BN_new, BN_init, BN_clear, BN_free, BN_clear_free -
       allocate and free BIGNUMs


SYNOPSIS

        #include <openssl/bn.h>

        BIGNUM *BN_new(void);

        void BN_init(BIGNUM *);

        void BN_clear(BIGNUM *a);

        void BN_free(BIGNUM *a);

        void BN_clear_free(BIGNUM *a);


DESCRIPTION

       BN_new() allocated and initializes a BIGNUM structure.
       BN_init() initializes an existing uninitialized BIGNUM.

       BN_clear() is used to destroy sensitive data such as keys
       when they are no longer needed. It erases the memory used
       by a and sets it to the value 0.

       BN_free() frees the components of the BIGNUM, and if it
       was created by BN_new(), also the structure itself.
       BN_clear_free() additionally overwrites the data before
       the memory is returned to the system.


RETURN VALUES

       BN_new() returns a pointer to the BIGNUM. If the
       allocation fails, it returns NULL and sets an error code
       that can be obtained by ERR_get_error(3).

       BN_init(), BN_clear(), BN_free() and BN_clear_free() have
       no return values.


SEE ALSO

       bn(3), err(3)


HISTORY

       BN_new(), BN_clear(), BN_free() and BN_clear_free() are
       available in all versions on SSLeay and OpenSSL.
       BN_init() was added in SSLeay 0.9.1b.



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