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BN_new(3)                           OpenSSL                          BN_new(3)



NAME
       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_get_error(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.



0.9.7l                            2002-09-25                         BN_new(3)