Memory management system and method

A method comprising:

• loading a memory allocation strategy of an application executed by a processor of a device, the device including a memory space logically organized into at least a first set of contiguous memory blocks, a second set of contiguous memory blocks, and a memory heap, wherein the memory allocation strategy is stored in memory of the device prior to execution of the application;
• requesting a portion of the memory space for the application according to the memory allocation strategy;
• and
• allocating memory space to the application from at least one contiguous memory block of the first or second sets, or from the memory heap, in response to the request.

A manufacture comprising:

• one or more tangible, computer-readable media having application instructions encoded thereon, the application instructions comprising:
• instructions for determining a memory allocation strategy associated with a graphics program;
• and
• instructions for allocating graphics memory space from one of at least three different logical groups within the graphics memory space, the three different logical groups including a heap memory, a first block of contiguous memory, and a second block of contiguous memory larger than the first block.

A device comprising:

• a housing;
• a display disposed in the housing;
• a storage device disposed in the housing, the storage device including a plurality of executable applications stored therein, the plurality of executable applications including graphical applications configured to provide graphical outputs in a first format to the display disposed in the housing and in a second format, different from the first format, to an additional display external to the housing;
• a processor disposed in the housing and configured to execute the plurality of applications stored in the storage device;
• and
• a memory device disposed in the housing, wherein the memory space of the memory device is logically partitioned into at least a first plurality of memory blocks, a second plurality of memory blocks, and a memory heap;
• wherein the device is configured to allocate memory from the first plurality of memory blocks, if available, to a first graphical application configured to provide graphical outputs in the first format to the display disposed within the housing, and to allocate memory from the second plurality of memory blocks, if available, to a second graphical application configured to provide graphical outputs in the second format to the additional display external to the housing.