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Editorial Team
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Editorial Team
Asked: May 13, 20262026-05-13T05:58:25+00:00 2026-05-13T05:58:25+00:00

Many C code freeing pointers calls: if (p) free(p); But why? I thought C

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Many C code freeing pointers calls:

if (p)
  free(p);

But why? I thought C standard say the free function doesn’t do anything given a NULL pointer. So why another explicit check?

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  1. Editorial Team
    Editorial Team
    2026-05-13T05:58:25+00:00Added an answer on May 13, 2026 at 5:58 am

    The construct:

    free(NULL);
    

    has always been OK in C, back to the original UNIX compiler written by Dennis Ritchie. Pre-standardisation, some poor compilers might not have fielded it correctly, but these days any compiler that does not cannot legitimately call itself a compiler for the C language. Using it typically leads to clearer, more maintainable code.

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