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kotlinlang

Does anyone have an example of getting a pointer to a local `Int` (or other primitive) without using `alloc` in `memScoped`? I'm trying to do it useing `usePinned`, but i'm having trouble navigating the types. Is the the right direction?

You can use `nativeHeap.alloc`. You can use `.ptr` to get a pointer to the allocated memory. `.value` to read it if it is a primitive. Any structure field turns into a property if you allocated a struct type. 

I believe `usePinned` can only yield `CPointer` if you use it on an array. `pin.addressOf(0)` would give you what you want. 

`KNativePtr` cannot be used as a `CPointer` because it refers to a kotlin object, which is managed by the virtual machine, so it would be unsafe if you could use it as a `CPointer`.

`memScoped` is something that C does not have, which just makes memory management more safe and simple in Kotlin. But I am sometimes worried about its performance. Haven't tested it though. Nonetheless, if theres a function i expect to use a lot, I prefer allocating memory for it for the remainder of the process's life.

I see. I’m using sscanf, and I want to pass it pointers to local variables. I can do it fine using alloc. Just wanted to see if there was a more straightforward way of passing references to local variables, like you could in C

Not yet, however it is being considered for implementation further on

Just as a side note, in C alloca is like memScoped.

What are the implications of using `alloca` in kotlin? Would it work without any.... quirks? 

<@UCPH15U5U> fwiw, I tested memscoped and manual alloc/free in a tight loop, and there was no noticeable difference

`memScoped` is indeed only a wrapper around `nativeHeap`.