buffer: backport allocUnsafeSlow

This backports the new `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` API for v5.

This backport includes the new API, test cases, and docs additions.
Already present API and testcases were not changed.

PR-URL: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/7169
Reviewed-By: James M Snell <jasnell@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Anna Henningsen <anna@addaleax.net>

doc/api/buffer.md

@@ -87,25 +87,27 @@ to one of these new APIs.*
   containing a *copy* of the provided string.
 * [`Buffer.alloc(size[, fill[, encoding]])`][buffer_alloc] returns a "filled"
   `Buffer` instance of the specified size. This method can be significantly
-  slower than [`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)`][buffer_allocunsafe] but ensures that
-  newly created `Buffer` instances never contain old and potentially sensitive
-  data.
-* [`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)`][buffer_allocunsafe] returns a new `Buffer` of
-  the specified `size` whose content *must* be initialized using either
-  [`buf.fill(0)`][] or written to completely.
+  slower than [`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)`][buffer_allocunsafe] but ensures
+  that newly created `Buffer` instances never contain old and potentially
+  sensitive data.
+* [`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)`][buffer_allocunsafe] and
+  [`Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)`][buffer_allocunsafeslow] each return a
+  new `Buffer` of the specified `size` whose content *must* be initialized
+  using either [`buf.fill(0)`][] or written to completely.
 
 `Buffer` instances returned by `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` *may* be allocated
-off a shared internal memory pool if the `size` is less than or equal to half
-`Buffer.poolSize`.
+off a shared internal memory pool if `size` is less than or equal to half
+`Buffer.poolSize`. Instances returned by `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)` *never*
+use the shared internal memory pool.
 
-### What makes `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` "unsafe"?
+### What makes `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` and `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)` "unsafe"?
 
-When calling `Buffer.allocUnsafe()`, the segment of allocated memory is
-*uninitialized* (it is not zeroed-out). While this design makes the allocation
-of memory quite fast, the allocated segment of memory might contain old data
-that is potentially sensitive. Using a `Buffer` created by
-`Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` without *completely* overwriting the memory can
-allow this old data to be leaked when the `Buffer` memory is read.
+When calling `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` (and `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()`), the
+segment of allocated memory is *uninitialized* (it is not zeroed-out). While
+this design makes the allocation of memory quite fast, the allocated segment of
+memory might contain old data that is potentially sensitive. Using a `Buffer`
+created by `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` without *completely* overwriting the memory
+can allow this old data to be leaked when the `Buffer` memory is read.
 
 While there are clear performance advantages to using `Buffer.allocUnsafe()`,
 extra care *must* be taken in order to avoid introducing security
@@ -240,7 +242,8 @@ Additionally, the [`buf.values()`][], [`buf.keys()`][], and
 
 Node.js can be started using the `--zero-fill-buffers` command line option to
 force all newly allocated `Buffer` and `SlowBuffer` instances created using
-either `new Buffer(size)` and `new SlowBuffer(size)` to be *automatically
+either `new Buffer(size)`, `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)`,
+`Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)` or `new SlowBuffer(size)` to be *automatically
 zero-filled* upon creation. Use of this flag *changes the default behavior* of
 these methods and *can have a significant impact* on performance. Use of the
 `--zero-fill-buffers` option is recommended only when absolutely necessary to
@@ -449,6 +452,52 @@ Buffer pool if `size` is less than or equal to half `Buffer.poolSize`. The
 difference is subtle but can be important when an application requires the
 additional performance that `Buffer.allocUnsafe(size)` provides.
 
+### Class Method: Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(size)
+
+* `size` {Number}
+
+Allocates a new *non-zero-filled* and non-pooled `Buffer` of `size` bytes.  The
+`size` must be less than or equal to the value of
+`require('buffer').kMaxLength` (on 64-bit architectures, `kMaxLength` is
+`(2^31)-1`). Otherwise, a [`RangeError`][] is thrown. If a `size` less than 0
+is specified, a zero-length `Buffer` will be created.
+
+The underlying memory for `Buffer` instances created in this way is *not
+initialized*. The contents of the newly created `Buffer` are unknown and
+*may contain sensitive data*. Use [`buf.fill(0)`][] to initialize such
+`Buffer` instances to zeroes.
+
+When using `Buffer.allocUnsafe()` to allocate new `Buffer` instances,
+allocations under 4KB are, by default, sliced from a single pre-allocated
+`Buffer`. This allows applications to avoid the garbage collection overhead of
+creating many individually allocated Buffers. This approach improves both
+performance and memory usage by eliminating the need to track and cleanup as
+many `Persistent` objects.
+
+However, in the case where a developer may need to retain a small chunk of
+memory from a pool for an indeterminate amount of time, it may be appropriate
+to create an un-pooled Buffer instance using `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` then
+copy out the relevant bits.
+
+```js
+// need to keep around a few small chunks of memory
+const store = [];
+
+socket.on('readable', () => {
+  const data = socket.read();
+  // allocate for retained data
+  const sb = Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(10);
+  // copy the data into the new allocation
+  data.copy(sb, 0, 0, 10);
+  store.push(sb);
+});
+```
+
+Use of `Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow()` should be used only as a last resort *after*
+a developer has observed undue memory retention in their applications.
+
+A `TypeError` will be thrown if `size` is not a number.
+
 ### Class Method: Buffer.byteLength(string[, encoding])
 
 * `string` {String | Buffer | TypedArray | DataView | ArrayBuffer}
@@ -1787,7 +1836,8 @@ console.log(buf);
 [buffer_from_buffer]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_from_buffer
 [buffer_from_arraybuf]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_from_arraybuffer_byteoffset_length
 [buffer_from_string]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_from_str_encoding
-[buffer_allocunsafe]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_allocraw_size
+[buffer_allocunsafe]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafe_size
+[buffer_allocunsafeslow]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_allocunsafeslow_size
 [buffer_alloc]: #buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding
 [`TypedArray.from()`]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray/from
 [`DataView`]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DataView

lib/buffer.js

@@ -152,6 +152,20 @@ Buffer.allocUnsafe = function(size) {
   return allocate(size);
 };
 
+/**
+ * Equivalent to SlowBuffer(num), by default creates a non-zero-filled
+ * Buffer instance that is not allocated off the pre-initialized pool.
+ * If `--zero-fill-buffers` is set, will zero-fill the buffer.
+ **/
+Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow = function(size) {
+  if (typeof size !== 'number')
+    throw new TypeError('"size" argument must be a number');
+  return createBuffer(size, true);
+};
+
+// If --zero-fill-buffers command line argument is set, a zero-filled
+// buffer is returned.
+
 function SlowBuffer(length) {
   if (+length != length)
     length = 0;

test/parallel/test-buffer-alloc.js

@@ -1435,3 +1435,9 @@ assert.equal(SlowBuffer.prototype.offset, undefined);
 assert.throws(function() {
   Buffer.from(new ArrayBuffer(0), -1 >>> 0);
 }, /RangeError: 'offset' is out of bounds/);
+
+// Unpooled buffer (replaces SlowBuffer)
+const ubuf = Buffer.allocUnsafeSlow(10);
+assert(ubuf);
+assert(ubuf.buffer);
+assert.equal(ubuf.buffer.byteLength, 10);