From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,19140af19dfa6e01 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-09-10 00:02:18 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!feed.news.qwest.net!namche.sun.com!news1brm.central.sun.com!new-usenet.uk.sun.com!not-for-mail From: olehjalmar kristensen - Sun Microsystems - Trondheim Norway Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Ada 0Y plans for garbage collection? Date: 10 Sep 2003 08:55:45 +0200 Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., http://www.sun.com/ Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: khepri06.norway.sun.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: new-usenet.uk.sun.com 1063176945 7244 129.159.112.195 (10 Sep 2003 06:55:45 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@new-usenet.uk.sun.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 10 Sep 2003 06:55:45 GMT User-Agent: Gnus/5.0808 (Gnus v5.8.8) Emacs/21.2 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:42339 Date: 2003-09-10T06:55:45+00:00 List-Id: I still think the way it was done in Modula-3 gives you the best of both worlds. If you want garbage collection, you allocate from a different pool. If you don't want it you don't use it, and there is no overhead. >>>>> "JC" == Jeffrey Carter writes: JC> http://home.earthlink.net/~jrcarter010/pragmarc.htm JC> The implementations of these perform manual allocation and JC> deallocation, but the client need never concern himself with it. A JC> person, such as you, developing systems where memory management is JC> acceptable, can use such components and pretend that the language has JC> GC; those developing real-time software can avoid such components. If JC> you need to move your software to another compiler, you need not limit JC> your compiler selection to those that provide GC. JC> The need for explicit heap allocation is much rarer in Ada than in JC> lesser languages. If you are using heap allocation for anything other JC> than dynamic data structures, the odds are very good that you can do JC> the same thing without heap allocation. JC> So, if you are a software engineer, memory management is isolated in a JC> few well defined places in your software, and the bulk of your JC> development effort can ignore memory management issues. If there are JC> problems with the memory management, they are easy to find and JC> correct. If, on the other hand, you are a coder and sprinkle JC> allocations and deallocations throughout your system, then you get JC> what you deserve. JC> The best thing you could do if you want to demonstrate the importance JC> of GC in Ada is to modify GNAT to include GC. If there is really an JC> incipient demand for GC, then your version would become widely used, JC> and your changes would be incorporated into the mainstream versions of JC> GNAT. If not, you would still have a version with GC for your personal JC> efforts. JC> -- JC> Jeff Carter JC> "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" JC> Monty Python's Flying Circus JC> 22