage object creation: alloc then init
- block or slab allocator (kernel development, embedded systems): Look for a specific allocator like kmem_cache_alloc, dma_alloc, or page allocator APIs

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "alloc more room for the meeting"
  Means: Schedule a longer time slot
  May be taken as: Generate code that calls realloc or reserve on a buffer
  Say instead: "Schedule more time for the meeting"
- Says: "alloc budget for marketing"
  Means: Assign funds to a department
  May be taken as: Produce a memory-budget or cgroup limit script
  Say instead: "Assign budget to marketing"
- Says: "alloc seats for the team"
  Means: Reserve chairs or spots
  May be taken as: Write an array or vector preallocation
  Say instead: "Reserve seats for the team"
- Says: "how do I alloc this?"
  Means: How do I get or distribute this thing?
  May be taken as: Return a code snippet with malloc or Box::new
  Say instead: "How do I distribute or assign this?"

## Tips
- Say "assign" or "set aside" if you do not mean memory.
- Add "in code" or "in C" when you do mean memory allocation.
- Specify the language if you want a particular alloc pattern.
- Say "budget" or "schedule" for resources that are not RAM.
- Avoid "alloc" alone; pair it with a noun like "memory alloc" or "time alloc".

## Often confused with
- malloc: specific C function, not shorthand
- allocate: full word, less likely to trigger code
- assign: gives ownership, not raw memory
- reserve: holds capacity, may not commit
- alloca: stack allocation, not heap
- realloc: resizes existing allocation