You can use a custom allocator for specific memory allocation needs. To create a custom allocator, it must contain an allocator handle of type AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle
and implement the interface, AllocatorManager.IAllocator
. After you create a custom allocator, you need to register it in a global allocator table in AllocatorManager
.
A custom allocator must contain an allocator handle of type AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle
. An allocator handle includes the following:
Version
: A 2 byte unsigned version number. Only the lower 15 bits are valid.Index
: A 2 byte unsigned index of the global allocator table obtained during registration.Version
and OfficialVersion
.To define a custom allocator, you must implement the interface AllocatorManager.IAllocator
which includes:
Function
: A property that gets the allocator function of delegate TryFunction
. The allocator function can allocate, deallocate, and reallocate memory.Try
: A method that the allocator function invokes to allocate, deallocate, or reallocate memory.Handle
: A property that gets and sets the allocator handle which is of type AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle
.ToAllocator
: A property that casts the allocator handle index to the enum Allocator
.IsCustomAllocator
: A property that checks whether the allocator is a custom allocator. An allocator is a custom allocator if its handle Index
is larger or equal to AllocatorManager.FirstUserIndex
.IsAutoDispose
: A property that checks whether the allocator is able to dispose individual allocations. True if disposing an individual allocation is a no-op.Because AllocatorManager.IAllocator
implements IDisposable
, your custom allocator must implement the Dispose
method.
The following is an example of how to set up the IAllocator
interface and its required properties except the Try
and AllocatorFunction
method:
// A custom allocator must implement AllocatorManager.IAllocator interface
[BurstCompile(CompileSynchronously = true)]
internal struct ExampleCustomAllocator : AllocatorManager.IAllocator
{
// A custom allocator must contain AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle
AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle m_handle;
// Implement the Function property required by IAllocator interface
public AllocatorManager.TryFunction Function => AllocatorFunction;
// Implement the Handle property required by IAllocator interface
public AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle Handle { get { return m_handle; } set { m_handle = value; } }
// Implement the ToAllocator property required by IAllocator interface
public Allocator ToAllocator { get { return m_handle.ToAllocator; } }
// Implement the IsCustomAllocator property required by IAllocator interface
public bool IsCustomAllocator { get { return m_handle.IsCustomAllocator; } }
// Implement the IsAutoDispose property required by IAllocator interface
// Allocations made by this example allocator are not automatically disposed.
// This implementation can be skipped because the default implementation of
// this property is false.
public bool IsAutoDispose { get { return false; } }
// Implement the Dispose method required by IDisposable interface because
// AllocatorManager.IAllocator implements IDisposable
public void Dispose()
{
// Make sure no memory leaks
Assert.AreEqual(0, m_allocationCount);
m_handle.Dispose();
}
}
The Try
method tells a custom allocator how to allocate or deallocate memory. The following is an example of theTry
method where a custom allocator allocates memory from Allocator.Persistant
, initializes the allocated memory with a user configured value, and increments an allocation count. The custom allocator also decrements the allocation count when deallocating the allocated memory.
[!code-csTry method of allocate/deallocate memory]
Example method AllocatorFunction
below shows an allocator function of the custom allocator.
[!code-csAllocator function]
The global allocator table in AllocatorManager
stores all the necessary information for custom allocators to work. When you instantiate a custom allocator, you must register the allocator in the global allocator table. The table stores the following information:
The following is an example of a custom allocator that has an AllocatorManager.AllocatorHandle
and initializes the allocated memory with a user configured value and increments the allocation count. It also uses AllocatorManager.TryFunction
to register the allocator on the global allocator table:
[!code-csCustom allocator example]