Dynamic Memory Allocation Challenges in C++ Safety Critical Systems

Explore the complexities of dynamic memory allocation in C++ safety-critical systems through this comprehensive conference talk from ACCU 2025. Learn how dynamic memory allocation occurs both explicitly through user actions and implicitly through various C++ features, and understand why this poses significant challenges in safety-critical environments where guidelines often prohibit such practices. Analyze specific features of the C++ standard library to determine their memory allocation behavior, discover the fundamental problems that dynamic memory allocation creates in safety-critical systems, and examine practical alternatives and safer approaches. Gain essential knowledge for implementing dynamic memory allocation in safety-critical systems while maintaining safety standards, presented by Xavier Bonaventura, a Software Engineer at BMW working on autonomous driving software and member of both the MISRA C++ working group and ISO C++ committee.