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[Gcl-devel] Re: TMP_ALLOC in mpn_mul_n
From: |
Niels Möller |
Subject: |
[Gcl-devel] Re: TMP_ALLOC in mpn_mul_n |
Date: |
20 Aug 2002 21:26:21 +0200 |
User-agent: |
Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.2 |
Kevin Ryde <address@hidden> writes:
> Camm Maguire <address@hidden> writes:
> >
> > 2) Anyway, all of that is gcl's problem and not gmp's -- but what
> > about other systems using garbage collection? The Boehm collector
> > is becoming more popular these days for example, and it relies on a
> > redirected malloc as well.
>
> It reclaims blocks, but doesn't move anything does it?
My understanding is that a conservative collector like Boehm's really
can't move blocks. If the gc moves a block, it must also update all
pointers to it. But a conservative gc can never update a pointer,
because it doesn't know if a word that looks like a pointer to the
block being moved really is a pointer. It might be some unrelated
integer that the program behaviour depends upon, and in that case
"updating" it to a new value will break the program.
/Niels