Method and apparatus for performing pre-allocation of memory to avoid triggering garbage collection operations
US6349312B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Feb 19, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99956
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a mechanism for enabling memory allocation operations to be deterministic. According to the invention, determinism is achieved by first pre-allocating a contiguous memory space, and then using that memory space to perform subsequent memory allocation operations. Because the subsequent memory allocation operations are performed using memory space that has already been allocated, it is ensured that the allocation operations will not trigger a garbage collection operation. Also, because the pre-allocated memory space is contiguous, there will be no fragmentation concerns. Thus, the present invention eliminates the two major causes of non-constant allocation times. By doing so, the present invention makes it possible to achieve determinism in a dynamic memory allocation system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.