Re: Automatic Garbage Collection?

[Tucker Taft <stt@averstar.com>]

ken_shiro@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am aware of the generic procedure "Unchecked_Deallocation", but I was
> wondering if some implementations support (automatic) garbage collection even
> though "Unchecked_Deallocation" is available?

There a couple of implementations of Ada that generate Java
byte codes, and take advantage of the (automatic) garbage
collection provided by essentially all Java virtual machines (JVMs).
In addition, there are a few "conservative" garbage collection
packages that work with many Ada compilers.  Generally, if
you find a conservative garbage collector that works with
C or C++ compilers, there is a good chance it will work
with an Ada compiler on the same platform.  However, it is
not guaranteed, because there are certain pointer optimizations
which are incompatible with conservative garbage collectors,
so you should check with your Ada vendor.

I don't know of any non-JVM-based Ada implementation
that supports "precise" garbage collection. 

> I've done lots of research on the internet as well as numerous texts.  Some
> say that Ada has *manual* memory management, while others say automatic.
> 
> Does anyone have knowledge on this subject?  If so, your replies would be very
> appreciated.

See above.

> Thanks.
-- 
-Tucker Taft   stt@averstar.com   http://www.averstar.com/~stt/
Technical Director, Distributed IT Solutions  (www.averstar.com/tools)
AverStar (formerly Intermetrics, Inc.)   Burlington, MA  USA