Predicting out of memory conditions using soft references
US7761487B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 13, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jul 20, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 12, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0253
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A near out-of-memory condition in a memory space is detected by creating softly reachable objects which are garbage collected when the memory space is becoming full. The softly reachable objects are objects that can be cleared at the discretion of the garbage collector when heap memory is running low. An agent process of an application can create soft reference objects which reference the softly reachable objects, and periodically poll the soft reference objects to determine if the softly reachable objects have been cleared. If they have been cleared, the agent reports to the application so that a graceful shutdown of the application can be initiated. A report can also be sent to a user interface or other output device. Additional information regarding the memory space can be gained by using softly reachable objects of different sizes and/or ages. Further, a wait period for the polling can be set adaptively.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.