Memory Allocation and Freeing

MediumPython

Problem

Implement a simplified memory allocator for a Facebook News Feed service. The allocator manages a contiguous memory array and processes allocation and release commands in order.

Memory is represented by a list of integers where 0 means free and 1 means occupied. An allocation request must receive the first contiguous run of free cells large enough to satisfy the request. Mark the selected cells as occupied and return the starting index. If no suitable run exists, return -1. A release command provides the starting index of a previously successful allocation; free exactly that block.

Implement memory_manager(memory, commands). The function must return one result for every command: an integer starting index for an allocation, or -1 if allocation fails; for a release command, return True after freeing the block.

Each successful allocation is identified by its starting index. The input guarantees that release commands reference currently active allocations and that allocation sizes are positive.

Constraints

1 <= len(memory) <= 10^5
Each memory value is either 0 or 1
1 <= len(commands) <= 10^4
Allocation sizes are positive integers no greater than len(memory)
Release commands reference successful, currently active allocations

Function Signature

def memory_manager(memory, commands):

Implement a simplified memory allocator for a Facebook News Feed service. The allocator manages a contiguous memory array and processes allocation and release commands in order.

Each successful allocation is identified by its starting index. The input guarantees that release commands reference currently active allocations and that allocation sizes are positive.