Method and apparatus for referencing nodes using links
First Claim
1. A computer controlled method for specifying a node originally allocated within a link-referenced creation area of a generational garbage collected heap subject to a plurality of scavenge operations, wherein said method comprises steps of:
- (a) maintaining a current validation variable for said link-referenced creation area, said current validation variable containing an area validation value depending on said plurality of scavenge operations; and
(b) accessing a node through a link containing an offset value into said link-referenced creation area and a link validation value.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus, methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed that use a link to access nodes in a generational garbage collected heap. The creation area of the heap is associated with a validation variable that is dependent on the number of scavenge operations performed on the creation area. The link comprises the value of the validation variable when the node was allocated and the index of the created node within the creation area. When the node is copied from the creation area an entry is made in a link-to-pointer translation table. Accesses to the node using the link succeed regardless of whether the node is in the creation area. Thus, not all references to the node need to be updated when the node is copied from the creation area allowing the copying process to be interrupted when resolving links to the copied node.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer controlled method for specifying a node originally allocated within a link-referenced creation area of a generational garbage collected heap subject to a plurality of scavenge operations, wherein said method comprises steps of:
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(a) maintaining a current validation variable for said link-referenced creation area, said current validation variable containing an area validation value depending on said plurality of scavenge operations; and (b) accessing a node through a link containing an offset value into said link-referenced creation area and a link validation value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer system having a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory coupled to said CPU, for specifying a node originally allocated within a link-referenced creation area of a generational garbage collected heap subject to a plurality of scavenge operations, said computer system comprising:
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a validation variable maintenance mechanism configured to maintain a current validation variable for said link-referenced creation area, said current validation variable containing an area validation value dependent on said plurality of scavenge operations; and a node access mechanism configured to access a node through a link containing an offset value into said link-referenced creation area and a link validation value, said link validation value originally obtained from said current validation variable. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus having a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory coupled to said CPU, for specifying a node originally allocated within a link-referenced creation area of a generational garbage collected heap subject to a plurality of scavenge operations, said apparatus comprising:
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a validation variable maintenance mechanism configured to maintain a current validation variable for said link-referenced creation area, said current validation variable containing an area validation value dependent on said plurality of scavenge operations; and a node access mechanism configured to access a node through a link containing an offset value into said link-referenced creation area and a link validation value, said link validation value originally obtained from said current validation variable. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer program product comprising:
a computer usable storage medium having computer readable code embodied therein for causing a computer to specify a node originally allocated within a link-referenced creation area of a generational garbage collected heap subject to a plurality of scavenge operations, said computer readable code comprising; computer readable program code devices configured to cause said computer to effect a validation variable maintenance mechanism configured to maintain a current validation variable for said link-referenced creation area, said current validation variable containing an area validation value dependent on said plurality of scavenge operations; and computer readable program code devices configured to cause said computer to effect a node access mechanism configured to access a node through a link containing an offset value into said link-referenced creation area and a link validation value, said link validation value originally obtained from said current validation variable. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
Specification