diff --git a/lib/xmalloc.c b/lib/xmalloc.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0cde384
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/xmalloc.c
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/* Convenience functions for allocation.
+   Copyright (C) 2006, 2015 Red Hat, Inc.
+   This file is part of elfutils.
+
+   This file is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of either
+
+     * the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+       Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
+       your option) any later version
+
+   or
+
+     * the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
+       Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
+       your option) any later version
+
+   or both in parallel, as here.
+
+   elfutils is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+   General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License and
+   the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this program.  If
+   not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include <config.h>
+#endif
+
+#include <error.h>
+#include <libintl.h>
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include "system.h"
+
+#ifndef _
+# define _(str) gettext (str)
+#endif
+
+
+/* Allocate N bytes of memory dynamically, with error checking.  */
+void *
+xmalloc (size_t n)
+{
+  void *p;
+
+  p = malloc (n);
+  if (p == NULL)
+    error (EXIT_FAILURE, 0, _("memory exhausted"));
+  return p;
+}
+
+
+/* Allocate memory for N elements of S bytes, with error checking.  */
+void *
+xcalloc (size_t n, size_t s)
+{
+  void *p;
+
+  p = calloc (n, s);
+  if (p == NULL)
+    error (EXIT_FAILURE, 0, _("memory exhausted"));
+  return p;
+}
+
+
+/* Change the size of an allocated block of memory P to N bytes,
+   with error checking.  */
+void *
+xrealloc (void *p, size_t n)
+{
+  p = realloc (p, n);
+  if (p == NULL)
+    error (EXIT_FAILURE, 0, _("memory exhausted"));
+  return p;
+}