No Motion Garbage Collection
đź“ś Abstract
This paper describes a method for implementing a garbage collector that can collect and reuse storage that is only partially garbage, efficiently. This method uses no stop-and-copy technique. The storage is divided into regions, with garbage within each region being released in a lazy fashion, and regions themselves being collected when most of the regions consist of garbage. Thus, garbage accumulation is limited, but copying overhead is minimized.
✨ Summary
The paper “No Motion Garbage Collection” by H. Baker, published in 1992, presents a method for implementing garbage collection in programming languages that avoids the need for stop-and-copy techniques. This method divides storage into regions, collecting garbage in a lazy fashion to minimize the overhead associated with copying. By limiting garbage accumulation without requiring extensive copying, the technique optimizes memory management.
This approach to garbage collection has had a notable influence in the field of memory management systems. It contributed to the ongoing development of techniques that efficiently manage memory without significant performance drawbacks, and has been cited in subsequent research exploring alternatives to traditional garbage collection methods.
Further references to this approach can be seen in academic discussions and research papers about optimizing memory usage in programming languages. While no specific industry applications directly cite this method as foundational, the principles of optimizing non-moving garbage collection have informed various modern approaches in memory management research and compiler design. For more detail on its influences, see the following:
- “A family of real-time garbage collectors” by D. L. Detlefs et al.
- “Concurrent cycle collection in reference counted systems” by D. F. Bacon and V. T. Rajan
- “The garbage collection handbook: The art of automatic memory management” by R. Jones et al.