Method and apparatus for optimizing exact garbage collection of array nodes in a carded heap
US5903900A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 23, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 11, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 23, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99957
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus, methods, systems and computer program products are disclosed that optimize a programmed loop that stores pointer variables in an array in a card-marked heap. These methods also optimize garbage collection operations on these pointer variables. Instead of implementing a write-barrier in the body of a programmed loop, the loop is parameterized. This parameterization is associated with the pointer array stored in the heap. This parameterization specifies the first and last modified elements in the array. It further specifies the stride (which indicates how many elements are skipped to reach the next modified element of the array). The parameterization is modified by successive loops that access the array. During a garbage collection operation, the array's parameterization is used to optimize the process of locating modified elements in the array.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.