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Garbage collection for strongly-typed languages using run-time type reconstruction

Authors:

Shail Aditya,

Christine H. Flood, and

James E. HicksAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGPLAN Lisp Pointers, Volume VII, Issue 3

Pages 12 - 23

https://doi.org/10.1145/182590.182414

Published: 01 July 1994 Publication History

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Abstract

Garbage collectors perform two functions: live-object detection and dead-object reclamation. In this paper, we present a new technique for live-object detection based on run-time type reconstruction for a strongly typed, polymorphic language. This scheme uses compile-time type information together with the run-time tree of activation frames to determine the exact type of every object participating in the computation. These reconstructed types are then used to identify and traverse the live heap objects during garbage collection.

We describe an implementation of our scheme for the Id parallel programming language compiled for the *T multiprocessor architecture. We present simulation studies that compare the performance of type-reconstructing garbage collection with conservative garbage collection and compiler-directed storage reclamation.

References

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Cited By

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Willard BFrieder O(2000)Autonomous garbage collectionComputer Communications10.1016/S0140-3664(00)00172-923:10(887-900)Online publication date: 1-May-2000
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/S0140-3664%2800%2900172-9
Elsman M(2023)Garbage-Collection Safety for Region-Based Type-Polymorphic ProgramsProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/35912297:PLDI(221-243)Online publication date: 6-Jun-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3591229
ELSMAN MHALLENBERG N(2021)Integrating region memory management and tag-free generational garbage collectionJournal of Functional Programming10.1017/S095679682100001031Online publication date: 22-Feb-2021
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956796821000010
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Index Terms

Garbage collection for strongly-typed languages using run-time type reconstruction
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software notations and tools
    1. Compilers
    2. General programming languages
      1. Language features
        Data types and structures
2. Theory of computation
  1. Semantics and reasoning
    1. Program constructs
      1. Type structures

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Reviews

Reviewer: Olivier Louis Marie Lecarme

In the general framework of automatic garbage collection, this paper considers the specific case of strongly typed languages. The problem is much more complex when no typing information is stored in objects themselves at runtime. Omitting this information saves the cost of storing and maintaining it for all objects, but it makes it impossible to use the only well-known techniques for conventional dynamically typed programming languages. The idea developed in the paper is to reconstruct the typing information at runtime, when garbage collection becomes necessary. An image of compile-time type information must exist at runtime, and it is used together with the runtime tree of activation frames. Since reconstruction is needed only just before garbage collection, one can assume better storage and time performances than when complete type information is handled for all objects. The paper describes the scheme for type reconstruction and its implementation for a peculiar situation, namely an experimental parallel programming language for an experimental multiprocessor architecture. It is not clear whether this peculiar case adds anything specific to the problem considered. The process of garbage collection is divided into the phases of live-object detection and dead-object reclamation. Only the first phase is considered, and more specifically its object identification subphase. The performance of type-reconstructed garbage collection is compared, using several benchmarks, to those of conservative garbage collection, which does not use type information, and of compiler-directed storage reclamation, which does not use garbage collection. The conclusions one can draw from this comparison are not striking. It would be interesting to study the application of the ideas developed in this paper to more conventional programming languages.

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Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

ACM SIGPLAN Lisp Pointers Volume VII, Issue 3

July-Sept. 1994

327 pages

ISSN:1045-3563

DOI:10.1145/182590

Editor:
Robert R. Kessler
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City

Issue’s Table of Contents

LFP '94: Proceedings of the 1994 ACM conference on LISP and functional programming
July 1994
327 pages
ISBN:0897916433
DOI:10.1145/182409
Chairman:
Robert R. Kessler
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 July 1994

Published in SIGPLAN-LISPPOINTERS Volume VII, Issue 3

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Willard BFrieder O(2000)Autonomous garbage collectionComputer Communications10.1016/S0140-3664(00)00172-923:10(887-900)Online publication date: 1-May-2000
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/S0140-3664%2800%2900172-9
Elsman M(2023)Garbage-Collection Safety for Region-Based Type-Polymorphic ProgramsProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/35912297:PLDI(221-243)Online publication date: 6-Jun-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3591229
ELSMAN MHALLENBERG N(2021)Integrating region memory management and tag-free generational garbage collectionJournal of Functional Programming10.1017/S095679682100001031Online publication date: 22-Feb-2021
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956796821000010
Henry GMauny MChailloux EManoury P(2012)Typing unmarshalling without marshalling typesACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/2398856.236456947:9(287-298)Online publication date: 9-Sep-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2398856.2364569
Henry GMauny MChailloux EManoury PThiemann PFindler R(2012)Typing unmarshalling without marshalling typesProceedings of the 17th ACM SIGPLAN international conference on Functional programming10.1145/2364527.2364569(287-298)Online publication date: 9-Sep-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2364527.2364569
Torp-Smith NBirkedal LReynolds J(2008)Local reasoning about a copying garbage collectorACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems10.1145/1377492.137749930:4(1-58)Online publication date: 1-Aug-2008
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1377492.1377499
Hosoya HYonezawa A(2006)Garbage collection via dynamic type inference - A formal treatment -Types in Compilation10.1007/BFb0055520(215-239)Online publication date: 28-May-2006
https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0055520
Tarditi DMorrisett GCheng PStone CHarper RLee P(2004)TILACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/989393.98944939:4(554-567)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2004
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/989393.989449
Tofte MBirkedal LElsman MHallenberg N(2004)A Retrospective on Region-Based Memory ManagementHigher-Order and Symbolic Computation10.1023/B:LISP.0000029446.78563.a417:3(245-265)Online publication date: 1-Sep-2004
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1023/B%3ALISP.0000029446.78563.a4
Crary KWeirich S(1999)Flexible type analysisACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/317765.31790634:9(233-248)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1999
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/317765.317906
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